Vauxhall Corsa B (1993 - 2000) - 1999 1.5 diesel. Difficulty starting when cold

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Thu 14 Aug 2008 13:42
1999 1.5 diesel. Difficulty starting when cold - millsieman
A friend of mine has a 1999 vauxhall corsa 1.5 non turbo diesel.The problem has been trying to start from cold.When he trys to start the car from cold when it has been left over nite it will not start.He has checked that there is fuel at the injectors but if he fills the pump up with diesel manualy it will start.All the glow plugs have been checked and are working fine.

Can anyone offer any info on the pump..like when it is turned off does it still hold fuel in the pump or does it return back into the tank...sorry if this seems a bit vauge but i'm getting the problem via second hand info.

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 14/08/2008 at 14:36

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Thu 14 Aug 2008 13:49
1999 1.5 Corsa diesel pump - redviper
Im assuming (of course i could be wrong, and im sure someone with more knowledge will correct me, as i dont really know much about desiels) that there will be some kind of valve to stop fuel going back into the tank.

Thefore if there is no leaks around the pump therfore the fuel is falling back into the tank as when your friend puts fulel in it it replaces the empty space and all is well - therfore a replacement pump might be needed.
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Thu 14 Aug 2008 14:16
1999 1.5 Corsa diesel pump - Number_Cruncher
Check for leaks anywhere in the fuel system, from the feed and return pipes to the tank, to the leak off pipes on the injectors. Remember that you might not necessarily see spilled fuel at a leak site, it could be that air is leaking in.

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Thu 14 Aug 2008 14:21
1999 1.5 Corsa diesel pump - Screwloose

NC is right; leaking back is very common on these.

Start by replacing the rubbish-quality leak-off hoses on the injectors. Might need the injector intermediate seals doing too; but those are a skilled job.
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Thu 14 Aug 2008 22:04
1999 1.5 Corsa diesel pump - topbloke
with this being a 15d then it will only have one rubber leakoff pipe because the injectors are linked with a metal contraption so the pipe is an easy fix, iirc the fuel filter is a spin on affair has the filter been changed/off recently, the reason for asking is that there is a heater element between the filter and the filter head when the filter gets changed the screw/nut comes undone half a turn allowing air to enter the system (the heater element has a seal around the top if its been displaced then this is likely the culprit) worth checking, the other things that allow air in are the flexible rubber pipes from the tank to the filter the main pipes are plastic but where they are needed to be flexible they use a rubber fuel hose these perish over time and will allow air to enter the system
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