Trouble starting Citroen ZX TD

I recently bought a Citroen ZX 1.9TD and as it was very dificult to start in the cold I replaced all glowplugs, and while I was at it replaced air, fuel, and oil filter with engine oil flush and full oil replacement. Since doing all the filter replacements the engine runs very well when started. I still have an intermittant starting problem. When it starts properly I switch on ignition, wait for the glow plug light to go out then start the car normally 1 or 2 turns of the engine. Other times I switch on ignition wait for the light to go out and turn engine maybe 20 turns, if I have not heard any sound that the engine nearly started I stop and repeat, to heat up the plugs again. If it doesn't start after 5 mins of this I give up and come back later. When I have had trouble starting it I do see lots of white smoke come out of the exhaust when the engine is almost starting, then a final plume of white smoke comes out when it actually starts.

Can anyone suggest what I need to be looking at to fix this?

Thanks for any help.

Reply to
marcus
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This sounds silly, but when the engine is warm and refusing to stat, try pouring cold water over the front of the diesel pump where a little wire connects to the fuel-cut off solenoid. I had a ZX TD with exactly the same problem, it was the solenoid that was sticking preventing fuel being fed to the engine. Pouring water over it always sorted it out.

It did the same when cold too, but then you just have to wait until it starts..

Mike P

Reply to
Mike P

If it's chucking out white smoke, that's unburned diesel, ie no glow rather than no fuel.

I'd suggest checking out the glow plug relay - ie are the glow plugs actually doing anything?

(intrigued by the "Since doing all the filter replacements the engine runs very well when started." - were the filters knackered enough to stop it running well before?)

cheers, clive

Reply to
Clive George

Mine did the same. Cit indy I took it too said the solenoid was only part opening, giving it fuel but not enough to start it.

Reply to
Mike P

next time it won't start add a jump lead from the battery to the glow plugs, if it then starts ok you know it is either wiring for the glow plugs or the relay itself (common problem on lots of vehicles, because they use a lot of power the contacts get burnt, sometimes they make contact, sometimes not.)

Reply to
Mrcheerful

marcus wrote in news:31f0b7ad-aa51-48a9-9d60- snipped-for-privacy@m34g2000hsb.googlegroups.com:

I found a quick check to see if your glowplugs are working, is to put the interior light on, turn the key for glow plug warming, wait for the relay to click back off. You should see the interior light dim, then get brighter. This was on my Cit ZX 1.9 NA.

Reply to
Tunku

The smoke sounds like it might be unburned fuel. The symptoms sound like a possible intermittent glow plug problem. If the wiring's OK, I'd find the glow plug relay and give it smack next time it plays up.

Further to the other suggestions here, I have read of valve clearances causing hot start problems on XUD engines in various Peugeots and Citroens although I never experienced it. Does it matter if your car's engine is hot or cold?

The fuel feed just before the pump may be a clear pipe, check it for bubbles. Bubbles mean the fuel system is drawing air somewhere between the pump and the tank, some Peugeots have metal fuel lines under the floor which corrode through. Too much air will stop the engine from starting but I'd also expect poor idling if that were the case.

Good luck.

Reply to
Douglas Payne

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