My 205 diesel is not easy to start...!

[grifterkid]

Hello all...

I have a 1992 Peugeot 205 non-turbo diesel that up until a couple of weeks ago started at the faintest flick of the key. Great!

Now that is not the case...!!!

The motor churns and churns for ages (I have to do about 3 or 4 starts to be honest) before spluttering to a juddery smokey start until the engine picks up speed (usually with a couple of revs) and normal, superb service is resumed.

If I turn the engine off after that procedure and then give it a minute it will start with the same efficiency as it did a few weeks ago.

Can any of you good people offer some suggestions as to what this could be?

Many thanks in advance...

[welshpug]

glow plugs.

[SmokeEm]

Deffo New Glow Plugs needed. But 1st check they are getting a + feed and make sure the connections are good.

[froggy]

Blue box on the n/s inner wing is the control box for the plugs ,if only diesels had stayed that simple !

[SmokeEm]

^^^ Agreed, clean up the connections on that too before replacing.

[Kieran]

Also check that the pump isn't leaking diesel, or allowing air into the system and letting diesel drain back into the tank.

My dad had a similar with a Citroen ZX diesel, fitted clear fuel pipe and a hand primer. From memory there are o rings on the diesel pump that perish and cause this issue.

[mylittletony]

Agree on the leak back issue. Mine would do this after a few days standing. After a prolonged break it needed hand priming before attempting to start.

That would be a good test, try hand priming it and see if it solves the issue

[grifterkid]

May I just ask how I go about hand priming the engine...?!

[sausage]

Has it got a hand priming bulb on the fuel line?

[andyborris]

Dec 1, 2017 19:21:06 GMT sausage said:

Has it got a hand priming bulb on the fuel line?

Looks like a WW2 grenade! Beware, replacements are c**p, had to put a one way valve into the my Pugs fuel line, because the new bulb failed after about a week!

[slater]

Replace the hand priming bulb with a lift pump and it will solve alot of air leak issues.

[ChasR]

Dec 1, 2017 21:58:23 GMT slater said:

Replace the hand priming bulb with a lift pump and it will solve alot of air leak issues.

Will a Facet do here? I know they sell a few pumps which they claim can be used with diesel.



Like the rest of the peeps said check the grenade/priming bulb. If you pump that until it is hard prior to starting the car and then it fires up you have found your problem.

The replacements are junk. If you can't get one from Peugeot it may be worth finding a working secondhand item

[welshpug]

i don't think the ve pumps are intended for use with a lift pump.

the inline priming bulb was made by lucas and delphi, but I'm sure peugeot still do them, they have a checkvalve in them.

thats if it has one, most 205's ive seen used the remote filter head with a primer in the top of it, these are known to leak air.

[slater]

Yeh low pressure facet/clone is what you need.

The VE pumps have thier own lift pump built in but the way they are plumbed in on the xud etc. means not only is the pump sucking through the filter but also has to suck fuel up from the tank too. As soon as you get a small air leak on the system it will let fuel drop back to the tank between use and in worst case will stop pulling fuel up at all. Its all 10 times worse with veggie oil in them.. I put the pump in mine as I run on veg and it needed a helping hand but it will also cure the priming/airleak problems too as it pre-primes the system. Might not be the best long term solution as the air leaks may turn into fuel leaks but it works. Ive not had any problem with the rotary pump doing this, it might cause slight changes in fueling but it's only receiving fuel at slight 3-4psi pressure so I doubt It makes any difference. It mainly helped my car on motorways when it would suffer from fuel starvation trying to pull viscous fuel up from the tank. Eliminating starting problems was a sideline.

As a side i actually used to be the maintenance engineer that looked after the Delphi line that made the primer bulbs. 'pear pumps' we called them. All the machines came from France and every button was labeled in French with no manuals or anything.. Miss working on stuff like that!

[mylittletony]

Dec 1, 2017 17:31:06 GMT grifterkid said:

May I just ask how I go about hand priming the engine...?!

Dec 2, 2017 10:02:43 GMT welshpug said:

most 205's ive seen used the remote filter head with a primer in the top of it, these are known to leak air.

This is what I remember from mine, the filter canister in the engine bay had a button/plunger on the top.

Did you have any luck over the weekend?

[grifterkid]

Thanks for all the help and advice.

I am going to be spending some time getting to the bottom of this over the weekend.

Strangely the problem became less obvious this week... Well, until today!

Thanks to you all again, I will keep you posted.

[fad]

Just make sure you do the glow plugs first. Easiest thing to check and sort.

[taurus]

Or an even simpler possibility - if the battery is getting old it will struggle to start. Cold weather mean diesels work harder to start.

[stevietuck]

I had the same problem on my 205 mate. Twenty quids worth of new glow plugs sorted it right out.

[ChasR]

If it were me I'd try things in this order

-Try pumping the priming bulb until it is hard. If it is then easier to start you know that you either have a leak in the bulb or the filter housing
-If that makes no difference then it most likely is your glow plugs.

Why am I reluctant to suggest changing the glow plugs first? If one of them snaps in the head due to being there a while you have a big problem then . If they're not original then you should be OK .