Hi Guys,

I'm looking for some advice and some of you may have seen this problem before.

I have 2005 1.9 tdi Octavia and recently in the past few weeks it has intermittently been hard started,

 

The problem has got worse in the last few days.

The car will usually start first time when cold but once it gets hot can be troublesome.

I don't believe it is the starter as  i know they can be an issue.

I believe the problem may be the fuel pump or fuel pump relay i just need some guidance.

The reason why i suspect these items is that when the car is hard started i need to turn on and off the ignition a few times , when i turn on the ignition i wait to hear a faint buzz of the fuel pump and once i hear this the car starts without issue otherwise the engine will just turn over constantly without engaging.

 

I am not a mechanic but i believe this issue to be around the fuel pump/relay system.

 

Has anyone here seem a similar issue and may be able to offer some advice on what is the best action forward as i dont want to change the relay when the fuel pump may be at fault and vice versa.

 

Thanks 

Eamonn

 

Hi Eamonn,

The other common fault besides the starter motor is a failing battery, so have you checked that too? Any battery and tyre retailer like quickfit should be able to test your battery free of charge for you ( no pun intended)

Once warm the engine needs to crank over at a certain speed before the fuel pump will supply diesel, so if for any reason its not reaching that speed on the starter it won't fire. Its a safety feature that's disabled when the engine is cold so might have something to do with your problem.

good luck

Hi littleade,

 

I think the battery is alright but i will get it checked just to be sure ,

the only reason why i suspected the fuel system was that when the car would not start i would turn on and off the ignition until i would hear the sound of the fuel pump kicking in, once i heard this sound it would fire immediately. Thanks for your reply though, i will get this looked at too just to be sure.

 

Cheers

Hi Eamonn,

The other common fault besides the starter motor is a failing battery, so have you checked that too? Any battery and tyre retailer like quickfit should be able to test your battery free of charge for you ( no pun intended)

Once warm the engine needs to crank over at a certain speed before the fuel pump will supply diesel, so if for any reason its not reaching that speed on the starter it won't fire. Its a safety feature that's disabled when the engine is cold so might have something to do with your problem.

good luck

+1

Hello mate.

Littleade is spot on in what he says. I had a hot starting problem with mine and after changing the battery, all has been good. It's a well known phenomenon with a failing battery and warm starts on the Diesel engine.

Before you go down the road of changing relays & fuel pumps, try a new battery. It certainly worked for me.

Hope this helps & good luck.