poor starting

[wiggers]

Hi guys, my 2.0 hdi takes a while in the morning to start. ive charged the battery and that seems ok.
i assume its the glow plugs. my local mechanic said their awful to replace and are normally seized in. is he correct or just after more money? its a november 2004.
could their be any other causes for poor starting?

cheers Chris.

[brodfather11]

Hi
Good glow plugs are essential for good starting . They are usually quite tight to remove if they have not been changed but with a little patience they will come out.
Changing them if that is the problem, is worth it. Get them changed or at least tested

:thumbsup:

[BerlingoHDI]

Hi there i have never had to change them on my 2.0 hdi yet but i think they are due as past week it has struggled to start a little. I have changed them on loads of other diesels and not had a problem, i normally get the engine warm before doing the job as they seem easier to come out. i would have thought about £60 to supply and fit a set of glow plugs.

there could be other possibilities for poor starting but does it only take a while to start when it is realy cold or can it be at any temperature, even on a summers day does it take a while.

[Coco]

Did mine a couple of years ago - no bother.

Give them a soak the night before with WD40 etc just to help things along and just take your time

[geoff]

If you have a multimeter or access to one then the best thing to do before going to a garage is to test for voltage at the glow plugs - no voltage no cold start system operating - and then check the continuity across each glow plug. From here you know whether to spend money or not.
As said above ^^^ remove glow plugs from a hot engine due to the differential expansion rates of alloy versus steel, makes for an easier job.

[Crispy]

I doubt it will be as simple as the glowplugs, they do very little on the HDi it seems.

Have a look at my thread:

http://www.berlingoforum.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=4655

Notice you're in Sutton Coldfield too, Wiggers. Perhaps its colder here than anywhere else. :lol:

---

Btw, I've got dozens of perfectly good glowplugs if you need any, I found out the hard way that they are not the problem

[ffrenchie]

My battery died early doors this winter so I fitted a new one but I found it still churned over for a while before starting if I turned the key straight to the start position. If I wait for the coil light to go out when it is really cold it fires up after two or three turns of the engine. I was told to just keep churning and ignore the light when I bought the car but it seems counter productive when my engine starts easier the old fashioned way.