Hello,
I wonder if any of you have experience of this, A Vauxhall Frontera 2.0 " SPORT " which refuses to start ONLY when the cabin is warm, other times it is fine, but if left in the sun, it will turn over as normal, but refuses to start, if I leave the windows open, and let the cabin cool down, the car will start without any hesitation. Is there a known fault ? where should I start to look for a bad connection ?
It is a 1994 L registered car with 88 000 miles.
cheers !
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Need to discover what it aint got, sparks or fuel or, I suspect, both. Need to check for power and current from the main relays and whether the relays are being pulled in by the ECU. Difficult one but not impossible. This only happens if left in heat of the sun rather than the heat generated by the heater?
Andrew
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Simplicate and add lightness!!
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Maybe you could locate relevant relay(s) in the cabin (i.e. for injection system/fuel pump). Then borrow a hairdryer and try locally heating them up & cooling them down in turn. You should be able to locate it.
My guess would be a dodgy circuit joint that opens/closes in sympathy with thermal expansion/contraction.
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When it refuses to start, is the ecu light flashing? If so, it could mean that the ignition lock hasn't recognised the electronic chip in the key and won't switch off the immobiliser.
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Thanks for the replies,
I have replaced the crankshaft position sensor,coil and leads and removed and cleaned / replaced the relays and checked all the visible wiring, where I found a wire chafing on the block. all we need now is a hot day, although it was fine yesterday, it was certainly related to the cabin temperature rather than the under bonnet temperature, as it could be alleviated by leaving the windows / sunroof open.
I'll let you know if this has cured it !
PS Dynamic dave, I have heard of cases where other signals can confuse the transponder and prevent the signal reaching the decoder in the car.
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The local news reported a little while back that there is an area in Weston-Super-Mare where a transmitter (mobile 'phone I think) means immobilisers of cars parked in the shadow of the mast won't disarm so AA/RAC have to tow the car out of range of the transmitter before they will start.
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If the immobiliser is anything like the one in my Chevy, then the engine wouldn't turn over if the key wasn't recognised. Same thing would happen if it was a safety interlock which was my first thought.
This problem sounds like the key and interlocks are OK but the ECU isn't providing spark or fuel.
You can check the spark by pulling a plug lead. A screwdriver stethoscope might tell you if the injectors are working, if you can get to them (I don't know the Frontera engine.) It won't tell you if there's any fuel getting into the cylinders though.
Could it be that fuel is draining from the fuel rail and 10 secs cranking and a five minute wait re-primes it?
Aprilia is on the right track though with his hairdryer suggestion, if it's definitely related to cabin temperature.
Kevin...
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