Technical Died on cold start?!

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Technical Died on cold start?!

Gman88667733

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Started the Panda up this morning, it started immediately, but then died instantly. Started again and it ran rough for about 5 seconds and was fine ever since.

I had disconnected the battery last night to clean the terminals with a new tool I got (they weren't really dirty anyway, just wanted to give it a go).

Any ideas what could cause this?
Only other symptoms the car has that have been ongoing is a back box/exhaust (somewhere) rattle that hasn't gotten any worse. Also, on a hot restart, it can crank for up to 3-4 seconds before starting. Only when warm really though.

First time it's had an issue like this for me.

1.1 active 2004, 39,000 miles


Edit - I know the underside of the throttle body is still gummed up. I only cleaned what I could without taking it off the car. I didn't touch the IACV either. I wonder if this could affect it...
 
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I am wondering if it could be MAP sensor related? I have had slightly poorer fuel economy. They are £11 on eBay and I assume easy to swap over?
 
I am wondering if it could be MAP sensor related? I have had slightly poorer fuel economy. They are £11 on eBay and I assume easy to swap over?

yes they are an easy swap. One bolt and one connector


They don't often go. If they do its normally the ambient temperature that reads wrong. They can be cleaned with a spray brake/carb cleaner


Better to go with a original bosch one. Cheap ones are hit and miss. Some even put a fake Bosch label on. My local old fashion breakers charges £5. Same part on a lot of cars. Got mine from a Punto


do your clocks ever reset ?
 
Clock reset when I disconnected the battery last night, obviously. Other than that, never.
It was sat for an hour and a half earlier and then started fine afterwards.
 
This weekend I'll take the throttle body out and clean that and also the IACV. Is it worth spraying the connections of the MAP with contact cleaner? If not, I'll at least have a look at it.

Anything else worth trying?
 
After some research I think it's fuel injector related possibly.
Overall symptoms are - worse MPG than should be, fuel smell inside car and under bonnet (I've sorted the breather hose and it isn't that) surging and bucking sometimes under various loads, takes longer to start when warm.

Given the very short journeys it has done over most of its life, it seems like it could be the culprit
 
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The test is a pressure gauge on the fuel system to check for pressure maintained by the pump and the rate of pressure drop when car is switched off. I dont know the numbers but google will find what you need.

The fix would be a new fuel pump.

If you are smelling neat petrol the likely cause is a fuel leak. If you are smelling a thick choked exhaust when its cold, the issue is likely the engine is running rich. Common causes are spark missfires and O2 sensors.
 
The test is a pressure gauge on the fuel system to check for pressure maintained by the pump and the rate of pressure drop when car is switched off. I dont know the numbers but google will find what you need.

The fix would be a new fuel pump.

If you are smelling neat petrol the likely cause is a fuel leak. If you are smelling a thick choked exhaust when its cold, the issue is likely the engine is running rich. Common causes are spark missfires and O2 sensors.
It just smells like fuel fumes, hard to describe or tell the difference. Mostly when looking under the bonnet it smells strongly and then also at idle in the cabin.
Someone else suggested an O2 sensor. How many are there and are they an easy swap?

An O2 sensor wouldn't cause a fuel smell though, would it?
 
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What I did casually notice last night when I was looking at something under the bonnet and the Schrader valve on the fuel rail has some petrol residue on top of it, only a few drops, but enough to actually notice.
May be a coincidence.... But I'll take it off tonight and see if the core is leaking/if it made be a bad injector seal?
 
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Whilst I'm under there I'll clean the MAP sensor up too, given how choked up the throttle body was, I expect it'll be quite gummed up!
 
most common reason for smell of fuel is the breather pipe ?
I've replaced it and tightly put jubilee clips on all 3 ends of it. Still smells like fuel.
My gut says it's injector related. If a visual check of them doesn't show anything, I'll pick up a cheap fuel pressure guage and check the pressure across the rail.
Still, may be a combination of things! MAP sensor is a nice easy one to try cleaning up. I'll also take the throttle body fully out this time and give it a proper cleaning.
 
MAP sensor wasn't that bad, cleaned it up though.
Didn't have time to check the injectors.

Fuel economy seems AWFUL on this tank, far worse than usual.
The Schrader valve was dry though, my mistake!

Going to investigate the injectors properly this weekend when I have time.


I'm still guessing injectors...
 
It started up fine this morning...
Planning on getting the injectors out at the weekend.
I've ordered an OBD2 adapter to see if there is anything obviously wrong that pops up.
 
I'll probably get called crazy again, but by disconnecting the battery your ECU went back to default settings. If you, at the cold start, had waited for the dashlights to go off, it probably would have started normal.
I get the feeling that people are searching for the most difficult solutions for probably nonexisting problems.
checking MPG by the tankindicator in your cluster is not the most reliable option...

gr J
 
I check mpg based on actual miles to a tank.
I always wait for the dash lights to go out before starting the car
 
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