Cold staring problem

I have a Vauxhall Combo van 1995 manufacture (Opel really), registered in
1998. It has a 1.7 Isuzu diesel engine.

It used to start instantly at the first turn of the key (after the glow plug
light went out) but quite suddenly it has started taking a long time to
fire.

New battery, new starter motor, new glowplugs. It is only a problem when it
has been left for a few hours, such as overnight, the rest of the time it
bursts into life instantly.

It starts eventually, after much turning over.

Any thoughts?

 

could honestly be 1001 things
check the voltage along the glowplug train wire
have you checked the injectors? particularly the one with the sensor wire on
it?

maybe pulling the codes might help also.

mike

 

mike

The RAC guy checked the glowplugs and said they were fine, drawing the
correct power.

I'll check the injectors, what am I checking for? ;-) What does the sensor
wire do?

Thanks for your help.

ythan

 

i have no wish to dispute the rac, but get an ohms meter and check they are
individually less than 20ohms.
as for the sensor wire, it gives a sensor reading about firing etc back to
the ecu/pump.
if that one is blocked / not spraying correctly it will screw the whole
thing.

there are other things it could be , but i'll let others will think of them
my mind is a bit fuzzy.

mike

 

Have you had your valve clearances checked. If the gap has shrunk than the
valves don't shut all the way and you loose compression so poor starting

 

Hi,
My initial thought's were as, prior postings but, after close
examination of your engine details I remembered a few snippets:-
Injector positioning into the cylinder head is crucially
important. You must make sure you have the pointer on the cylinder
head pointing to the green dot on the injector collar and, the
injector lined up to the the collar. This is to line up the pintle
(spray head or nozzle) to ensure maximum burning of the fuel injected
into the cylinder(s)
Next thing to check (And probably the easiest on this engine) is
an actual supply and, glow plug operation. Remove the wire supplying
the glow plug rail and, remove the rail from each glow plug. Now,
connect a multi-meter or a test light to the wire supplying the rail.
Switch on ignition. If the light works (Or 12vDC+) the feed to the
glow plugs is O.K. Next, check all plugs are O.K. How?... Take a piece
of wire from the feed, to each of the glow plugs and "scrape" it along
each of the contacts for the rail contacts. If you get a spark, the
plug is "Using a current" therefore working.
If you do not get a voltage, you have a feed problem. If you
have NO plugs working, read on.
No voltage from the feed wire to the rail usually means the fuse
has blown on the glow plug relay.(Or faulty relay) The relay is found
behind the "Kick Panel" on the O/S of the drivers compartment. Look at
the accelerator pedal. Move your foot to the right, the panel you
touch is the panel you need to remove. Once removed, you will find
(Use a torch, etc) a relay, there will be a fuse you must
check/replace. (Cannot remember exact size of fuse), is a "large
capacity fuse" You must correctly verify, a known good feed to the
glow plug feed wire.
If you get 1 plug working, the rest must be faulty. Replace as
necessary.
Hard starting, Smoke on start up can also point to incorrect cam
shims. AFAIK inlet valves wear. You will need to correctly "Shim" your
camshaft. This "should" be done on service at Vx dealerships. However,
If you haven't paid for "Shim's" on your invoice, It's not been done.
(Can't remember service schedule, Every 20k I think)
To do this, you need to accurately measure the gap you currently
have between your cam bucket and your camshaft lobe. RECORD THIS
MEASUREMENT. Next, remove the shim on top of the cam bucket. Clean it
and if it's not too worn, you will see a measurement stamped on the
underside. This is the shim size. If no measurement, you need to
measure the thickness of the shim with a micrometer.RECORD THIS
MEASUREMENT.At this point, add the previously recorded measurements
together. SUBTRACT the required gap. This will give you the correct
shim size you need.Replace the removed shim with the correct size you
have calculated and all should be well.
If you have ANY doubts, do not attempt the above procedures. Buy
a "HAYNES" manual. This will give you the correct measurements you
WILL need.
Hope this helps
Bilko130.