Vauxhall Zafira B (2005 - ) - 06 2.2 petrol direct - starting problems

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Wed 6 May 2009 15:54
06 2.2 petrol direct - starting problems - TheOilBurner
Getting a funny one with the Zafira. About 1 in 10 starts (cold) the engine splutters and then dies within a second or so. Rarely it won't start at all on the first turn of the key, but is then fine with the next turn.

No codes are showing, and I've already tried cleaning the throttle body, with no improvement at all.

It also frequently shows the "Coolant level check" message on the upper console MID at least once every 10-15 miles, which the Vx dealer has told me to ignore as no coolant is being lost... I don't think this is linked to the starting problem (expansion tank sensor issue?) but you never know...

I don't think the stalling is the well known fuel pump/regulator issues, as it never (yet) stalls on the move, only when starting.

I'm scratching my head on this one, so any help is much appreciated! :)
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Wed 6 May 2009 21:16
06 2.2 petrol direct - starting problems - TheOilBurner
All ideas welcome. I'm wondering whether it might be ECU issues or perhaps a sensor somewhere?
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Wed 6 May 2009 22:07
06 2.2 petrol direct - starting problems - SpamCan61 {P}
I'd be looking for crank sensor or coolant temperature sensor issues maybe, although I'd expect some stored diagnostic trouble codes to show.
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Wed 6 May 2009 22:09
06 2.2 petrol direct - starting problems - topbloke
possible egr valve sticking, there is a known issue but usually sets a trouble code, the rework for the egr issue is field remedy 2015 and is basically a software update, chuck it back at the dealer and ask if it is running the latest software in the engine ecu, if not get them to update it and then see if that helps,Regards TB
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Thu 7 May 2009 11:20
06 2.2 petrol direct - starting problems - TheOilBurner
Thanks guys. Will take your advice and see what they can do.

Cheers.
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Tue 14 Jul 2009 16:02
06 2.2 petrol direct - starting problems - TheOilBurner
Just a quick update:

Fixed the coolant level messages with a new sensor.

The starting problem continued, and it one point recently the engine went into limp mode (sounding very rough) before restarting fine. This time it recorded a fault code: P0000!!!

That not being much help, I decided to start with the most common fault and work from there, so I changed the fuel pressure regulator a couple of weeks ago.

Since then it has notched up about 2k miles and started and ran lovely with no hiccups at all.

It appears then, that the problem is solved. Touch wood!

Interestingly, my local Vx dealer claims to have never sold a fuel pressure regulator before and never heard of any problems with it... But somehow was able to get one in stock the same day...

Hmmm... :)

Edited by TheOilBurner on 14/07/2009 at 16:04

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