Technical Sluggish start up

[takajak]

I have a 2007, 2.3, multijet Ducato, 65000kms, on initial start up, the engine turns over 5-10 times before engine fires up, once it does there is no excessive smoke, and it idles fine, engine performs fine with no issues.
could this be a glow plug issue? has new battery and just had a new alternator fitted due to charging issues.
Cheers for any advice.

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi

Does it restart well?

Temperature is one thing

S L O W cranking is another..

Starter needs a good electrical circuit to be able to crank engine quickly..

 

[Communicator]

As mentioned by @varesecrazy, a sound electrical circuit is essential for cranking the engine.

The engine block earth strap is an established weak point on x250 (2006 onwards) and later models. If in poor condition ( see attached photo) this strap will affect cranking and battery charging, and may cause other problems. Elimination as a possible cause can be done by connecting a jump lead between an engine lifting lug, and a sound chassis earth point.

Another possibility could be the camshaft sensor, which in the earlier 2.3jtd version was only used to determine the stroke when starting. I believe that the 2.3 multijet is similar in this respect. This problem may be temperatre dependent.

 

[RayF]

Could be earth strap, I have been recommended similar as grounding issue can lead to a myriad of problems. First thing I would do however is connecting a jump start cable between the earth strap joints to see if that can be ruled out. I had also taken voltmeter readings on mine (it worked OK in my case and all volts were coming through between the points).

I also had unreliable start and restart issues and when the throttle body was replaced they went away. If yours is 2007 it may have still the factory fitted Wahler throttle bodies which was factory replaced around 2009 in production due to unreliability. Mine was still original, the replacement was a Pierburg with different spring mechanism (stiffer). Fault code readouts also supported throttle body problems in my case (P0638).

 

[varesecrazy]

@takajak

 

[Hank25]

I have a 2007, 2.3, multijet Ducato, 65000kms, on initial start up, the engine turns over 5-10 times before engine fires up, once it does there is no excessive smoke, and it idles fine, engine performs fine with no issues.
could this be a glow plug issue? has new battery and just had a new alternator fitted due to charging issues.
Cheers for any advice.

Hello fellow kiwi,
re issue you have,does vehicle crank slowish?
A common fault is a crook starter motor (draws too much current)
and most people think battery is dying and replace that.
A auto electrician can check current draw of starter motor easily.
Cheers