Author Topic: No start (Read 4769 times)

clbanman · « **on:** January 10, 2008, 07:43:54 pm »

Got up to go to work this morning and had my first ever diesel no start issue. It ran fine yesterday and I shut it off as usual when I got home. This morning it cranked but didn't fire. Cranking speed was normal, ambient temperature was slightly above freezing. Engine seemed to "kick" slightly and there was a slight haze out of the exhaust but didn't fire. When I got home I looked at the timing belt, no obvious damaged teeth or evidence of slipping/jumping a tooth. No abnormal or unusual noises when cranking. I dont' have timing tools so can't confirm the timing. I have voltage to the glow plugs with key ON. Would fuel checks be the highest priority? Suggestions on most likely cause? I've only had the car for a few months but never had any issues with starting previously.
92 Golf 1.6 NA

jtanguay · « **Reply #1 on:** January 10, 2008, 09:06:26 pm »

yep fuel dude. im pissed off at this stupid car of mine... my injector return line plug was like half off... and it 'slid' back on nice and lubed up... and i blame them for the hard starts lately. all it takes is a little bit of air to ruin your day. i gave my lift pump to a guy on here to try and help him out and i wish i still had it now... my starting smoothed out much quicker with it, which leads me to believe air in the lines for sure. you should check those return lines for signs of leaks. i had to crank for about 40 seconds before my car even kicked when i changed the one that goes back to the pump :roll:

do you have a lift pump? how long did you crank for? 20 seconds or so of cranking should get it to catch... if it still doesn't catch at 20 seconds maybe stop solenoid? engine has good compression right?

burn_your_money · « **Reply #2 on:** January 10, 2008, 10:32:14 pm »

If you have a haze out the tailpipe it isn't the stop solenoid. It could be a fuel/air leak still though.

I'd bet on bad glowplugs though. White smoke is retarded timing or too cold of combustion chambers.

You might have had 3 good plugs yesterday and today that third one crapped out leaving you with 2, which is pretty hard to start on when it's cold.

Was it plugged in?

somolovitch3 · « **Reply #3 on:** January 11, 2008, 04:27:27 am »

Hey, Tyler, I will put my money on glow plugs as well. :oops:

When I got my 81 Caddy, three of four were "toast", and it would not start even when it was 40 F outside! :roll:

Just because there is volatge to the glow plugs, does not mean they work. :twisted:

There are several ways to test them, you might as well buy some, test them! And pull the old ones. If you replace one or two, well heck do all four!

There is a post (one of mine) on step by step replacement.

Only take an hour or so, relax and enjoy your personal time with your.............car.

clbanman · « **Reply #4 on:** January 11, 2008, 06:33:26 am »

I know the glow plugs are marginal/iffy because this one has never started as well as my other NA. I assumed that with ambient temps above freezing it should start even without the plugs working right. I'll check resistance on them tomorrow.
Engine condition - no idea. I was told by the PO that the engine/tranny has about 200,000 km on it (not original - PO installed). No service information on the engine.
Fuel solenoid is clicking IMO enough to inidicate that it is actually moving.
Car was not plugged in. No lift pump. Cranked for about 45 to 60 seconds - and yes I know that's not real good for the starter. Tried WD-40 in the intake as well (working by myself so sprayed it in and then got in the car and cranked) with no fire.
I have to get a new return line (the one with the clear section) cause I broke that while trying to remove the clip off the timing cover. :evil:

burn_your_money · « **Reply #5 on:** January 11, 2008, 08:41:33 am »

If you are doing the WD40 trick spray it onto a rag and put it on the end of the intake (before the filter) that way it draws in the vapours. Definitely not recommended but you do what you have to do

bigblockchev · « **Reply #6 on:** January 11, 2008, 05:46:29 pm »

I'm betting glow plugs too. When that last glow plug goes it wont start unless you plug it in for several hours. If it is cold maybe not even then. Frequently things happen suddenly are electrical related, one minute it works and the next it is burnt out. Even two glow plugs will usually start though poorly. I would test the bus strap, I bet you find all the plugs are open circuited. When you switch on the ign with the drivers door open you should see the dome light get a little brighter, when the glowplug relay times out. If nothing changes the plugs aren't drawing any current so either the plugs are hooped or the glowplug relay or fuse is. Cheers Dan

clbanman · « **Reply #7 on:** January 19, 2008, 04:15:57 pm »

Thanks to everyone for your help. It was the glow plugs. It took a while because I ordered glow plugs online to save money and they ended up backordered. In the end I bought new plugs locally. Installing the 4 glow plugs without touching the injector pump or fuel lines wasn't quite as difficult as I had expected. Three of the four were bad (two infinite resistance, one 730 ohms). The engine starts better now than it has since I bought the car.

burn_your_money · « **Reply #8 on:** January 20, 2008, 06:05:51 am »

glad to hear you have it straightened out