COLD WEATHER STARTING

[beeplumber]

Hi all
My Citroen Xantia HDI which has started first flick of the switch since
June is now not starting. it will start if I can run it for several minuets
it is then very lumpy and will not pick up, after a minuet it starts to
increase the rpm and then it's away no trouble for the rest of the day .

new to the HDI so sure what to look at will be replacing the glow plugs
as they are probably original car has done 84,000 miles reg 1999 and
is 110hp exclusive estate .

thanks for your help
Mik

[411514]

On the whole the hdi engine doesnt rely on the plugs for starting, however in this weather lack of glow might well cause slow starting and likely would cause lumpy running in the minutes after startup. Intuitively the problem does sound more like air ingress or bad fuel/delivery, however eliminating the glow plugs might be a good place to start. Whilst you are under the bonnet also check all the air/fuel intake fittings for security and the pipes for holes. Sorry i cannot be more specific if the above does not sort it someone else may have more of an insight, sam

[RichardW]

Check the state of the battery, and have a look at the sticky post at the top of the page about high resistance in positive battery clamp. HDis need a lot of oomph to turn them over and get them to start - and if the battery is a bit low, then they tend to not want to idle at cold start unless you give them a bit of throttle. Are you running it on proper diesel? And when you say not starting, do you mean turning over fine, or sluggishto turn over?

[beeplumber]

have had a chance to look at the car and a think.
So have bought some glow plugs to change and a fuel
filter, changed the filter and have found a deposit in the
bottom almost like black traecale thick and sticky hope that
I've found the cause of the poor starting. car is running on
pump diesel battery post were cool to the touch when I
removed the battery , presently on charge will see how it starts
in the morning.

[Hell Razor5543]

You might want to check the fuel tank pickup unit for crud and grunge. Over time this happens, and this could cause you problems. Here is a link that points this out;

http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... =3&t=42242" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I hope this helps.

James