This might sound daft, but have you tried bliping the throttle as you're cranking?
Mine is a breeze to start from cold - indeed since I fixed the leakoff pipe it now starts within a second or so of cranking, with only a little puff of white smoke and no lumpy running for a few seconds like before. When warm however, it can take a bit to get it going but I've found that bliping the throttle slightly fires it straight into life. My guess is it chucks a bit too much fuel in and is slightly flooded, and opening the throttle lets more air in and it fires.
Glow Plug Relay
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blueboy2001
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Dave Burns
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Ok Pete, my voltage measurements from a 1.9td good starter:
Battery voltage at rest 12.3
Voltage at plugs during cold glow 10.5
Battery voltage during cold glow 11.6
Blueboy, a diesel doesn't have a throttled intake, it gets the same volume of air per stroke at any speed and doesn't need a specific fuel to air ratio as in the petrol engine, which is one of the reasons for its greater efficiency over petrol.
The more fuel a diesel can get during cold starts the easier it will start, it can't be flooded.
The amount of fuel delivered is decided by the governor and not neccessarily by throttle pedal position.
If you have to apply the accelerator during starting there is something wrong, this pump is designed to deliver the maximum available quantity of fuel for cold starting, and should do so regardless of accelerator position.
As soon as the engine starts, the centrifugal governor cuts off the start quantity and goes to idle quantity.
The governor can also operate in the oposit direction, for instance if you are decending a hill in low gear using engine braking, the engine will be turning faster than the setting the accelerator is at, in this case the governor can actualy cut off the fuel completely, gradualy restoring it as the revs drop.
Dave
Battery voltage at rest 12.3
Voltage at plugs during cold glow 10.5
Battery voltage during cold glow 11.6
Blueboy, a diesel doesn't have a throttled intake, it gets the same volume of air per stroke at any speed and doesn't need a specific fuel to air ratio as in the petrol engine, which is one of the reasons for its greater efficiency over petrol.
The more fuel a diesel can get during cold starts the easier it will start, it can't be flooded.
The amount of fuel delivered is decided by the governor and not neccessarily by throttle pedal position.
If you have to apply the accelerator during starting there is something wrong, this pump is designed to deliver the maximum available quantity of fuel for cold starting, and should do so regardless of accelerator position.
As soon as the engine starts, the centrifugal governor cuts off the start quantity and goes to idle quantity.
The governor can also operate in the oposit direction, for instance if you are decending a hill in low gear using engine braking, the engine will be turning faster than the setting the accelerator is at, in this case the governor can actualy cut off the fuel completely, gradualy restoring it as the revs drop.
Dave
The car has not been used since Sunday afternoon, so it's been stood cold ever since then as I used the train today as I had to go to Wales (dont ask).
Someone else suggested to me that it might be that the battery isn't producing enough Amps? It's got a sticker on it saying 'Cold start performance 270amps'. We thought it might be worth bunging the battery on charge for an hour or so, so we did. I also had another fiddle with the manual pump primey fuelly dooberie (I'm just *so* technical).
Anyway, popped back out, disconnected the charger, reconnected the battery etc. Put the key in the ignition, did a few heats, and prepared for the effort of starting. But there was none - it started first time. A tad lumpy, but it started first time!
I've played with the manual primer before and it's made no difference, so I'm hoping it wasn't that which did it. The battery seemed to be fine before I charged it, but clearly something has made a difference.
Any theories on what has happened here?
Is my battery not powerful enough or something? If so, I'd be interested if someone could explain to me how the battery affects the starting performance, why it starts eventually and why its fine when warm etc to help me understand it a bit more
Hopefully, it'll work tommorrow. Fingers crossed that I've fixed it, but you know what sods law is like
Someone else suggested to me that it might be that the battery isn't producing enough Amps? It's got a sticker on it saying 'Cold start performance 270amps'. We thought it might be worth bunging the battery on charge for an hour or so, so we did. I also had another fiddle with the manual pump primey fuelly dooberie (I'm just *so* technical).
Anyway, popped back out, disconnected the charger, reconnected the battery etc. Put the key in the ignition, did a few heats, and prepared for the effort of starting. But there was none - it started first time. A tad lumpy, but it started first time!
I've played with the manual primer before and it's made no difference, so I'm hoping it wasn't that which did it. The battery seemed to be fine before I charged it, but clearly something has made a difference.
Any theories on what has happened here?
Is my battery not powerful enough or something? If so, I'd be interested if someone could explain to me how the battery affects the starting performance, why it starts eventually and why its fine when warm etc to help me understand it a bit more Hopefully, it'll work tommorrow. Fingers crossed that I've fixed it, but you know what sods law is like
It doesn't sound to me as though your battery is the correct size, but I am not very familiar with the 'starting current' figures.
On charge (ie engine running - battery charged) you should see between 13.8 and 14.4 volts at the battery terminals. Engine off and after being left for a while you should see 12.7 volts for a good battery, 12.6 for a normal battery and 12.5 volts for a poor battery.
The more usual measure of battery capacity is Amp/hrs and I see that the recommended size for a BX is 50 A/h. I would have thought that this was a minimum and that a slightly bigger one would be advisable, especially if you are planning on keeping the car (it will probably last longer!)
It may be interesting to check the voltage betwen the negative terminal and the engine casting while the starter is operated. Any significant reading would indicate earthing problems.
On charge (ie engine running - battery charged) you should see between 13.8 and 14.4 volts at the battery terminals. Engine off and after being left for a while you should see 12.7 volts for a good battery, 12.6 for a normal battery and 12.5 volts for a poor battery.
The more usual measure of battery capacity is Amp/hrs and I see that the recommended size for a BX is 50 A/h. I would have thought that this was a minimum and that a slightly bigger one would be advisable, especially if you are planning on keeping the car (it will probably last longer!)
It may be interesting to check the voltage betwen the negative terminal and the engine casting while the starter is operated. Any significant reading would indicate earthing problems.
Just popped out to start it - it's been sitting there having not been touched since 8.30pm last night.
Gave it a few heats, turned the key...
Bingo. Started I really hope it was something as simple as the battery. I guess the battery I have isnt good enough, can anyone recommend a decent alternative?
Gave it a few heats, turned the key...
Bingo. Started
I really hope it was something as simple as the battery. I guess the battery I have isnt good enough, can anyone recommend a decent alternative?-
Jon
If you went to a Citroen dealer, or came in here for a battery for a Xantia TD then you would get a Fulmen Durastart (CITDS5)rated at 605 CCA and 60AHR. Thats what I use in my ZX, with no starting problems ever.
A battery of the same size, and what would have been fitted to the car from the production line is an 065, rated at 495CCA and 55AHR. CCA is cold cranking amperage and AHR is amp hours. An 065 is the cheaper option, but still "man enough" for the job.
A battery of the same size, and what would have been fitted to the car from the production line is an 065, rated at 495CCA and 55AHR. CCA is cold cranking amperage and AHR is amp hours. An 065 is the cheaper option, but still "man enough" for the job.
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Jon