Diesel not starting when parked on a slope

[blackcat 0]

Sorry I know it's not a corrado but could do with some help.....

 

I've had a few problems starting my diesel golf but only when parked on the drive which is sloped.

 

No problems at all when parked on the road.

 

Is being parked on a slope likely to affect anything or is it just pure coincidence?

[nocrap 0]

Regardless of which way round its parked? is there some sort of non return valve?

[Mave 0]

I heard you can start it if you push it, as diesels don't need spark or something, maybe that has somethingto do with it? :?

 

(Dont laugh at me I heard it on here!!!)

[blackcat 0]

Regardless of which way round its parked? is there some sort of non return valve?

 

I always drive forward onto drive (I'm lazy) so the front is higher than the back.

[Petros 0]

A VX Astra I had before the rado would have problems starting on even slight slopes if the fuel was below the 1/4 tank marker... seems the intake pipe for the fuel pump was sited too near the front of the tank and on a slope the fuel ran to the back of the tank and out of its reach.

 

Any corelation between it not starting and the fuel level?

[Dutch24V 0]

I'm driving a VW Caddy SDI at the moment and it only starts first time when it's hot weather, even though the glow plugs, fuse and relay are new.

 

I found out over the weekend that the secondary fuel pump in the tank itself is dead, hence the system isn't priming itself and is relying on the main fuel pump to suck the fuel from the tank. If yours is struggling when the front is higher than the back, it *could* be the same problem, as I imagine it's harder to suck the fuel up a hill so-to-speak?

 

I'm not sure if all diesels have this secondary fuel pump btw but worth checking.

 

Dutch

[peteTDI 0]

check the bleed off pipes on the injectors for leaks and check the rest of the pipes aswell. if fuel is leaking out air will get in and diesels don't like air in fuel lines

[dr_mat 0]

Most modern fuel injection systems have a two-pump system for the fuel delivery (diesels and petrols alike).

But also check for air bubbles in the fuel lines. If they settle to the "top" of the system when you're parked up the hill that's a problem ..

They can be caused by simply not using the car much, or also more worryingly by having a leak in the lines somewhere..

[blackcat 0]

Any corelation between it not starting and the fuel level?

 

Yeah only just started doing it at weekend and I had about 1/4 tank.

 

I did think that it may be the fuel level but thought that cars would be designed a bit better than that!! :roll:

 

I have filled car up today and will see whether it does it tomorrow morning :wink:

[blackcat 0]

ok, so this morning with a full tank the car started no problem.

 

Could it really be the fuel level?? Surely modern cars are designed a little better than that??

[dr_mat 0]

Based on the above comments, perhaps you should get the twin fuel pumps checked ...?

 

** -- edit - "modern cars"? You're talking about a 14 year old diesel here ...

[Petros 0]

Could it really be the fuel level?? Surely modern cars are designed a little better than that??

 

In my experience, yes, it could well be the fuel level. I've seen it happen with a new petrol car designed in 1998.

 

However, given the age of the vehicle, I'd still get the fuel pumps checked. It could be that the car isn't that badly designed (I'd like to think VW have better designers than Vauxhall :smile:) and it's just struggling because one or both pumps aren't working very efficiently.

[blackcat 0]

Ok, cheers guys will check the fuel pumps. :)

[Dutch24V 0]

Next time you start her and she struggles, when you finally get her started turn her of straight away and try to restart. If she then starts with no problem you can bet your money it's the secondary fuel pump.

 

Dutch

[peteTDI 0]

if this is a 92 golf td then its a ve engine, that means no lift pump in the tank,just the one pump on the engine runing off the cambelt

[Heardy 0]

The bleed valve on top of the fuel filter are quite prone to going faulty and causing bad starting problems