1.2 HTP 70 occasional starting problem

[Fatbloke]

It has covered ~13K miles and for the last few months has had an occasional starting problem. It turns over without firing or just a single fire without catching properly then after a couple of goes it starts fine. In warmer weather it then ticks over fine although in colder weather the tickover is slightly low and juddery for a minute or two. The fail to start doesn't have any obvious cause in terms of how long it has stood, it can happen after 1 hour when the engine is still warm or a weekend when it is stone cold. No fault codes are present. Any advice would be much appreciated

Cheers

[Gdog]

Hi,

 

Did you ever find out what was causing this?  Have an identical problem on mine, no fault codes!  Driving me crazy, so if you did find out i would be most grateful if you could share.

 

Thanks,

 

Gdog

[Fatbloke]

Possibly, amongst the things I tried, 3 things made a difference.

Cleaning the map sensor with electrical cleaner, (it was quite oily presumably from crankcase ventilation fumes).

Replacing the battery (4+ years old and although not totally failed, it was on it's last legs)

Most recently tried injector cleaner (Archoil 6400 -cleaners that contain polyetheramine (PEA) are known to be more effective at removing fuel system and engine deposits than earlier fuel tank additive cleaners). It has started fine since (This also unexpectedly improved the general running so presumably the injectors may have been getting a little dirty due to most of its time being spent in traffic and never really stretching its legs. )

Edited 4 May, 2015 by Fatbloke