cold starting on 1996 disco 300tdi

In article , duncan writes

It wont be the Diesel thickening modern DERV does not do it (well not in UK conditions)

It will be more to do with the engine oil getting thicker and the starter not turning it fast enough to get the compression.

Reasons for this could be....

lazy starter

Bad connections to the starter (especially earth)

Earth braid breaking up

Poor battery condition ( caused by... battery age, lack of charge, over night drain etc)

Think along those line

Good luck

300 Tdi's should start with no problem even on very cold mornings. As your problem appears to be temperature related, I would first satisfy myself that that all the +ve and -ve batter leads are in good condition and that their connections are clean. Do this by attaching a jump lead from battery -ve to the engine block on a cold morning, ensuring a good connection on the engine, and if starting is improved then your earth connections need cleaning up. A similar method could be used to test the +ve, but unless you are confident of what you are doing get someone who is to do it!!!

If that does not help, have the battery checked (Halfords or the like usually offer free battery checks). If the battery is ok check and clean the connections to the alternator.

Hope that helps

Richard

I had exactly the same problem when I first got our D90 300tdi a couple of years ago.

It turned out that the glow plug light on the dash was working - but the glow plugs weren't. (I was surprised that it started so well normally and only showed a problem when it was really cold.)

There was a 60 amp fuse in the circuit which had been removed by the previous owner - I bought a new one and it hasn't failed to start since.

Just because the dash light works and the relay clicks, don't assume the glow plugs are actually glowing.

Good luck.

On or around Tue, 20 Jan 2004 22:01:11 -0000, "Joskin" enlightened us thusly:

bet that took some finding. whyTF would anyone remove the glowplug fuse?

meanwhile, to the OP: how old's the battery? we had this problem on a 300 TDi, starting fine until that last 2 or 3 degrees came off the temperature, then not enough battery.

you can try a double-dose of preheater - note also that the glowplugs stay on for several seconds after the light goes out - if you watch and listen closely you may notice them cut off again. so sometimes waiting an extra few seconds after the light goes out may help.

re: battery, too - you *can* fit a type 644 battery, which is both bigger and cheaper than the 069 that it's "supposed" to have. You need to

a) relocate the wiring loom which runs around the end of the battery so that it runs over the top and

b) modify the battery holding clamp with a big hammer. On ours, there's about 3mm clearance between the battery and the end of the rad.

You may be able to fit a 643, dunno. (same battery with terminals the other way round)

Checked the glow plug relay yet?

Steve. Suffolk. remove 'knujon' to e-mail

Due to this, from the first year I had the car (1996) in winter I only fill 5W45 full synthetic engine oil.

But fitted with that on a could start in Czech at -18C the engine turned scaringly slow but started anyhow any time. The first 30 seconds very rough so I had to let it run for a couple of minutes before taking of from the deep snow.

Probably a problem cause by the diesel. In arctic countries you can have an engine heater installed running on 220AC to heat up the engine in the morning or even after work.

Jurjen

duncan wrote: