General Cold starting the 1.2

[Suasexed]

This is for 1.2 owners... does anyone else find the car takes a while to start up when cold? I've noticed for a few times that you have to turn the key and wait a couple of seconds or so for the engine to kick in, but the other night turned the key and held it there for couple of seconds and the engine just cut out. I tried again and it took at least 3-4 seconds for the starter motor to get the engine going. Is this normal? Maybe it's just I'm too used to the Ka... one quick flick and the car is started

 

[Simon Bell]

Sounds like there is a problem, a modern car engine should start with a flick of the key and no throttle input.

Are you pressing the throttle, sometimes by pressing the throttle while starting the engine you can experience slow starting.

 

[pipsqeek]

You shouldn't use the throttle on a modern car when starting. The ECU does all that for you. Not like an old carbi car.

 

[Suasexed]

Nope, not steppin on the throttle. Another chap has had similar probems after the bad weather over the past couple of days.

I've popped the bonnet, checked the oil, that's all fine. Gave it a quick fire up and it started pretty much instantly. May have just been a couple of 'one offs' - I'll keep a check on it though

 

[andy armitage]

wow I didn't know you don't press the throttle when you start a new car I had better stop doing that then

 

[Venters]

Definately isn't normal.
Rain, snow or shine it should start pretty much straight away every time. I'd keep an eye on it in case it becomes more frequent.

 

[Suasexed]

Definately isn't normal.
Rain, snow or shine it should start pretty much straight away every time. I'd keep an eye on it in case it becomes more frequent.

Hmmm okay, well I'll keep an eye on it over the next few weeks and post if I have any trouble Otherwise it looks like a trip to the dealers

 

[Baerius]

Suasexed. Sorry to hear that. I don't think the slow start should be happening at all, the engine should start immediately.

What you could try....and this might sound silly....is turning the key 2 3rds on, waiting a couple of seconds ( like you do for the glow plugs in a diesel ) and THEN starting. It could be something to do with the fuel pump allowing fuel to drip back into the tank over time...which means if you give the car a couple of seconds to spool it up before you engage the engine it might move the fuel into place and you might have an instant start. Just a suggestion, hope it helps.

However, whatever the case, your slow start shouldn't be happening. I have a friend who parked his ancient rover 70 something (can't remember model!) over Christmas in my drive and when he came back from Spain it started after one revolution of the engine. Apparently it always does this without fail and he bought it for £400.

So keep an eye on it and if it persists then take it in and make demands!

 

[JimMagill]

This is for 1.2 owners... does anyone else find the car takes a while to start up when cold? I've noticed for a few times that you have to turn the key and wait a couple of seconds or so for the engine to kick in, but the other night turned the key and held it there for couple of seconds and the engine just cut out. I tried again and it took at least 3-4 seconds for the starter motor to get the engine going. Is this normal? Maybe it's just I'm too used to the Ka... one quick flick and the car is started

it's happened twice to me so far and only on really cold mornings too.... I really thought that it was going to leave me for dead but as you say 3 or 4 seconds and it kicks in but it was long 4 seconds!

Jim

 

[Ulpian]

It should start immediately, as everyone says.

I assume you are depressing the clutch when you turn the key though; you don't want the starter to have to turn the flywheel as well as the pistons when it kicks in.

However, I would speak to the dealer about this.

 

[andy armitage]

Do you need to depress the clutch when you start a car first thing as well? I didn't know that why is that?

 

[Nuova500]

Surely by depressing the clutch its making the starter work harder?
I had this weird starting issue on my old Cinq, most times it would start perfect, other times just like your symptoms... never found out why.

 

[Ulpian]

The gearbox is attached to the crankshaft, until the clutch disengages it. Consequently, if you don't depress the clutch on starting the starter motor will have to churn a whole mass of 'dead' metal besides the pistons and crankshaft. This leads to excessive wear on the starter motor and more load placed on the battery.

When I was a kid it was standard procedure to always keep the clutch down on starting - also, it is a safety measure in case you are accidentally in gear. I mean, as a security measure we all leave our cars in gear as well as with the handbrake on, don't we?

 

[Gav F]

i dont

 

[Suasexed]

I mean, as a security measure we all leave our cars in gear as well as with the handbrake on, don't we?

Nope... it's 2008 after all

 

[Ulpian]

So, if your handbrake operates on a disk, and the disk shrinks away on cooling, and the brake disengages, and then your car rolls into something - it isn't a problem. Interesting.
It can happen with drums too.

I have wondered why so many people drive so badly these days, and now I know. No proper instruction and little mechanical awareness. But lots of know about blue lights and tinted windows though...

 

[Andy Monty]

The KA's are good little starters My KA used to fire up first time every time when i had it and my mums is the same. my 1.2 FIRE GP can be a bit slower to kick into life compared to the ka,

as Baerius says give the fuel pump time to get up to pressure and it starts fine only had one occasion when it wouldn't start, and thats because this muppet had left the ignition on and not realised the headlights were on for well over an hour :bang: Turned everything off left it 10 minutes and it fired up first time...

 

[Andy Monty]

So, if your handbrake operates on a disk, and the disk shrinks away on cooling, and the brake disengages, and then your car rolls into something - it isn't a problem. Interesting.
It can happen with drums too.

I have wondered why so many people drive so badly these days, and now I know. No proper instruction and little mechanical awareness. But lots of know about blue lights and tinted windows though...

:yeahthat:

I started my driving life in a 1996 ford Fiesta classic basic little car and managed to learn to do most everyday checks and several basic repairs (starter motor, Brake pads and discs and the like) the problem is most cars are now most user unfriendly and everything is hidden or hard to get at, hell the old fiesta you could get at the oil filter from the top of the engine bay with both hands no chance on a modern car....

 

[Suasexed]

So, if your handbrake operates on a disk, and the disk shrinks away on cooling, and the brake disengages, and then your car rolls into something - it isn't a problem. Interesting.
It can happen with drums too.

I have wondered why so many people drive so badly these days, and now I know. No proper instruction and little mechanical awareness. But lots of know about blue lights and tinted windows though...

The handbrake should be sufficent to hold the car without putting the car into gear. If the handbrake were to fail it's a fault of the car. Just look at the whole Watchdog case regarding Vauxhall and their roll away Vectras.

Oh and I don't see the correlation between leaving a car in gear, people driviing badly, blue bulbs and tinted real windows Please enlighten us

 

[Andy Monty]

The handbrake should be sufficent to hold the car without putting the car into gear. If the handbrake were to fail it's a fault of the car. Just look at the whole Watchdog case regarding Vauxhall and their roll away Vectras.

Oh and I don't see the correlation between leaving a car in gear, people driviing badly, blue bulbs and tinted real windows Please enlighten us

the handbrake will hold the car in normal circumstances however if you have had a long drive on twisty b-roads with a bit of weight in the car your brakes get hot and the discs (for arguments sake could also happen to drums) and pads/shoes expand due to basic physics due to the heat derived from friction you then pull your handbrake on firmly and all is well until they cool down, at which point they shrink resulting in decreased force been applied at the interface between the disc and pad... The HWC also says you shoud turn your wheels to point into the curb on a hill so if the car moves it hits the curb and wont go far...

Handbrakes been basic cable applied systems also suffer from seizing cables you only have to stand and watch a lot of MOT tests on older cars to realize this is a big failure point

The Vauxhall case is different iirc this applies to the ratchet system on the handbrake lever itself not been deep enough to securely lock in place