Hello all,
I have a 94 astra diesel turbo.
It is refusing to fire now the weather has become cold.
I know its not my battery as I took her in one night gave her a good charge and put it back on in the morning and my car still refused to fire up.
If I disconnect the feed of the glow plug rail and attach a 12-24v test screwdriver this should tell me if its getting feed and if the relays ok??
what feed should they be recieveing? 6v? 12v?
what else could I try as its done this for the last four days now but fires up once I have charged my battery again in the afternoon.
cheers all
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You say it's not the battery, but have you had it tested professionally? You say it starts after charging the battery in the afternoon. Although the battery turns over the engine, there might not be enough woompf (technical term) left in the battery to also power the glow plugs, as the starter motor is hogging all the power.
I'm not a diesel expert, but have seen this previously mentioned here.
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Take a look at this thread, it could give you a few ideas.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=4&t=90...9
Steve.
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god that was scary, I was thinking glow plugs, then batteries, then progressing to new pumps ££££££££££££
Better whip these plugs out and see if they glow with 12v
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Well take heart, tackle the easy, cheap and logical stuff first, my Rover 115 was playing up quite badly but fitting the glowplugs worked a treat. BTW my brother has Astra TD with the Isuzu engine and he's been chasing the fault for quite some time (2 years!), sealing joints/unions with silicon, etc. Luckly he lives on a hill and it does bump start, he's now deciding whether it's worth it, it's N reg 120,000 on the clock. Just for info - a site suggested that appling grease to the outside of joints/unions would provide a temporary seal that could aid tracing air leaks. Good luck, let me know how it goes.
Steve.
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just took feed cable and bar. connected test lamp on feed and proded each plug , one refused to light up...
would this do it? surely car would start on 3 cylinders?
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connected test lamp on feed and proded each plug , one refused to light up.
As you've found a fault, why not rectify it and see if it cures the problem.
surely car would start on 3 cylinders?
You answered this question yourself at the start of this thread. Quote:-It is refusing to fire now the weather has become cold.
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If glowplugs are not the cause, check the following posting:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=4&t=91...9
This posting draws attention to Isuzu-engined Astras suffering cold-starting problems due to valve seat sinkage and I now know this to be very widespread. A local non-franchise garage had THREE Diesel Astras in on the same day last week with that very same fault.
The Isuzu engine was fitted in Astras, Cavaliers and, I think, Vectras from about 1994-on. This valve seat sinkage means that valve clearance is lost, especially when the engine is cold, and insufficient compression can be generated for firing to take place.
The cost of having the valve clearances professionally reset is likely to be towards £100. I've no idea if the seats continue to sink, thus causing the cold-start problem to return, but I suspect not.
I would guess that Isuzu used a retaining compound to hold the steel seats into the aluminium head and this compound either breaks up or oozes out.
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definitely agree with dizzy.
This was the problem back in winter '97 with my cav isuzu engine. The valve clearance adjustment solved it and there has been no further problem - still own same car.
Be warned: later the following summer, the starter motor went which they put down to the strain I put on the engine that winter turning it and turning it trying to get it going.
Splodgeface
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Pray to God that it's not the glowplugs if it's got the Isuzu Engine
On my previous car, 95 Cav TD, the glowplugs went, tried patten parts twice and they failed within months, despite installing correctly to the correct torque.
The orginal glowpugs are made by NGK. Under a licensing agreement throughout Europe, NGK will only supply Vauxhall/Opel dealers, and not the general public.
Three years ago, Vauxhall wanted £40 EACH for plowpugs + VAT !!
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A friend tells me that Halfords sell glowplugs for this engine at well below the Vauxhall dealer price. I don't know what make they are though.
I regard NGK as a top make, and I know that better quality glowplugs cost more to manufacture than the downmarket ones, but £40+ each is ridiculous. I have good reason to believe that Vauxhall would pay no more than a tenth of that price for top quality glowplugs.
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I couldn't believe it either, and just thought it was the dealer trying to extract some money from me.
However, I looked in the NGK catalouge where it states "refer to dealer", and then phoned NGK's head office in the UK, only to be told the that they are solely sold under a licensing agreement !!
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I'm currently trying a set of Delphi glowplugs, I paid just under £10 each. I'm lucky that we have a local diesel specialist who seems on the ball. Their URL is:-
www.johnhoggdiesel.co.uk
Steve.
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well I tested mine with multimeter today and one was shot. I purchased a cheap one until I can afford the set and she started first go and Im extremely happy as she hadnt been started for days!!!
Thanks all for your help ..
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