[andyd]

Plus, to be accurate, a C1 is technically a go cart   

[andyd]

I'm sure if it came down to it the French car would surrender...
Perhaps your car has gone on strike Will?

[tomtom]

I'm sure if it came down to it the French car would surrender...
Perhaps your car has gone on strike Will?

Someone will be burning tyres on your drive tomorrow Will, to stop you bump starting it again...

[cha1n]

Chain is partly right - but the engine has to be revving in order to generate more than the 12v.

Not sure how true this is, I've done these tests on my old octavia and my fiat ducato motorhome and have always got at least 13.7V with the car at idle. I'd imagine that the current would vary a bit though.

[SA Chris]

Battery check first, generally the root of all evil. Any drive in service centre (Kwik Fit if you must, but I try and avoid them like the plague) can do a quick test.

Alternatively it being a C1, you can ask a passing small child (anyone over age 5 would do) to push it for you.

[Will Hunt]

Garage did a battery check and it was FUBAR. Replaced battery and fixed wobbly mud flaps for good measure. 76 sheets inc vat which seems reasonable to me. Hurrah. Thanks all.

[Will Hunt]

After chatting away merrily about me and the missus getting a second car, we are now actually getting serious about it. She's starting a new job in October and we'll need a car each.

So, took ourselves off to The Car People today and had a mooch around. We're quite taken with the Skoda Fabia and wondered if anybody had any comments on the 1.2 petrol engine they put in them? When I asked here before about the Fabia everyone was raging about the 1.9TDI but since the car will do lots of short, stop-start journeys we're steering clear of diesel.

[chris20]

We're quite taken with the Skoda Fabia and wondered if anybody had any comments on the 1.2 petrol engine they put in them?

We were looking at the 1.2 fabia.  Test drove a few and thought they were alright.  Don't know if the newer ones are different but we were looking at 2005 - 2008 and they came in either 3 or 4 cylinders.  I heard that the 3 cylinder has a timing chain instead of belt which saves money on getting the cambelt changed.  We ended up being offered my aunty's 1.2 polo at part exchange price so went with that but I assume it's the same engine as it's 3 cylinders and we've now found out it's a timing chain

[tomtom]

MrsTT didn't like the 3cyl 1.2 - but that was in a polo (same car more or less). Petrol a better idea than diesel for lots of short journeys..

[Fiend]

Having a wee issue with starting my A3 when it hasn't been run for a while:



The slowness / roughness of the start is in proportion to how long it's been left, although over 12 hours it's pretty much similar.

The temperature has no effect whatsoever (5'C start the same as a 20'C start). How recently it's been running has the only effect.

There seems to be no effect from using the battery beforehand (e.g. listening to stereo, turning ignition on and off without starting).

There are no other running / stalling / juddering problems once the engine is running. It never fails to start.

...

I've taken it back to the dealer and had the following work done:

Dual mass flywheel replaced (local Audi specialist and dealer suspected it could be this).
Fuel pump changed (there was evidence of contamination and oil seeping in).
Fuel filter changed twice (before and after fuel pump change).
Glow plugs replaced.
Battery checked.
New cambelt (as part of standard 80,000 mile change).
Also the dealer checked with Audi and apparently the fuel injectors were replaced in 2013 under a general recall.

...but the issue still remains. Possibilities could be battery / starter motor?? Taking it back and forth to the dealer is a pain in the arse so ideas in advance would be helpful.

[SA Chris]

When was battery last checked?

[Fultonius]

It could  be:

Fuel pump timing still not set properly. Hot starts and cold starts (not related to ambient temperature, but engine temperature - as far as I can remember, the pump timing is slightly different dependent on hot/cold mode.)

Fuel system leaking a little bit, meaning that the fuel pump has to prime a little bit. Do you get white smoke after a start like this?

[lagerstarfish]

it might just be laziness

go into the options section of the computer and change the language to "Deutche" - it'll make more of an effort to start properly

it will also make a big deal of appearing to be more efficient

[Fiend]

Battery checked when I bought it two months ago. Problem has been continuous since then.

Don't get any white smoke, not that I'm aware of anyway.

[tomtom]

Its
(1) not the battery (as the engine is turning over fine)
(2) injectors (as they've been changed duh..)
(3) I'd doubt its a fuel supply issue as its fine when warm...
(4) what bellend suggested the flywheel!! never heard of that.... was that ££££?

Its only happening when the engine is cold, so its an cold ignition problem (diesels need high compression to make the fuel burn instead of having a spark plug) - on earlier diesels they had a glow plug in each cylinder, so when the engine was cold this would help the combhustion start - and would switch off when the engine was warm, as the heat within the engine is enough to make it burn once its been running for a while (hence yours sounds fine after 7 min etc..). However, I don't think your VAG engine has glow plugs as its direct injection.. THOUGH.. a 1 min google shows that certainly some A3's have them..

(this video is very very boring..)



So I would be going to the garage and saying - does my Golf (sorry) A3 have glow plugs? If so are they alright?

If its NOT the glow plugs or you don't have them - then it may be more serious. It suggests that there is poor compression in one or two of the cylinders. This could be due to the head (valve seals etc..), valve timing or damage to the pistons (expensive). I had a similar problem in a Nova TDi (had an isuzu engine - superb car...) where it was worn shims on top of the valves that did the timing/valve clearances. Had to be done at a Vauxhall garage - but when done went from starting on a cool day taking 1-2 min (spluttering like yours) to perfect.

[tommytwotone]

My other shout on the above was ECU - I'm assuming someone's plugged into into the relevant diagnostic tool and checked out the fault codes?


You can do this yourself with a number of easily accessible online downloads and a cable, or failing that a check of the PH forums might find you a local VAG technician who can look at it on the weekend for you in exchange for some C.R.E.A.M. Geezer over the road from me is, and does.

[SA Chris]

You mean

Its not
(1) not the battery (as the engine is turning over fine)
(2) injectors (as they've been changed duh..)
(3) I'd doubt its a fuel supply issue as its fine when warm...
(4) what bellend suggested the flywheel!! never heard of that.... was that ££££?

??

[tomtom]

You mean

Its not
(1) not the battery (as the engine is turning over fine)
(2) injectors (as they've been changed duh..)
(3) I'd doubt its a fuel supply issue as its fine when warm...
(4) what bellend suggested the flywheel!! never heard of that.... was that ££££?

??

Meh - brain fade. Sorry. Personally I doubt its ECU as its happening when the engine is cold. Theres two bits of SW that you can use on the VAG engines - theres the generic 'what the engine is doing' software that is there due to an EU regulation so any garage can do basic diagnostics. You can get a bluetooth dongle to read this for £20 or less on ebay and free SW for your ifern/android to check whilst running. Or there is VAGCOM which is VW's bespoke software for doing this. pirate versions and dongles from £20 again.. or the proper version is £400 IIRC. Or find a garage/mate who has it as 3T suggested.

Bodgers tip for diesel engines that start badly when its really cold - carefully and slowly pour a kettle or two of hot water over the inlet manifold to warm it up (and thus aid combustion)... avoid the block as it can (allegedly) crack the block if you pour too much on that.. Though fiend, your A3 lump probably has loads of largely useless bits of plastic covering all the gubbins under the bonnet..

[Fultonius]

He already said he's replaced the glow plugs 

Good shout on the fault codes though.

What makes you think it couldn't be a fuel issue on the unpressurised side?  I'm no expert, but when our fuel leak off pipe was split and leaking, starting after sitting a while always took some cranking.

[Fiend]

Popped into Kwik Fit to get the battery tested. Down to 67% (of something, when it should be 80+%), and the testing machine printed out "Battery Unservicable". Which might be it.

Incidentally A4Audi (glasgow specialists) suggested the flywheel, also googling did indicate that was a possibility. I left it with the dealer for them to check and the dealer also decided to replace the flywheel. Blame them not me. This is all under warranty so far.

[standard]

I wouldn't trust Kwik Fit to tighten my wheel nuts.
You can test your car battery yourself with a multimeter.
Maybe you've got a friend that owns one?

[butters]

Think that Fultonius is on the money with his diagnosis that it's pressure loss on the fuel system given the time involved and it rings bells on something I read a long time ago on the T5 forums. Seem to remember that it's a pain to diagnose as they will need to clamp off the return pipes overnight and then see if it does it again the following morning. Might be worth checking on the forums for your car though the engine will be common across various models.   

Can't see how it would be the DMF either but if it has been done under warranty then no great loss.

[Fiend]

Yeah everyone likes to slag Kwikfit off, dealers and punters. Funny enough Kwikfit like to slag off the dealers too. Which means I'm in the middle with side A saying this and side B saying that, and so all I think the automotive industry is a pile of dick and I'm fed up with everyone I deal with.

FWIW, the KF guy gave me a print-out from their machine, and then showed me the machine itself doing the reading from scratch - after I'd told him I'd have to go back to the dealer to get it done under warranty (and therefore wouldn't be getting it from KF).

I'll keep the fuel pressure loss in mind too, when I was googling start-up problems that didn't come up, will search more specifically for it.

[tomtom]

Think that Fultonius is on the money with his diagnosis that it's pressure loss on the fuel system given the time involved and it rings bells on something I read a long time ago on the T5 forums. Seem to remember that it's a pain to diagnose as they will need to clamp off the return pipes overnight and then see if it does it again the following morning. Might be worth checking on the forums for your car though the engine will be common across various models.   

Can't see how it would be the DMF either but if it has been done under warranty then no great loss.

If it's a fuel pressure problem why does it only happen on cold starts?

Didn't see the glow plug thing - sorry.

[tomtom]

Anyway - sorry to hear it's playing up - and glad they're replacing stuff under warranty rather than piss you about.