Tipo 1.4ie wont start, pulley sensor possibly?

Hi all

The thing is, my Tipo sometimes just wont start, no matter how long I crank it (I've tried it, used up my battery and nothing). The weird part is that, if i pushstart it, it acts as if nothing is wrong :S I can immediately turn it off, an turn in on again using the key, with no problems at all :S. The car doesnt even have to start by being pushed, a couple of turns of the engine are enough and then I can start normally with a key. I've tried cranking it while in 2nd gear lets say, but that wont do the trick not enough rpms i guess....

The problem occurs randomly, sometimes in the morning (most oftenly in the morning to be exact), the car never stalled or died on me once started. The engine is the 1.4 ie unit, i've noticed that when this happens, there is no spark nor fuel being injected (monopoint unit). A single spark occurs sometimes, only one, just after begining the cranking, but thats it.

I've read quite a few topics with people having similar problems like mine, and a common issue seems to be the crankshaft/pulley sensor. The thing is, I see that other peoples cars had problems like dieing during driving etc. but mine, once started, works like a charm :S

Any ideas appreciated, thanks

My mum has the same thing on her Tipo 1.4ie L reg. Sometimes it will crank and crank and others first turn of the key and brum!
Also noted, no spark.
My thoughts are, coil or coil amp?
Is there a way of plugging the ECU into a computer and reading any errors or is the ECU not that advanced? if i can do it, what software/leads do i need.

Take off the air filter and look, does it spray fuel when there is no spark? Mine doesnt spray fuel, nor make a spark, so I dont think mine is coil related.

Im not sure on the fuel bit, I didnt think of checking that when it wouldnt start.
Is there anyway of testing the crank pulley sensor?

well, just for the record, in my case, it seems that it was the pulley sensor after all. Got a new one (25 euros), replaced it (10 min of work), and havent had a problem since, no problems the last couple of days.

Where do i find this sensor on the engine? Flywheel end or cam belt end.
Was the part you bought new? and do you know the part number?

Flywheel, on top of the gearbox, just look around, there are only 3 cables leading to the gearbox, 4 on the DGT models. It was new, but I dont know the part number, sorry

Thanks, i shall have a look.

You can use a multimeter to measure the resistance of the sensor.
Required value is 700 - 900 ohms.

m not having much luck in locating this sensor, any chance of a photo showing it location?
Do all 1400ie tipos have this sensor?