vauxhall zafia - cold starting problems

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Tue 12 Oct 2010 14:19
vauxhall zafia - cold starting problems - keithtash

my 2ltr zafia 2000 has started being a problem when trying to start from cold . This is an intermittant problem as sometimes the coil light shows on the dash it starts normally , but sometimes the coil light will not show and then it turns over at least 9-10 times before it fires . is this possibly a loose wire , if so where is it located , please help this is causing me a lot of problems ..thanks..keithtash

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Tue 12 Oct 2010 23:37
vauxhall zafia - cold starting problems - piston power

Im guessing from your very vauge description this is diesel?

So do you get power to the glow plugs? Better to remove them and see if they glow.

Do you have a bulb primer on the fuel filter housing can you pump it and get it to start?

It maybe air in the fuel lines caused by worn seals in the fuel filter housing or one or two glow plugs dead & cranking with worn plugs will start if good compression and fuel will pump through to start, but this needs looking at first.

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Fri 15 Oct 2010 10:54
vauxhall zafia - cold starting problems - keithtash

Hi thanks for the reply ,

I have taken the car to an Auto Electrical firm , they state that there is nothing showing on there diognostics and the have checked all the codes ect , but said as this is an intermittant issue it may not be possible to find it until the car is cold and the fault shows itself, so I should leave it over night for them to check in the morning .

This as you can imagine is frustrating because sometimes it will start with no problems and I have noticed when it wont start straight away the coil light on the dash does not come on, but when it does start fine the dash light is showing OK. This may mean that if the start the car on that morning it may start OK and therefore back to square one ect.

I have had the glow plugs changed at my last MOT / Service and they work fine sometimes, could there be a loose wire and if so how do I find it , I am a complete novbice when it comes to Diesel engine cars ...Keithtash

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Fri 15 Oct 2010 17:40
vauxhall zafia - cold starting problems - piston power

The glow plugs work from a relay and timer unit which also throws the light up on the dashboard you may have a loose wire in one of those or a bad connection.

Have you told the garage it's intermitant?

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Sat 16 Oct 2010 11:30
vauxhall zafia - cold starting problems - keithtash

Thanks for the advise , yes the garage is aware it is intermittant .

Is the wiring easy to get to for the layman , or does a mechanic have to deal ?

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Sat 16 Oct 2010 16:40
vauxhall zafia - cold starting problems - piston power

Im not 100% sure of it's location the foot well springs to mind behind one of the panels i think. Haynes manual may show you and even may be in the same place as the Astra which it basically is.

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Sat 16 Oct 2010 17:12
vauxhall zafia - cold starting problems - Cymrogwyllt

I had the 2.0 diesel engine in two cars. On each the bleed off (return) pipes from the injectors tended to fail after 25k or soleading to the symptoms you describe. Eventually leads to continuous slow starting with much churning. Quick, cheap and easy fix as they're push on plastic pipes. I treated them as a service item, changing them every 20k service

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Sun 19 Dec 2010 19:55
vauxhall zafia - cold starting problems - keithtash

Sorry for such long delay in replying to this , just wondered where is the best place to buy these pipes,m I called my local Vauxhall dealers and was told it would cost approx £72 per hr just to diagnose this fault ..kmb

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