Matrix 1.5 diesel crd 2003 poor starting

[ADH]

its a 3 cylinder diesel and customer complained about poor starting every so often, upon checking all of the glow plugs were found to be duff.

i replaced all 3 and returned the car, all was fine for about 3 weeks then i got the call..." its not starting very well" i have for my own sanity double checked the new glow plugs and they are all fine, power is also fine up to the glow plugs. the lift pumps working fine from the tank and the injector power supply is pulsing at the multiplugs.

there are no fault codes stored and AD has limited info on this jem so any experience with these beauties would be of help . if i ve missed anything out i apologise..so...any ideas?

ADH

[ADH]

bit of an update, the vehicle will start with a tow straight away but gradually get harder to start within 30 minutes it won t start under key, i have removed an injector and cranked it over and there is no fuel coming from it , there is fuel up to it but none out of the end that counts, also the key recognition light flashes when cranked(after tow start it does go out when cranked and started)

ADH

[TopGun]

Have you scoped the CKP?

[ADH]

hi TG

if im honest i m not really sure what i m looking for if i did scope it, i have nt had any experience with the pico scope that came with my diag. any advice would be gratefully recieved, are you suggesting maybe a weak signal?

ADH

[TopGun]

Yes,

Bit of a stab in the dark but often a weak CKP will not allow a start at the slower cranking speeds and with the electrical load caused by the starter. If and this is an if, as I am not familiar with the vehicle at all, it has a CSP the PCM will use this after a number of revolutions but until it starts and the PCM cannot sort out which cylinder is which.

Vauxhalls particularly suffer this fate, a push or a tow and they will start. On the key not happy! all down to CKP.

I would prod around with the scope remember the beauty of a scope is it can do no harm. See what you get (check all the pins as you will often get a reduced signal on the earth return)

Good Luck

[ADH]

cheers TG

i ll do just that, i ll keep you informed as to the outcome.

ADH

[ADH]

hi TG

fitted new ckp sensor and still the same, the thing that throwing me at the moment is when the vehicle won t start the key light flashes on the dash but as i ve said it goes within ten yards with a tug and once its warm it will start ok for about 15 minutes and when it does start the key light goes out with a second or two.

ADH

[mcab86]

Hi ADh!

Sounds like you could have a bad injector !!!    What i would suggest  is a leak off test ! As a qwick test only "A trick i offten used as a get home with a bad injector , is to sqweeze  (restict)the leakoff return pipe from the injectors with a pliers with somone else turning the key .  This ades  the fuel system to reach its target pressure to start ! once engine has started you can release pliers becuase the engine rpm maintains fuel presure. This also confirms a bad injector. 

Hope this helps