Technical erratic starting 1.3 multijet

[martinoban]

The engine turns over fine. Often it will start at once, other times it doesn't. I sometimes have to try 5-6 times before it goes. Once started, it's fine. The car has done 108000 miles. It's also slightly less economical than it used to be.

It's bee suggested that the fuel pump - presumably the high pressure one is beginning to fail

Any ideas?

 

[Wee Smurf]

What year is it? Any other symptoms? Smokey, etc? Age of battery? Last service?
And have you waterproofed the screwhole in the middle of the black plastic beneath the wipers (you can see it when you open the bonnet)?

My fuel pump went a few weeks ago at 95K miles. It was fine one minute and then suddenly it was leaking badly. I had no symptoms with it, no leaking on the garage floor. It just went when I was out. I came back to a small pool of diesel at the front of the car. The bearings went in the centre of the pump. I brought it to my local dealer as I was just around the corner at the time. They replaced it with another pump I sourced from a scrapyard. Hopefully it'll last a good while but I have the old one which I can get reconditioned if I need to.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

Any flashing glow plug lights? In this cold snap the glow plugs would be the first point to call

Also look out for the water in fuel light as condensation builds up in the tank.

When was the fuel filter replaced?

 

[Sweetsixteen]

Suggest a glow plug check for starters, although I can't see how this would affect your overall fuel consumption.
Pop leads off the glow plugs (sometimes very stiff, but a wiggle and tug will get them off) and check each one with a multimeter from tip of plug to earth. Should be a circuit - if not, the glow plug has failed.
Glow plugs are low down along front of the engine, roughly in line with oil filter.

 

[martinoban]

What year is it? Any other symptoms? Smokey, etc? Age of battery? Last service?
And have you waterproofed the screwhole in the middle of the black plastic beneath the wipers (you can see it when you open the bonnet)?

My fuel pump went a few weeks ago at 95K miles. It was fine one minute and then suddenly it was leaking badly. I had no symptoms with it, no leaking on the garage floor. It just went when I was out. I came back to a small pool of diesel at the front of the car. The bearings went in the centre of the pump. I brought it to my local dealer as I was just around the corner at the time. They replaced it with another pump I sourced from a scrapyard. Hopefully it'll last a good while but I have the old one which I can get reconditioned if I need to.

I'll look for this screw-hole when it stops raining! I've already had the glowplugs replaced, and the fuel filter as part of its regular servicing. It's an early engine - Nov 2005 - and has now done 108,000 miles.

 

[Sweetsixteen]

I'll look for this screw-hole when it stops raining! I've already had the glowplugs replaced, and the fuel filter as part of its regular servicing. It's an early engine - Nov 2005 - and has now done 108,000 miles.

It's not just the screw hole. If you pull the whole air cleaner assembly, you will probably see that it has distorted at the rear, unseen normally, and the offending screw is right above this point. The distortion lets unfiltered air - or water - into the inlet tract. You can easily see the air-filter itself poking through if the distortion is bad. Plugging the screw hole can stop the water, but 'raw' air still gets in whenever the motor's running. A good fix is duct tape right along the rear of the plastic housing. Very poor design and manufacture.
I've scrapped mine and fitted a more efficient intake assembly.

 

[Martty]

What year is it? Any other symptoms? Smokey, etc? Age of battery? Last service?
And have you waterproofed the screwhole in the middle of the black plastic beneath the wipers (you can see it when you open the bonnet)?

My fuel pump went a few weeks ago at 95K miles. It was fine one minute and then suddenly it was leaking badly. I had no symptoms with it, no leaking on the garage floor. It just went when I was out. I came back to a small pool of diesel at the front of the car. The bearings went in the centre of the pump. I brought it to my local dealer as I was just around the corner at the time. They replaced it with another pump I sourced from a scrapyard. Hopefully it'll last a good while but I have the old one which I can get reconditioned if I need to.

Can you atach a photo or a schematic where is that hole? I want to verify on my doblo.

 

[varesecrazy]

Can you atach a photo or a schematic where is that hole? I want to verify on my doblo.

This thread is 10 years old..

I believe there is a GUIDE in the Panda section

I replied to that thread 5 minutes ago

 

[Martty]

This thread is 10 years old..

I believe there is a GUIDE in the Panda section

Thanks man. I dont look on the dates. Doblo is not a laptop to get updates. The problems from 10 years ago, are the problems from now. Time doesnt count. Panda 1.3 multijet is the same on engine as doblo 223 1.3 multijet? If they are identical, i'll search. Thanks again.

 

[koalar]

 

[Martty]

Ok. Im pretty sure i dont have that on my doblo 223 1.3mjet 2006. Maybe i joined the wrong thread by mistake. I'll look closer and with more attention anyway.

 

[koalar]

Ok. Im pretty sure i dont have that on my doblo 223 1.3mjet 2006. Maybe i joined the wrong thread by mistake. I'll look closer and with more attention anyway.

Yours is probably like this

Which although the same engine appears to use a different air box

 

[Martty]

Yours is probably like this

View attachment 460763


Which although the same engine appears to use a different air box

Seems my kid catched my phone and deleted some alot of pictures. I had pics with the engine. Not anymore. I will make one again tomorow. Its 01:30 here. My wife asked me if i made myself a mistress since i'm typing and typing.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

Doblo is not a laptop to get updates. The problems from 10 years ago, are the problems from now.

The time may not have any bearing on the car but it does on the thread, you asked someone to post pictures for you but the person who started this thread hasn’t been on the forum since 2015.

In these instances it’s usually better to start a new thread then active members can help you with your specific problem.

While the 1.3 engine in a 20 year old panda or Punto may be largely the same as something more modern there have been quite a few changes around that engine over the years and with different models

 

[koalar]

The screw hole was a fairly common fault on the panda 1.3,

It was a poor design

Symptoms were difficult to start after it had been raining

Diagnoses was to undo the air box and see if it was wet inside

It did depend on the angle the car was parked, as far as I remember there is a drain hole in the bottom of the air box so it caused few problems for most people

The fix was to seal with silicone sealant

The distorted air box is less common, probably due to incorrect assembly at some time

@Martty I don't have or own a doblo, but I guess if you have the same symptoms of difficult to start after raining, it would be worth inspecting the inside of the air box

If it's dry inside or different symptoms try starting a new thread in the doblo section, unfortunately not much 1.3 knowledge on here in general as the diesel panda wasn't that common

 

[Martty]

Oh man, i love you man. Im a litle drunk so i love everyone. Life is tough. I love even this doblo that it isnt mine. Is my wife car in papers. I once own a daewoo matiz. Ill post the engine as i promised.

 

[Martty]

Hey guys, u there? I was thinking... can i remove easely the entire exaust with all dpf and catalyst from my doblo to clean it from inside? Also i wanted to brush the exterior and spray it with zinc spray? Is a good idees or bad ideea? Can be cleaned with paint thiner?

 

[Martty]

Also i was thinking if it is easy to remove turbo and have a look inside for deposits on the blades. I think the screws are rusted there but i think i can manage to remove them...

 

[The Panda Nut]

Thats certainly not a job I would ever consider. Cats need cleaning via either chemical / solvent cleaners designed for the process or heat. Once they are damaged its a replacement job. The only coating worth considering is a ceramic coating which helps dissipate heat, but its expensive and not cost effective unless appeance is ultra important. Usually restricted to high end fancy machines where ewngine dressing is a market driven requirement. Most paints will burn off a hot exhaust quite quickly so its only really worth doing if say a welded repair has been carried out to equalise the life span with the exisiting unwelded metal of the system. This is by no means an expert opinion but would be my thinking. I liek htings as neat and clean as possible too.

 

[Martty]

I will try this paint tomorow. Is zinc based from Wurth. I'll post pics tomorow. I once tryed painting bolts with black paint from same mark and i overheated them to 500 C. The paint boiled, scorched then overdryed and remained unscracheable and tough. Maybe will be the same with zinc too. Maybe it will stick to exaust too.