Guest KayMarie Posted April 14, 2007 (edited) My car has problems starting it up a lot, especially from cold, turning over and over but not catching on. Can anyone give me advice as to what i can do/look at to solve this? Its a 106 XSi. I know its a 12 year old car and will be a little slower then most but still, i don't think it should be doing it as much as it actually is. Edited April 14, 2007 by KayMarie Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest cknotty Posted April 14, 2007 A friend of mine has a 1.4 XSi, which always used to struggle to start. Turned out the fuel pump was on the way out as it finally packed up on a rally and completely cut out. After the replacement one went in, the car started much better after that. Other suggestions could be a duff coil pack giving a poor spark, or ECU temp sender perhaps? Hope this helps. Chris Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Casanova 0 Posted April 15, 2007 Worth inspecting the plugs and leads too; if they're past it they're not expensive to renew. § Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Enfield 0 Posted April 15, 2007 If the spark plugs and leads haven't been changed I would change those first as they're probably the cheapest and easiest to do. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest KayMarie Posted April 15, 2007 Soark plugs were changed but i'm not sure about HT leads, i'l have a look there. Also, someone on another site said i should try leaving it sat priming for a little bit before i turn it on, which i did and it reduced it a little. I'l try leaving it primin for a little longer today and see what happens.... If leaving it longer makes it start up quicker, what do you think the problem could be? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest cknotty Posted April 15, 2007 (edited) That's strange because my 1.4 doesn't prime at all. The fuel pump only starts running when the ECU receives a signal from the crank sensor to tell it that the engine is turning. Unless the 1.6 system is different of course. I still think this sounds like fuel pressure issues. Either your fuel pump is starting to go, or they may be some fuel leakage somewhere. How old are the fuel feed/return hoses to the fuel rail? Mine were the original ones, and started to look a little past their best. Then I found there was a pinhole leak in the return hose, spraying fuel everywhere! This led to the fuel pressure in the system being lost when the car was off, and consequently it took a few turns to build up pressure again. Have since replaced them with some lengths of high pressure fuel hose, and it has been fine since. Chris EDIT: 100th post: woo! Edited April 15, 2007 by cknotty Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
number2301 1 1 Cars Posted April 15, 2007 Update on this, we also find that giving it a little throttle starts it up straight away, sound like a fuel pump thing? I'll try have a look at the fuel lines. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
djinuk 2 Posted April 16, 2007 my 19 year old xs struggles to start so i just pump the throttle 3 times before starting and catch it then hold it at 2 for \5 secs. all is good then Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest KayMarie Posted April 16, 2007 Yeah, i understand that its old and may need an extra boost but its annoying and i want it fixed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
djinuk 2 Posted April 16, 2007 i wouldnt worry about it , its a old car and you can get away with it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest KayMarie Posted April 17, 2007 Well, after trying to leave it priming again to see if it helped, it doesn't. So the next time I started it, i pumped the accelorator a couple of times and it started pretty much straight away... I know some people who just do this as ritual now on their older cars but does thisa indicate something that i can look at and fix? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest cknotty Posted April 17, 2007 All I can say is that it sounds really strange, as all it does is open and close the throttle butterfly. Perhaps you could take it all out and give it a really good clean out and lubricate the throttle return spring. Maybe have a look the thottle position sensor too? Chris Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest KayMarie Posted April 17, 2007 I'm gonna give everything a good going over on Friday as its my day off. See what we find Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
number2301 1 1 Cars Posted April 19, 2007 It also kicks out a load of bluish smoke when you pump the throttle before starting it, not at any other time though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
