Intermittent engine start on a diesel r reg xantia 1.9td

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Steviebax
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Intermittent engine start on a diesel r reg xantia 1.9td

Post by Steviebax »

Hi folks.

I've got a strange issue with my xantia. When it's cold starting there's no problem - the heater plugs work and the engine turns over strongly and starts maybe after 2 or 3 turns. However if l drive it for a few minutes until it's warm for example, stop it and then try to start it again a few minutes later it does one of two things. Firstly it turns over and over strongly but won't start and the suspension tries to raise at the same time as turning over. On the other hand it can turn over really slowly as if the batteries gone flat - checked the battery and there's nothing wrong with it - sits about 12 - 13 volts with the engine off and over 14 volts when the engines running.

Anybody got any ideas - could it be an ecu fault or fuel starvation or what ??

I ain't got a clue.

One other thing - the rear suspesion is hard over bumps etc and when l turn to enter my driveway which is an uphill t junction the rear wheel lifts of the ground instead of dropping down. Otherwords when l turn and start up the hill the front wheels are on the hill and one of the rear wheels - depending on which way l'm turning in - is on the flat road, the other rear wheel leaves the ground. I would of thought the suspension on this wheel would drop as my wifes vectra does'nt do it - all wheels stay on the tarmac.

Please help me out.

Cheers

Steve
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vince
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Post by vince »

Hi Steve, your starting problem sounds electrical to me. Usually intermittant faults are down to electrical issues. Id guess that you had a fauly earth somewhere? I had a similar problem on a Passat...when it was cold everything worked fine, but when it was warm the dash wouldnt work due to the contraction and expansion of the contacts on the circuit board.

As all wiring is metallic and prone to expansion and contraction this is where i would be looking....if that is the case then the good thing it should be cheap :wink:

Start by tracing the wiring around the starter motor back to earth and checking the connection point. As with all electrical items, ideally work with the ignition off. :wink: Also the wiring for the diesel stop solenoid and relay for the pump.

If you have chance it may be a good idea to get any codes read :wink:
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Peter.N.
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Post by Peter.N. »

I suspect that the two faults are not related, your lack of starting could be due to a defective fuel solonoid in the pump, easy to get at unless you have key pad starting.

The variable speed starter could be the motor itself or as Vince says a bad connection somewhere. Check the earth lead from the battery to the engine and both battery connections.
dnsey
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Post by dnsey »

The best way to check for an earthing problem would be to connect a voltmeter between the starter motor body and battery negative. If everything's OK, the meter should read near zero when operating the starter. If you get a significant reading, increasing when the starter is sluggish, you'll know for certain that there's a bad earth.
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