Can't Get My Tigra to Start

Apr 18, 2006 15 Replies

Hi, im new to this forum and i dont know much about cars but.... Well i crashed on Easter Sunday, i was rear ended and although there isn't much damage, i can't get my car to run. It cranks over and sounds like it wants to start but doesn't. After reading the forums i saw that Vauxhalls dont have an inertia switch and can't think of what else it could be. Any help would be greatly appriciated. Many Thanks



Most likely there is a fuel shutoff value that has been tripped by the crash and now the fuel is off to the engine. Look in the owners manual if you have one. It will need reseting.

Ah I see you say they don't have an inertia switch. So not that then.

The message from snipped-for-privacy@tesco.net contains these words:

Really? I'm amazed. How do they shut off the fuel in the event of an accident then?

You could start by checking that the pump is working, as it is mounted at the back of the car in the top of the fuel tank it is possible that it has been damaged in the rear end shunt.

Also double check the info regarding the inertia switch, forums are sometimes a bit like the Sun, just because you read it doesn't make it true.

Are you absolutely sure the Tigra doesn't have the cut off switch?

Have you checked that fuel is getting to the donk?

You could get a can of easy start, get the engine cranking over & spray some into the air intake, if it fires & tries to run then it's definitely a petrol problem.

I have located the internal fuel pump and checked it with a volt meter, it has just over 10v gettin to it when the ignition is on, however its not making any noises or vibrations.

IIRC the pump only runs for a couple of seconds when the ignition is turned on without the engine running, you may need to disconnect the fuel pipe to check that it is running as they are quite quiet when running.

Usually when i start the car i hear the motor running, There is nothing at all now, had my ear to it and not the slightest noise or vibration, yet still has a confirmed 10v supply. tbh i think the motors died.

In the past a cats EFI ecu only ran the pump when receiving an ignition pulse, no ignition, no fuel....

maybe thats what the tigra does?

Yea But, theres voltage at the motor, so then it should be running right?

The message from "john" contains these words:

That's not the issue. I thought modern cars were required to have a cut off so that they didn't run on after an impact. Fractured fuel lines and a still-running engine are not a splendid combination if the line's still holding up well enough to supply fuel to keep the engine running while still spraying quite a bit around.

Im gonna try a new internal fuel pump today and see what happens.

Aha Problem Solved, I got a new fuel pump off a Corsa from the Scrapyard, when i was removing my old one i noticed that the neutral wire had come off the motor, Its running again. Although i still have a lot of repair work to do and a spare fuel pump to sell. Thanks for your input guys.

It may be that the ECU is not enabling the injectors. My car (nissan micra) would fire and try to run on easy start (I suspect), as the spark plugs are not controlled by the ECU, it just doesn't run the injectors if it's not wanting to start it (wrong key)

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