95 Mondeo TD Starting Probs - AdamP
My 95 Mondeo TD recently had problems with an air leak in the fuel system which meant it had starting problems and therefore the starter motor and battery took a hammering, this is now fixed thanks to suggestions from this forum :-) thanks (fuel primer diaphram leak) and has been working fine for 2 wks.

However it now has a new fault! when cold starting the starter motor turns it over but it doesnt fire, and it makes a strange noise and vibrates as if its not turning over properly, it sounds to me as if it is partially turning over then bounceing back and forth not properly compresssing and fireing.
When attempting to start there is a strong smell of diesel.

Could it be that the battery or starter motor does not have enough power to kick the engine into life??

Yesterday after multiple attempts it did start and when running it was absolutley fine, once warm it could be stopped and started again first time.

any help would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks Adam
95 Mondeo TD Starting Probs - Peter D
Worth checkin the Glow Plugs are OK each has to be disconnected and ideally a meter put in series and connected to the + terminal to measure current drawn. Could be between 12 and 18 amps but should all be the about the same as each other. If they are the originals they are quite old plugs. Pop into an auto store and get them to check your battery cranking capacity, usually free. Regards Peter
95 Mondeo TD Starting Probs - biker rob
I had almost the exact same problem with an Escort TD. It was the starter on its way out.
Try and borrow one prior to buying so as to check it out - they only take 10 minutes to fit.