I have a new croma 1.9 150 bhp diesel 4 weeks old. Starts ok when cold but after a run on a hot day and it is left for 10-20 minutes on attempting to start the engine vibrates violently before it stalls. If it is left on a hot day for 2-3 hours it starts ok. Could it be that the pistons expand when I stop and temporary sieze? Usually starts on the second attempt as though the abortive start has cleared something. Dealer has been unable to replicate the fault. Any other suggestions?

hi there is a recall on the injectors on the croma may be worth mentioning this to your local dealer

Is there

sounds like the ruber damping in the crank ancilary belt breaking up i believe this has been a fault on similar engines in alfas it causes the symtoms you speak of because the crank position sensor becomes misalighned from the crank causing the vibration as the injectors inject at the wrong time

some times it will start fine and sometimes it will shake i have seen it on a new barera before now

so if your dealer cant find anything just draw them towards this area

thanks for the help car been with dealer since beginning of august. New ECU fitted, New glowplug relay non of these solved the prblem They think they have solved it now by fitting a new battery of the correct size. Before i took delivery of the new car the garage fitted a new battery but it was for a Punto!!. Any comments appreciated

u21066powers said:

Any comments appreciated

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Yes! salesman know to disconnect batteries when cars in yard/compond but they dont do it...result battery dies away as it never gets charged/used so they chuck in any old battery available.

Dont even need any tools to disconnect battery either as its a spring clamp:bang:

Good its sorted

(p.s. are you aware theres a recall on the earth strap on croma,dont know if it applies to your car though or if it falls within affected chassis range)

Thought it was sorted but has happened again since car was returned. (once in 50 starts ups) at end of tether what to do next but thanks for your help.

Whats been done so far?

It has had a new ECU. A new glow plug relay and finally a replacement battery (The original garage had put in a PUNTO battery before i bought this pre-reg croma

Sure it doesn't 'qualify' for a new earth cable,that cause a sympton similar to yours.

Does it crank but not fire when fault is there?

The fault happens during cranking and was described by a mechanic as a gross misfire which occurs intermittently when starting. The engine then stalls if i don't switch first. Restarting after the fault is 99% of times normal. Pressing the accelerator during the misfire has no effect. The car runs, and accelerates as I would expect and does 47 mpg

Do you know what (if any) recalls have been done?

recalls already done are new vin plate number, clutch switch, heating vent

Hi there I have been told about this fault it seems to be only with diesel models. I have been told by a fiat garage in Italy that there is a problem with the alternator not charging the battery hence no start get the garage to check it out.