Zx won't start

Nutkin333 · Post by **Nutkin333** » 27 Nov 2005, 20:55

Hiya
I went away for 9 days and now i come home the car won't start.
Let me start from before i went... it was a little slow to start sometimes but always managed it and seemed to be firing up on 3 plugs, a little wobbly on start up (bubbling?).
I tried to recharge the battery but that does't seem to make much difference, it was a battery charger not a jump lead start. Now... i'm just debating what to do, should i get a new battery or change all the glow plugs? Plus ... is it easy enough for a girl to change them and indeed find them lol.
Cheers

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 27 Nov 2005, 21:12

A good well charged battery should turn the engine fast for a very long time. I expect the battery in your ZX diesel is 50 amp hour or more (it should look quite big). Charging from a mains charger can take quite a long time and does depend on the capacity of the charger. the charge rate is often marked on the charger and if for example it is rated at 4 amps it will take at least 12 hours to charge the battery reasonably well.

Zx diesles will generally start on 2 glowplugs, 1 is a bit difficult and 3 is fine. The trouble is they were all made at the same time and have operated the same number of times and so once one fails the others follow quickly.

Changing them is not difficult in principal and in fact they mustn't be tightened too much. A bit of grease on the thread before fitting may help and they must be screwed home by hand before being tightened to prevent thread crossing. However the job is easier if you have a good toolkit - for example I found the ones on my BX TD engine (slightly different) were easy if I used a deep socket (like a traditional plug spanner). The end ones on a Zx are apparently difficult (I've never had to do them on ours) but it will probbaly start temporarily on the centre 2. (if a bit smokily!)

Please don't try and undo the plugs themselves with an open ended spanner.

The plugs are on the front of the engine and have a heavy black electric lead linking them and secured with a nut. One near the middle of the engine (clutch end - no 1 or 2 - i can't remember) has 2 leads - the second one being the feed. If the ignition is off there is no need to disconnect the battery.

jgra1 · Post by **jgra1** » 27 Nov 2005, 21:14

hi Nutkin
there are a couple of tests you can do to prove a bad glowplug. will suggest them later/

I would say that, with the right tools, they are all quite easy to replace. I have started just to replace the ones that are bad.
I can change all four in about 30 mins, but i am getting quite used to it now!
lol

one other thing you can try is to prime the fuel supply, squeeze the fuel suply bulb, right hand side of engine, high up, looks like a black, elongated lemon

squeeze it a few times and give the glow plugs two goes before trying to start her up, may run ok again
If the battery has never been a problem before i wouldn't replace it at this stage, just give it 12-20 hours charge time

where abouts are you?

John, Sussex

Nutkin333 · Post by **Nutkin333** » 27 Nov 2005, 23:32

Hiya there and thanks for the replies,
i'll try as much as i can in the morning hopefully it's not too yacky tomorrow, i only charged it for about 3 hours on a 12 something or other (v)? I'll try for longer next time. Also will try the fuel thingy too before changing anything. it's just darned annoying it goes now.
I'm in York john
Thanks

James.UK · Post by **James.UK** » 28 Nov 2005, 13:07

Hiya Nutkin.

There is an excellent garage in York, run by a man called John and his two sons that deal mainly in Cits.. Phone number is -- 01904 400454

I found them to be extremely helpfull and very cheap..

Please let us know how you get on, and details of your car would be nice, age, model, etc.

Nutkin333 · Post by **Nutkin333** » 28 Nov 2005, 16:02

oh great cool , i'll keep that number handy thanks
Ok i'll introduce my car .....
She's a Citroen ZX 1.9TD avantage
Green with dark grey interior.
She's done about 118000 or so i forget without looking
95 reg on an M.
She's outside charging...i hope.... my friend lent me this charger you plug in, it's got a choice of 6 or 12v so i set it to 12v and theres a green power light with amp bars next to it, i was guessing that the amp bars would light up as it charged but so far there is nothing

. So i hope i am doing it right, has been charging since 11, when do you tihnk i should try her?
Cheers Sammy

James.UK · Post by **James.UK** » 28 Nov 2005, 16:26

Hi Sammy.

Personaly I know zilch about electrics, so I would have got a mate to try jump leads from his car battery onto mine while his engine was running, if I was having starting problems.

My charger has a guage on it that shows its charging, and it also has a fuse on it, so it may be worth checking to see that the fuse is ok..

You can short a glow plug from your battery to start the car, not sure how, but now I've mentioned it I'm sure someone will tell you.

I don't know how accessable the glow plugs are on a Turbo, but again someone will be able to advise you the easiest way to do it.

It snowed a bit here this morning, we have about an inch on the ground at the moment.

I hope you have better weather to work in over there.

.

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 28 Nov 2005, 16:40

You can feed the glowplugs directly from the battery positive terminal with a jump lead (be careful of touching other bits of metal) but there is no point unless the glowplug relay/timer is defective.

Post by **Peter.N.** » 28 Nov 2005, 17:45

Was the battery flat when you came home? if it was, and nothing was draining it, the chances are that you need a new battery.

Nutkin333 · Post by **Nutkin333** » 28 Nov 2005, 23:30

am gonna go and get a new battery tomorrow ... the charger did absolutely nothing to it at all.... i really hope thats all it is.

James.UK · Post by **James.UK** » 29 Nov 2005, 16:23

Hi Sammy.

Can your friend try jump starting your car from his battery to see if it will start? Connect his battery to yours with his engine running, then give it a minute or two before you try to start yours..

When you go to get a new battery they should be able to test your old one to see if it really is kaputt. Oh, and take the radio code with you..

Nutkin333 · Post by **Nutkin333** » 29 Nov 2005, 19:41

Hahaha ..... too funny, wish i'd have read this post first.
I got a neighbour to jumpstart me, took ages tho. At the garage they said it looked ok, a bit low, but nothing serious. But then we tried to restart the car and it didn't want to play, that was even after running for a long time.
So i told them to put a new one on, and YEY !!!
She seems to be fine bless her ..... gonna put a blankie on the engine and buy a cover for her tomorrow, thats what we did in the US and it's a lot colder there.
As for the code...ahem well .. i did forget to take it, and i'm sure i have it written on one of the documents laying around here somewhere

But all seems well so far yippee
Thanks for all the advice
Sammy