406oc.co.uk

Well it all started Thursday night when I did a few short trips and did a bit of waiting around in the car for the other half (most of you will know what I mean). Anyhow, been waiting for a while and didn't have radio on or anything like that but when I came to start the car it just cranked but wouldn't fire. It's my fault really as I was just saying the other day how great 406's are and thinking of all the nice new bits mine is going to get in just over a weeks time (belts, water pump, crank seals, etc, etc, etc).

So I did a quick check to test all the auxillary functions to get an idea of the battery's life etc and they all seemed nice and powerful (wipers, windows etc). So then I decided to bump start the car in reverse - foot out the door, roll down the street, must have looked a right plonker. Anyhow, the car started and I drove the short way home (about a mile). I turned the engine off when I got on the drive because I was planning to get the battery out and put it on the bench, and just to see I then tried to start the car again, and it started fine.

So then I charged the battery over night, put it in the car the next day, did all the checks with the alternator etc and drove the 6 miles to work. All great. End of the day got back in the car and drove the 6 miles home. Still great. Then the missus has to go see her folks for the weekend so off she sets in the car and again, it starts fine. Then she gets to her destination (60 miles later), comes back to the car about 90 minutes later and again it won't start. Won't even bump start apparently.


I've read on here about the fuel filter and I suspect it may be that. I changed the fuel filter (just the element) about 12,000 miles ago and I've drained the filter of water fairly regularly (read not as often as I should). How do I go about checking if there is air in the system? Could the trouble starting be down to anything else? Poor earth or something and if so which earth point?

I hate asking you guys for all your advice and not really contributing much back to the forum but hopefully someone can help me and maybe one day I can pass the advice on to someone else!

At least every time the car does go wrong I learn something new!

All the best, Phil

Is it possibly the TDC sensor either knackered or on its way out? I am losing a small amount of coolant and it could well be leaking from around the thermostat housing as I struggled to get a good seal when changing the thermostat (although I can't see any residue on the thermostat housing). The car does have that hot water smell - you know what I mean - so I reckon it must be spraying out a small amount of coolant all the time. I must stress the coolant loss is very slow though.

I bet the TDC sensor isn't even located under/near the thermostat housing on the HDI but I'm jsut clutching at straws from the 1.8 thread elsewhere in this forum.

Cheers, Phil

Or maybe the pressure regualting valve on the end of the pump? Which pump? The intank one or the other one?

Oh dear. I was hoping this would be a cheap fix.

Ok, what I am really asking for is a few basic steps/procedures to eliminate a few options.

I think all going well I might photo this fix up, that's if I get a fix!

I think I should stop spamming my own post.

Yeah, I guess the day mine doesn't start I'll be scratching my head.

Umm, if it's a 90 then it's either Bosch with a lift pump (can you hear this running when you turn the engine on?) or Siemens (should have a priming bulb on it, can you get this to go hard?)

If it bump starts ok then perhaps the battery isn't up to much?

There's lots of tiny, fragile and above all expensive sensors on the engine, you could start changing them one by one but I have a feeling some decent diagnostics (i.e. not those money-grubbing bloatards at Pug ) will be cheaper in the long run.

Right well I've got the car back now and had a play around with a few things.

It seems that the pump doesn't always start working, sometimes I can hear it start up and stop, other times nothing. So I'm going to change the lift pump - I'm working on the presumption that mine is 11 years old now and it's probably time for it to start playing up.

I've also checked my battery again and I'm not certain its the healthiest battery in the world. In preparation for what may turn out to be a freezing cold winter again I'm purchasing a nice new Varta battery (£70!).

I was due to carry out the cambelt, water pump, auxiliary belt knowledge base article so I've got all the parts ready for that. I though while I'm going to all that trouble I might as well change the alternator for a remanufactured one.

So it's cost me just shy of £160 for the new parts I've got already, now £80 odd for the pump and £50 odd for the remanufactured alternator plus £70 for the battery. Somewhere around the £350 mark all told. I'm telling you now if after all that this thing breaks down on some frezing cold night in January I might lose all love I had for French diesels.

Anyone got a boot handle for a 406 estate? I'm still after some abs sensors too, and parts of the o/s front inner mudguard. What's your stance on winter tyres, I'm not certain I can justify the expense

Check the pump feed, someone had a relay die on them a while back.

You sure you really need the alternator?

My thoughts on winter tyres? How the f**k did I live without them?!

Yeah, not sure I really need the alternator tbh but I kind of take it personally when the car breaks down - it always does it when we're visiting family and I kind of see it as me not providing (if anyone can understand that).

How do you go about checking the pump feed? The pump has stopped working entirely again now (been back and forth to work twice now plus a few other short stop-start trips and it's worked albeit reluctantly), it went from working but making a really tired out knackered noise when turning on the ignition back to total silence.

I had a look under the rear seat pad and judging by the metal around the access hole I'd reckon my 406 has had a pump in the past - which makes the pump younger than I thought (although it may have been replaced with a second-hand item).

The top of the pump is very grubby!

Do you have winter tyres for all four corners or just the driven axle?

Cheers, Phil

It might help you to look at this thread - viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12370&p=110035&hilit=pump#p109992 It's doubly worth checking if you reckon it's already been replaced.

All four corners, it's a legal requirement here

What what what? No need for winter tyres on the back, ideally get a couple spare rims from scrappy, fit winter tyres on them, then pop them on (the front) when heavy snow forecast , and take em off again after.. That way you can have drive tyres with nice deep tread when you need em, and not be having the extra hum (and wear rate - they're softer compound) between times. Am I allowed to say I like Kumho's?

Your sexual proclivities are of no concern to us

I'd agree you'd probably get away with just snow tyres on the front but I have a feeling they'd give you a feeling of confidence that the back end wouldn't be able to cope with. Probably the extra confidence would rapidly fade as you started to rotate and be all gone by the time you'd made your first 360.

Out of interest, stick "tyres 7 degrees" into Google.

Well as advised I've got myself some Kumho winter tyres to fit to some spare rims that I already had. So far it's cost me nothing, free tyres and free rims! Hopefully the new tyre levers I've ordered will arrive soon and the job won't be too much of a b*tch (they cost me £7 so hopefully they're not a total pile of w*nk). I agree about not keeping them on any longer than necessary and they certainly feel like a softer compound they kind of 'fold' a bit when you pick them up.

So got myself a nice uprated battery Yuasa 100T 70aH 680 cracking, changed the oil and the coolant and new wipers, some winter tyres, just need a spade (to bury the wife) and I'm all set for the sh*t storm that this winter might bring.

I've cleaned up battery connections and covered them in vaseline (I heard about this from somewhere), is this correct or have I got my wires crossed?

Just realised I haven't really updrated how I got the car going again. The problem in this instance was a faulty lift pump. Got a second hand replacement for about £40 and after a very fiddly time fitting it the car is back to it's old self again.