Hard to start my Fiat fiorino diesel van

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Sat 14 Oct 2006 00:14
Hard to start my Fiat fiorino diesel van - Fireman
Hi everyone, could somebody please help me. I have a 1993 Fiat fiorino 1.7D van, and its hard to get it started. I turn the key, wait for the glowplug light to go off then i try and start the engine. It turns over and starts for a split second but then stops, and i have to try about 6 more times to start it (only turns over these times). When it finally starts i have to keep the gas pedal down (doesnt rev at all whilst doing this) and then it suddenly revs away. After its started it will start perfectly for the rest of the day, but the following day it will be hard to start again. I need to fix the van soon as i am helping a mate move house next week.

Another problem i seem to have is the van will only go up to 55mph, even downhill on the motorway :(

Many thanks in advance for any help :)
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Sat 14 Oct 2006 00:18
Hard to start my diesel van. - Big John
You probably have an air leak(before pump and/or rubber scavange pipes/endcap) or fuel filter problem.
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Sat 14 Oct 2006 00:22
Hard to start my diesel van. - bell boy
or down on puff ? these engines never set records even in the regatto but should be faster than that
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Sat 14 Oct 2006 00:24
Hard to start my diesel van. - Fireman
I will replace the fuel filter during the weekend, But how can i check for an air leak? :)
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Sun 15 Oct 2006 01:25
Hard to start my diesel van. - Big John

Number_Cruncher came up with a good tip on a previous thread:-

"Although this is cheating, one way to quickly check the system is to take the fuel cap off, and, using a rag to make a bit of a seal, blow a little air into the tank - you aren't looking to build much pressure at all*. While you do this, get an assistant to check for fuel spurting out of the low pressure pipework, filter, and leak off pipes. I have used this method a few times, when the leak wasn't obvious.

As you are only using a rag, there isn't much chance of building any serious pressure - you just need enough to encourage fuel to flow out of the leak, rather than for air to be sucked in, which doesn't leave any trace!"
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