Hi my dad has a 2006 croma 1.9 diesel, which is a lovely car except that it keeps stalling and then refuses to restart, I suspect its to do with the fuel system, but I have not had chance to have a proper look as I live apx 80miles away, and just asking for common/known issues so I can get a head start before I get there

Hi @retgar2002

First thing to check is the fuel filter. Apart from draining any water, it's probably just as easy to change the element anyway. The bad news is that it is in a plastic housing that is known for leaking or being damaged unless the correct tool is used to undo the ring that holds down the lid. The tool is like ebay item 181666398673 or Laser part no 5843. Search this forum for diesel fuel filter for more information. The Ducato uses similar filter housing see https://www.fiatforum.com/ducato/357166-x250-ufi-fuel-filter-service-part-ii.html
Part I is less useful for the Croma https://www.fiatforum.com/ducato/357165-x250-ufi-fuel-filter-service-part-i.html

Is the engine an 8V or 16V (the 16V is the 150 model)? The next thing after the fuel filter is to get some diagnostic software such as multiecuscan on the car to check error codes and get some pressure readings. Other possible issues are the low pressure fuel pump and bad electrical connections especially earths. You sould be aware that the Croma is very similar to the Vauxhall Vectra C so a google search for the problem on the Vectra might be worthwile.
Where are you / the car located?

Robert G8RPI.

My favourite response would be
1, EGR valve
2, DPF blocked.
3, Relays and cable connections.

When oil is changed there are 2 resets to do, the service mileage and oil degradation. The second is little known by service men, many cannot even reset it. After 22000 miles the DPF regen will not happen if this is not reset.

So when was the last regen. My 2.4 does one about every 400 miles.

Keith

ok thanks for the head up guys will have a look into it

retgar2002 said:

ok thanks for the head up guys will have a look into it

Click to expand...

where is the car located..??,

Charlie - Oxford

Hi Retgar2002,
As above + try disconnecting the airflow sensor and see if that helps.

When was the air filter last changed and how old is the battery?

As far as the fuel filter is concerned, the retaining ring can be loosened off a bit by tapping VERY VERY gently with a hammer and large bladed flat head screwdriver.

Does it stall and not restart all the time or just sometimes?

How smoothly does it drive when it's working OK,e.g. Is their a stutter at 2K revs or have their been any other odd issues such as the power getting heavy at low revs?

As far as tools are concerned depening on how far you need to work through things you'll need a reasonable socket set with some small extension bars and a variety of torx bits up to T40.

Some tins snips and something to make some holes in it in case you need to try blanking the egr.

If you do need to take the egr out I'd also get some carb cleaner and give it a good clean out.

Multiecuscan trial versions can be downloaded for free but you'll need a connector cable and laptop. The diagnostic port's behind the fusebox cover at the driver's knee. It's behind some cables as well and easier to see from outside the car. It looks like an old scart connector and is surprisingly difficult to find to begin with.

With MES connected to the diag port you'll be able to see what state the oil and dpf are in.

Also, the oil deg counter's the wrong way round - 95% degraded means it's only recently been changed.

With MES connected you'll be able to see how often the car's been told the oil's been changed. Let us know how many changes, how many KMs to next change and what the condition of the dpf is.

Meant to say as well that just because the oil change warning isn't flashing doesn't mean it's OK. It warns you for about 1,000kms and then gives up.

But as the guys say above, just changing the oil and resetting the service indicator isn't enough.

will an elm327 diag module fit it, as I have one already,, that Ive used on my own vehicle in the past

not sure how its been running in the past as its my fathers car,, i know it been back to the garage he purchased it from for this in the past but they seem to be at a loss, as to the cause of the problem

again thanks for all the info,,
the car is located just outside of prestatyn North Wales

Maybe. A lot of the elm327 cables don't work, poss due to an issue with a resistor.

I've got one that sort of worked but couldn't access all of the ecu information.

Cheap KKL cables seem to work fine for basic diagnostics but search the forum for different options to see which might be most suitable for you.

What did the garage do after they got it back and did it run OK for a while before playing up again?

retgar2002 said:

will an elm327 diag module fit it, as I have one already,, that Ive used on my own vehicle in the past

not sure how its been running in the past as its my fathers car,, i know it been back to the garage he purchased it from for this in the past but they seem to be at a loss, as to the cause of the problem

again thanks for all the info,,
the car is located just outside of prestatyn North Wales

Click to expand...

there are a few FF regulars in that area..,
not sure if they've got a FULL version of MES though..,

the Stilo owners might

Charlie - Oxford

The demo version might be enough to give us some details to work with though.

Do you know when the battery was last changed?

Mine had a thing about not starting again when it was raining heavy until after I changed the battery and it hasn't happened since. Can't think how it would cause it to cut out unless there were other electrical gremlins though.

BrianMcL said:

The demo version might be enough to give us some details to work with though.

Do you know when the battery was last changed?

Mine had a thing about not starting again when it was raining heavy until after I changed the battery and it hasn't happened since. Can't think how it would cause it to cut out unless there were other electrical gremlins though.

Click to expand...

agreed - modern vehicles rely on a stable power supply for the electronics,

just being good enough to crank it into life is no longer it's job

BrianMcL said:

As far as tools are concerned depening on how far you need to work through things you'll need a reasonable socket set with some small extension bars and a variety of torx bits up to T40.
<SNIP>

Click to expand...

The female "star" fastner heads on the Croma and most modern Fiats are RIBE not torx. You can get RIBE bits from Machine Mart e.g. Clarke PRO168 or ebay/amazon. torx or hex bits can be forced, but you risk damaging the fastner, bit, yourself or all three .

Robert G8RPI.

BrianMcL said:

Hi Retgar2002,
As far as the fuel filter is concerned, the retaining ring can be loosened off a bit by tapping VERY VERY gently with a hammer and large bladed flat head screwdriver.

Click to expand...

Yes this is a little B. My solution is an oil filter change wrench with 1/2" drive and then I us an air ratchet spanner/wrench. This vibrates away with a *low*/few foot pound torque value. Job done. I've also used this method to release the oil filter cap.

retgar2002 said:

will an elm327 diag module fit it, as I have one already,, that Ive used on my own vehicle in the past
<SNIP>

Click to expand...

An ELM 327 will work OK on the Croma 1.9 mJTD. Even with the incorrect resistor (120 ohms between pins 6 and 14, you can check with a multimeter and possibly remove yourself if fitted), it will almost certainly connect to the engine ECU OK.
The free unregstered version of multiecuscan, www.multiecuscan.net WILL read engine ECU parameters and reset fault codes. You need the registered version, no 120 ohm resistor and an adator lead for ABS and airbags. The €50 is a bargain, so buy it if you use it.

Robert G8RPI.

With regards to MES and Elm issues this affects ONLY the CanBus where the terminating resistor causes problems with some units.

The good news is that for the Croma 1.9 with the Bosch EDC16C39 CF4/EOBD Diesel Injection ECU then the free version of MES will work on the engine ECU and the Power Steering ECU. All the others (service, aircon, abs, airbag.... are CnaBus based so to access these you need the full version of MES.

So would will be able to reset the oil change counter, do forced DPF filter regen and lots of other stuff.