Technical Newbie in trouble

Currently reading:
Technical Newbie in trouble

pfgannon

New member
Joined
Dec 20, 2011
Messages
39
Points
12
Hello everyone.Got my 2007 1.3 multijet last week and allready problems.Wasnt starting great on two cold mornings but eventually kicked in and ran smooth on the road.The glow plug light flashed for a few seconds but eventually went off.Got into it tis morning to go get a set of glow plugs and it starts fine and then just dies.Tried it a few times today and same thing,kicks in and then nothing.I noticed the water in diesel filter coming on when ignition turned on but not allways.The only thing i fiddled with since I bought it was I checked all fuses to see if they where in good nick and also to find the one for the horn as it is not working.Have I upset the engine management????
 
All questions and solutions welcome. I only have a small bit of knowledge on diesel engines and none on doblos.Have had mini coopers,vw corrados and vw golf gti's all my driving life so will have to learn a bit on the diesels.Read a few posts on clearing the water but not sure where the filter or drain for it is.Is it in that round compartment top left of engine bay over the power steering fluid?
 
Found a good post on taking out the fuel filter.Will try it tomorrow,fingers crossed.If I have no joy the garage I bought it from will be getting a ring.Have a 3 months warranty but I reckon its only on the engine and gearbox.THERE COULD BE TROUBLE AHEAD.
 
Was onto the garage tis morning and they said the very same,try sorting the fuel filter.Cleaned the whole thing twice over,refitted and still the same problem.Getting really cheesed off at this stage,any suggestions?
 
Charged battery overnite,full power.Put it in and its worse than yesterday.Has to turn over a few more times than usual but kicks in and same story fires up and then just dies.All dash lights fine,really puzzelled.No transport for Christmas, nightmare.
 
Maybe was best to replace fuel filter with a brand new one instead of cleaning it...
also if you bought car from garage and you have 3 months warranty they should be the ones sorting it out, specially if was not running perfectly since you got it...
 
3 months warranty alrite but I reckon they wont pay for a transporter to get it over there or even use there own.Happened at the wrong time as they are closed until the 3 of January.Would love to get it sorted before then but its not looking good.
 
3 months warranty alrite but I reckon they wont pay for a transporter to get it over there or even use there own.Happened at the wrong time as they are closed until the 3 of January.Would love to get it sorted before then but its not looking good.

I know what you are saying...wrong time of year but it could be fuel pumps?
they are expensive on my multipla for both fitted was £1000!
im pretty sure transport is cheaper than that...
Try to work out a deal were you pay half of cost of transport maybe? But i would let them sort it out as could be something serious...
 
The pump from the tank to the filter is working fine,no blockage from filter to injectors in the pipes.Trying it once more today and will have to leave it until tmorro.Thanks for the help do far
 
when it starts , how long does it run for? , a minute..less??
will it then restart instantly?,
our Marea did that when the Glow-light had been flashing repeatedly , ran long enough to get to 3rd gear then had to coast to a stop, then restarted perfectly..,
If it doesn't restart instantly I would suspect fuel supply issue,
Charlie
 
Turns over,kicks in and then just dies after a second or so,just like its not gettin fuel,air or something.If it was the imobiliser or similar I dont think it would kick in at all.Might try a push tmorrow and try start it in gear???
 
Checked a few things early tday,hence my other thread on the belts.Van is good nick ie brakes,wheels,general service bits and pieces,lights etc etc.But the pig wouldnt even kick in tday.Really puzzeled.Even if the fuel filter light comes on intermittently I presume it should still start.The sensors hardly cut off starting the vehicle or firing the engine??Reckon I will know more about doblos by the end of the week than I ever knew about my petrol VW's.
 
Problem solved,well hopefully.A week of checking over everything and finally found what was wrong.Checked the glow plug relay and the power cable from the battery ie the red one wasnt connected properly to the connection.The screw threads where actually worn so after a bit of DIY secured it tight.Put everything back together,turned the ignition and she started first go.All errors on dash have dissappered as well so delighted for now.Reckon it was a replacement relay and not put in by a very carefull mechanic.All I have to do now is replace the shody belts,is it a difficult job?
 
Last edited:
The bad starting was down to the relay I presume. The cutting out could have been a fuel fault that caused it to cut out.Cleaned out fuel filter several times and lines going to the injector pump and injectors.Used a bit of redex in the system to see would it help aswell.Fingers crossed all will stay ok.Not so great on the diesel engines but learning.Any hints on the belts.Do the water pump and power steering work on seperate belts?Cant really see as I havnt had the chance to take off the undertray.I believe the 1.3 multijet has a chain rather than a cambelt.Isthat so?
 
Very well done. We too have A 1.3MJ on a 57 plate so was looking at your thread with interest.

The 1.3 is indeed chain driven.

Good post(y)
 
Great that its solved, however don't understand how glow plug relay, working or not, could stop it running after a few seconds.

The mysteries of modern motoring?
As cars these days seem to be heavily reliant upon a raft of sensors to tell the computer what to do, it is possible that bad / garbled feedback from a dodgy relay could throw the system into a tizzy simply because the input the computer was getting was outside the programmed variables. It's getting strange info so decides that it has to shut down rather than risk a potential accident.
An analagy might be a person getting toothache, it's one tiny, tiny part of your body and yet, for the strangest of reasons, it can really screw up your whole day if you don't deal with it. It can make it impossible for you to concentrate on work, or make sleeping difficult...for example.
 
Im glad that you have it sorted
The 1.3 multijet it is indeed chain driven i ddmt think to put that on other thread sorry...
My bro has a panda 1.3 multijet in italy and only drove and had a look at that once so i cant remember what auxiliary belt or belts were like. Maybe as a separate belt for air conditioning?
 
Back
Top