Hi everyone. I have a quick question about my Fabia estate and its little quirks when starting it. 

 

7 out of 10 times that I start the car, it will fire quickly and smoothly. The other 3 times it will fire quickly, but you get a jerk/hop from the engine (like it jumps on its mountings) the car always starts though. I do a lot of town driving - could it be that the car is getting 'backed up' a tad?

 

I've checked for fault codes, and there's none present. The car had its fuel system purged and a full service a few weeks ago. The car drives well otherwise......

 

Is there a nack for starting a diesel (1.9 tdi pd 100), compared to a petrol car? Am I being to keen on the key, if I start the car in quick succession?  

 

Many thanks. 

 

Could it be something to do with this.... 

 

http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php/73777-1-9TDI-hot-starting-problem

Edited 9 April, 20188 yr by GeneralDogsbody

It could be a lazy cylinder due to a failing glow plug, is it only when it's cold that it does it?

Hiya Sep. It's normally when the car is hot. I'll have to keep an eye on it to see when it happens. Would a failing glow plug throw up a fault code? Is it an easy fix? 

It wouldn't throw a code, no, but it is easy to fix, however it's unlikely to be caused by this if it only does it when hot.

 

There is no knack but do keep an eye on it.

I'll map out in my head, as and when it happens and let you know. I just wondered as I'm in and out the car quite a bit in a short time period if that might not help..... 

Won't make any difference, no DPF to clog up.

Total guess but an injector seal/fuel issue? Often wondered this about my pd100

@GeneralDogsbody - Well, FWIW even when the engine's hot I wait for the BITE lights to go out before starting it.

Think could Thanks everyone. The car started poorly first thing this morning, which filled me with dread but, touch wood, the starting was smoother throughout the day.  It did make me think that it could have been down to the fact that it was very wet here yesterday. Do you think that some damp got into the leads etc? Which electrical parts do you think could do with a shot of WD40 etc, to drive out moisture?

 

I did look in the owners manual and it states that you should wait for the glow plug light to go out, and to fully depress the clutch (as to not labour the starter motor) before starting the car. 

its a diesel so should be no need to spray anything with wd40. Sounds like an injector issue, does it smoke when started? Mine runs a bit lumpy/jerky for a few seconds when cold started and usually a cloud of smoke. Ive done glowplugs, but in my experience they don't do a lot on a DI diesel unless its really cold. Pretty sure its injector seals on mine which are leaking slightly overnight into the cylinder. Once running its fine so sounds a bit similar to yours. Some PD's do have a lumpy idle for some reason ive read before usually not a concern

Could also be an issue with the timing. If its set too far retarded then i think that can cause longer cranking and worse starting. Don't quote me on that as im not 100% but something i have read before.

 

Could be the wiring loom for the pd injectors inside the cylinder head :-

 

 

 

Hi everyone. The starting issue has been hit and miss over the last month, until today when the car sputtered and cut out after trying to fire the car up. If it is an injector seal, is it an expensive fix? Would it need to go through a special diagnostic first? Thanks.