poor starter 97 fiesta van diesel

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Mon 13 Mar 2006 15:28
poor starter 97 fiesta van diesel - poxy fords
hi can any1 help ? i have a fiesta van 1997 1.8l diesel,with a battery in it thats 1yr old aprox,i have it serviced every year but the van seems to take about 8 seconds to fire/start after the glow plug light has gone out ,this is drain's the battery(just clicks then) forcing me to jump start the devil every other day,do i need a new battery or could this be a bigger problem ??
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Mon 13 Mar 2006 16:12
poor starter 97 fiesta van diesel - RichardW
I'd be checking the alternator output if it was mine. Does it always take a long time to fire, or just when it's cold? What does it run like once it's fired up - could be a glow plug problem (cold starting only, rough when fired up) or air problem (starting any time, runs OK once started)?


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RichardW

Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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Mon 13 Mar 2006 21:28
poor starter 97 fiesta van diesel - Crinkly Dave
I assume the thing starts up OK when warm, so not a air problem?

Basics first. Check all leads and take back to good clean metal. Have battery checked on high discharge meter, then alternator. Good vehicle electrician should be able to check current on starter.

Messed about like this once, even fitted new rings, only to find the battery lead (which looked OK) was not making a good contact. Expensive lesson.
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Mon 13 Mar 2006 21:56
poor starter 97 fiesta van diesel - poxy fords
thanks guys,it runs fine when it finaly starts and if the engine is warm from trips out but if i dont use van for a couple of days the bad starting problem rears its ugly head again,the problem has got much worse with the cold weather,glow plugs haven't been changed since i've had it(3 years) could this be the prob ?? tried to charge batt fof 4 hrs on sat but only seems to solve the problem for a day or so !!!!!! frustrated !!!
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Mon 13 Mar 2006 22:08
poor starter 97 fiesta van diesel - Screwloose
poxy fords

Ignore the glow-plug light; that's just Henry's idea of a little joke. Wait until you hear the relay click off [about 15-20 secs] and then immediately turn it over.

If your battery can't crank it for [a total of] at least a full minute when fully charged; then either it, or it's connexions/cables are faulty. Bad connexions get hot.
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Mon 13 Mar 2006 22:13
poor starter 97 fiesta van diesel - Civic8
Battery should be able to cope with longer sessions than that,has it the correct battery on it or a cheepie replacement,either way its either Alternator not charging correctly or battery needs replacing/unless it has connection problems??
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Steve
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Mon 13 Mar 2006 22:25
poor starter 97 fiesta van diesel - poxy fords
battery is a type 075 600a 60ah
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Mon 13 Mar 2006 22:26
poor starter 97 fiesta van diesel - poxy fords
oh and i've tested connections at batt they seem tight and greased
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