bad starter

[bobbee]

right. im a div ok? my 2.7td mistral will not start unless i keep turning it over long after the glow plug light has gone out. i have to turn the ignition on 2 or 3 times before it will fire up. i changed the plugs cos i had this prob and it aint cured it. also very very smokey now. done all the filters inc the small banjo one.help cos i got mot soon

 

[jims-terrano]

Have you def got power going to the glow plugs?????

Has this happened since filters were changed?

What colour is the smoke?

Jim T

 

[bobbee]

got power to the plugs. 11 volts. been told theres regulators for the plugs. changed the one under the fuses on drivers side inside. hear a clicking under bonnet when turning ignition on to activate plugs. 2 small connections with what could also be regulators on off side by battery under wing. these click in time with plugs being activated and plug light going out. anyone KNOW if these are regulators? driving me nuts:nenau

 

[makeitfit]

Yep the bit by the battery is the glo plug solenoid. On mine it was clicking ok but the cable from it to the plugs was corroded
Rewired it and then found the big cables doing the same thing:doh
Changed the whole thing and the connectors and bingo starts again
Worth a quick spy

 

[bobbee]

bads starter

thanks. when all yhis rain stops ill check it out. can they be renewed easily?

 

[Spook]

i take it mistral same engine as Mav? mine started this way turning over for ages before starting, then getting progressively worse till wouldn't start. theres been a few with similar problems and after checking relays/wiring/glow plugs - all ok. then changed battery (it would jump start off another car), still no luck:doh have your batt tested b4 spending small fortune on a new one:doh. it turns out to be starter motor. from what others have said these engines need a really quick starter.

do a search on the forum:bow.

Good luck

Spook

 

[Bibio]

Bad Starter

I have been having the same problem with my Mistral, especially in the cold weather in the morning, Sometimes when I turn it over a few times it wont start and it drains the battery quite quick, Is there a way to test the starter ?.


Also sometimes when it starts if I dont pull the throttle out and leave it reving for a while it will lose power and cut out !, I think it could be a fuel problem !, could be drawing in air but cant find where !, Then I have to turn the engine over for ages till it starts , once it starts it runs great !,

John

 

[Spook]

i had my mechanic neighbour come round with his tester probe thingy:thumb2, told me how much the starter was drawing from the batt.
prob best route is to check ur glow plugs (dowload section?), then the relay circuit, test batt, check live/earth to starter (can use jump leads to make temp earth/live connection).

 

[Bibio]

Thats my day off filled this week !

John

 

[supertaff]

Bobbee .... has this starting problem started since you did the filter change ? .... If so , before you try starting her, try priming the fuel system ( on top of filter ) . If she seems to start better, this would indicate air getting into the system.
Start checking the easiest fixes first, eliminating these could save you a lot of time & money in the long run.
Matt.

 

[bobbee]

did have a problem with a pattern fuel filters seals off the net but i sorted it. definitely have no air leaks on fuel side. the prob has slowly got worse and cant pin it down to when i changed the filters. sorted the smoking out. reset the valve clearances, they were well out. BIG THANKS TO THE TEAM FOR HAVING THE DOWNLOAD.goes like a rocket but the touchpaper is wet! any way, located the two solenoids offside under the wing so im gonna replace them and see unless anyone has a better idea.

 

[Spook]

before shelling out for relays, try bypass straight from batt to glow plug circuit (max5 secs or so). need hefty bit of cable there's a good few amps flowing. also clean connectors to the relay base.
it's quite rare for relays to go wrong, crappy connections more common:thumb2

 

[bobbee]

thanks for advice lads. ill try the priming pump to see if that makes a difference. i did take the filter off to check if the primer was working and found that the only one way valve is on the line to the pump. line from fuel tank is an open line. is this right? thanks again:clap:clap:clap

 

[bobbee]

well, this morning 4.30, priming like mad, it was already hard but still did it. no difference at all. still had to turn ignition off and on 3 times and keep turning over til it started.

 

[kirkyoke]

are you sure the valve clearances are correct? is there definately 12v going to the glow plugs regardless of what the warning light says? have you removed & tried each glow plug across a battery? these are not usually a problem cold starting, hope you get sorted mate :thumb2
dave

 

[bobbee]

done the valves the weekend. no difference. put a meter on each of the plugs and got 11 volts to each so im lost now????????????????????

 

[kirkyoke]

you may have voltage going to each glow plug but is the glow plug working??? remove the link bar from the glow plugs, run a live from the battery to each glow plug in turn if you get a bit of a spark when you touch the terminal (threaded part) it is working if not it's fooked!! :lol

 

[bobbee]

right. checked all plugs. all ok. put a meter on power feed to plugs and i get 12.25v til dash light goes out and then 11v permanently. is this right? :nenau:nenau

 

[bobbee]

sorted!!!!!!!! plugs turned out to be crap even though new. took three times as long to heat as old ones id kept. managed to salvage a set from all my old ones, and bingo! started first time. stupidly i believed what was written about them when bought off ebay. does anyone know the proper spec for the plugs cos theres a lot on ebay, i been through 5 sets in less than a year so theres a lot of crap out there.:clap:clap:thumb2:thumb2

 

[kirkyoke]

There should be no voltage to the plugs once the light has gone off, probably the relay sticking hence the reason you have used 5 sets of glow plugs so quickly