Hi all,
I'm in need of some help...
I've been having an ongoing issue with my TDi 90 with poor starting from cold. It seems to get worse with lower ambient temperature. On a good day it will turn over a few times before starting. On a bad day it will take 3 or 4 turns of the key (each a few seconds of cranking) before it bursts into life. Once started it runs fine and it can be fairly easily restarted for a several hours afterwards (although I think this depends a lot on the ambient temperature - it's always difficult to start in the morning but usually fine when I come to leave work 10 hours later in all but the recent coldest conditions).
On prolonged starting attempts it will throw on the engine management light and flashing glow plug light (and P0726 error). Very occasionally after a really difficult start the ESP light will come on but a restart clears that. It's never failed to start eventually.
Here's what has been done so far (that I can remember) with no long term improvement:
After replacing each of the sensors (during mild spells) it worked OK for a week or two, then got worse again. Other stuff was done to the car on both occasions (battery disconnected for prolonged period, wiring poked, new starter motor), so it's difficult to say what improved it briefly on those occasions.
The problem started around the same time I had a replacement (MYP) gearbox fitted (and new clutch & DMF at the same time), although I'm struggling to imagine what could link the two.
As you can see I've spent quite a lot of time (and money) recently but don't know where else to go from here. Any advice would be most appreciated!
I'm in need of some help...
I've been having an ongoing issue with my TDi 90 with poor starting from cold. It seems to get worse with lower ambient temperature. On a good day it will turn over a few times before starting. On a bad day it will take 3 or 4 turns of the key (each a few seconds of cranking) before it bursts into life. Once started it runs fine and it can be fairly easily restarted for a several hours afterwards (although I think this depends a lot on the ambient temperature - it's always difficult to start in the morning but usually fine when I come to leave work 10 hours later in all but the recent coldest conditions).
On prolonged starting attempts it will throw on the engine management light and flashing glow plug light (and P0726 error). Very occasionally after a really difficult start the ESP light will come on but a restart clears that. It's never failed to start eventually.
Here's what has been done so far (that I can remember) with no long term improvement:
- Crankshaft sensor replaced
- Camshaft sensor replaced
- Sensor wiring back to the ECU checked
- All glow plugs replaced (with correct type for the TDi 90)
- Brake light switch checked
- Glow plug relay box checked
- Earth lead checked and cleaned up
- ECU temporarily swapped with a known working one
- Parked nose down on a hill overnight
After replacing each of the sensors (during mild spells) it worked OK for a week or two, then got worse again. Other stuff was done to the car on both occasions (battery disconnected for prolonged period, wiring poked, new starter motor), so it's difficult to say what improved it briefly on those occasions.
The problem started around the same time I had a replacement (MYP) gearbox fitted (and new clutch & DMF at the same time), although I'm struggling to imagine what could link the two.
As you can see I've spent quite a lot of time (and money) recently but don't know where else to go from here. Any advice would be most appreciated!