Technical 2003 1,9 N/A idling & starting issues

[BargainHunterZA]

Hi all,

New to the forum & brand.

Picked up a minter 2003 Doblo 1,9 non turbo panelvan with 97 000 k's on odo with FSH at non-franschised dealer. Base model, no rev counter etc.

Has a few erratic issues. hot or cold:

1. Sometimes, it won't swing. Dead. Dash lights up, that's it. Leave it for an hour. She fires up.

2. Sometimes, she won't rev up, as if accelerator pedal is "dead". After a while, will rev up. Or, switch off and then she fires up again without an issue.

3. Has a very rough start, I suspect glowplugs, will check this weekend.

4. Has an over-rev upon gear change, there's a post elsewhere but youtube link is broken.

Other than that, she runs very smoothly, battery is new.
Previous Owner's Driver told me of these issues, suggested it relates to a removed alarm/immobiliser. Problem just seems to erratic to point to this.

Any other pointers to take into consideration?

Brake pedal not returning, leaves stop lamps on, easy fix. Horrible sway, shocks likely never been replaced.
Not shaken her down yet.

Been told that oil pump chain likes to fail at 150 000 k's. Will likely do this and cambelt ( no idea if one is fitted? ) and few other maint items over weekend.

Any leads?

Thanks!

Benjamin
Wintery JHB in South Africa....

 

[BargainHunterZA]

Anyone?

 

[BargainHunterZA]

C'mon Members, I know that you have the answers, I have trawled almost every thread, drawing a serious blank here.
Thank you

 

[BargainHunterZA]

Any leads where I can get the info to check for fault repair?

 

[ConradM]

Hi
I had something similar, including cutting out momentarily whilst driving?, it was faulty key code receiver in the ignition switch. It stopped recognising the key. "Code" light comes up on the dash. That familiar to you?
Don't cha love intermittent electrical sensor faults.
Took a new ignition barrel, which meant keys, ecu and fuse box, and then door locks, to cure it (then lost the use of aircon cos the new fuse box that came with the ecu didn't have the fuse or board space- so had to refit old fuse box to new ecu to stay cool - oh and no remote key now).
Good luck!

 

[HEP]

Worth checking the earth strap from the battery to the chassis common fault maybe breaking down

 

[BargainHunterZA]

Hi
I had something similar, including cutting out momentarily whilst driving?, it was faulty key code receiver in the ignition switch. It stopped recognising the key. "Code" light comes up on the dash. That familiar to you?
Don't cha love intermittent electrical sensor faults.
Took a new ignition barrel, which meant keys, ecu and fuse box, and then door locks, to cure it (then lost the use of aircon cos the new fuse box that came with the ecu didn't have the fuse or board space- so had to refit old fuse box to new ecu to stay cool - oh and no remote key now).
Good luck!

Hi

Thanks for the reply.

This is what happens, first start up, accel pedal does not register, engine light on. Turn off, re-start and all is good, no engine light. Has over-rev when changing gears, takes patience to learn to shift slower.
Same happens with brand new spare key, never used spare key, until a week ago to see if it was a faulty chip.

Then short stops after driving, less than hour stop, and she won't start. Push start is fine. Or wait about 30 minutes and it all happens again, as per first paragraph.

No faults on diagnostic, but could be a cheap diagnostic tool that does not read this car's codes?

Just over 60 k miles, 102 000 kilometers. FSH at Agents / indie shop. Stock standard, no butchered harness etc.

 

[BargainHunterZA]

Worth checking the earth strap from the battery to the chassis common fault maybe breaking down

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

It seems fine, will check earth for corrosion. Swings just fine.
But... If idling and hazards are on, I can hear revs dipping, as hazards flash. Battery is a year old. Battery was often out of the vehicle, to use for Client's forklift. And then back into van to use for deliveries. May have caught a spike when it was refitted?

I'll check charge rate, but my Fluke is useless when it comes to quick response readings. It evens it all out, damn Yanks and their clever True RMS technology


Plain old panelvan, no central locking etc.

What I have noticed, is that lights only work when key is on. No park lights when key is off. Is this normal, Owner's Manual makes no mention of this feature.

 

[ConradM]

Hi again
If "code" message light is on, on the dashboard, when it WON'T start, it's not accepting/recognising the key. Unlikely to be a problem with the key chip as you've tried the spare key.
Otherwise the immobiliser is (UK model), behind the plastic panel next to the door by the drivers right knee. May be a loose wire there? Press button on top of the unit to reset.
I was told never assume a new electrical component doesn't have a fault. E.g. Your battery sounds worse when hot?
You may need a look over from a garage or someone with another code reader.
Ref swaying rear end - how good are the big fat yellow spring assistors? Should look like bump stops above the axle. Bad or degraded ones make it ride very badly.
You can get the front lights to stay on for a bit by flashing main beam called "follow you home", 30 secs per flash, within 2 mins of stopping. I think the little plastic bar/button on the ignition barrel near the key is part of a "parking lights on" system but I can't remember whether the key has to stay in. I think push the button in and rotate the key back past "off"(?).

Have fun getting to know your vans idiosyncrasies
(I'm struggling to decide whether i want the cd/radio to have a permanent wire to keep time and CD track place, at a risk of flattening the battery when I forget to turn it off).

 

[BargainHunterZA]

Hi again
If "code" message light is on, on the dashboard, when it WON'T start, it's not accepting/recognising the key. Unlikely to be a problem with the key chip as you've tried the spare key. yup, excluded this possibility.
Otherwise the immobiliser is (UK model), behind the plastic panel next to the door by the drivers right knee. May be a loose wire there? Press button on top of the unit to reset. Will deffo take a peep.
I was told never assume a new electrical component doesn't have a fault. E.g. Your battery sounds worse when hot? will be buying a new one, just in case. Sometimes the starter "drags" a bit to swing her over, indicating low amp supply. I'll check charge rate and current battery condition, before laying out hundred quid.
You may need a look over from a garage or someone with another code reader. Read somewhere that Fiat has their own code system and it could be that generic reader misses faults?
Ref swaying rear end - how good are the big fat yellow spring assistors? Should look like bump stops above the axle. Bad or degraded ones make it ride very badly. They're FUBAR, not sure I'll find new ones. Come to live with the ride. Seats are shytte, squab is very uncomfortable. Seems a norm on these vans
You can get the front lights to stay on for a bit by flashing main beam called "follow you home", 30 secs per flash, within 2 mins of stopping Saw this, only headlights tho. I think the little plastic bar/button on the ignition barrel near the key is part of a "parking lights on" system but I can't remember whether the key has to stay in. I think push the button in and rotate the key back past "off"(?). was wondering what that button was for. Will check it out.

Have fun getting to know your vans idiosyncrasies NFi how the Spaghetti's got away with these quirks....
(I'm struggling to decide whether i want the cd/radio to have a permanent wire to keep time and CD track place, at a risk of flattening the battery when I forget to turn it off) Fitted my Mazda ute's OEM deck, has nifty feature of turning off after 1 hour, if ign is off.

Just dislike the fact that it has no temp guage fitted, all in the name of cost saving....

 

[BargainHunterZA]

Update,

Starter motor was faulty. Cannot find spares for her here in South Africa, not even after market. Not even a rebuild kit :bang:

No joy on the overrevving issue, or the dead accelerator pedal upon initial start-up.

Methinks these models were a sad tale, few hundred sold in our country, in all the years of being here.

Will check e-bay for the parts.

Any idea why the accelerator pedal is faulty?

 

[BargainHunterZA]

Anybody out there that knows 1,9 d motors?