Cold start trouble

[BR4IND3AD]

hi guys I'm new here although I've been driving my 406 for nearly three years and also had a 306 turbo diesel for about six years. My 406 has proven itself to be incredibly reliable until this year but at 11 years and over 100,000 miles it's hardly surprising. It's a GLX HDI estate and has developed a dislike of the cold in the past two months. The battery stopped holding charge so I replaced it around September and all was well until around a week ago when I tried to start it on a very cold morning, around 3°C, and flattened the battery. My neighbour jump started me and I took the car on a 15 mile run which put the charge back into the battery and all was well until yesterday when I had the same problem again. Given that the battery and alternator appear to be fine, my question is this, what is the most likely cause of the problem? I had thought that the glow plugs might have failed but then this morning it was as cold as yesterday and I was able to start the car ok. Could it be an intermittent fault with either of the two relays that control the glow plugs?

Another thing that I noticed, but hadn't considered to be an issue until now, is that the orange light on the instrument panel only lights up for a second or two when the ignition is first turned on. Is that normal operation or is it possibly part of the problem?

[PeterN]

All the engine problems I have had on my C5 2.0. Hdi, including poor starting have been down to the pressure regulator on the HP fuel pump.

Peter

[Uberderv]

The plugs on the HDI don't really operate unless its very cold, so you could rule them out. Like PeterN says, a dirty FPR or weak starter could do it. Other possibilities are in tank pump and weak battery (was it a new'un)?

[BR4IND3AD]

The battery was brand new and I can hear the fuel pump operating every time I switch on the ignition

[Doggy]

+1 a healthy HDi will start without glowplugs, even in colder temperatures than we're having now. It needs to see a minimum of 60 RPM before it will inject any fuel tho.

Welcome, BTW.

[PeterN]

Yep, both my 406 and C5 are starting instantly although covered in frost.

Peter

[BR4IND3AD]

Would a dirty fuel filter be a potential cause? I think the car is overdue a service so the filter might be past its best

[GingerMagic]

What I tend to do on cold mornings is turn the ignition on for 3 seconds, then off, then on again for 3 seconds, then off, then try starting the engine....

This hopefully helps the glow-plugs and the priming pump before starting the car. Its not a fix to your problem though

[Richie83]

I was also having trouble starting in the cold mornings, cranking was very slow compared to warmer days above 5C. I did a lot of research and ended up purchasing a bosch uprated starter motor 1.7kw from ebay as apposed to the 1.4kw Mitsubishi that's fitted as standard. The car now starts in an instance with no hesitation. The starter spins so much faster no more slow embarrassing starting lol . Was well worth the £58 imo !!

[Uberderv]

I was also having trouble starting in the cold mornings, cranking was very slow compared to warmer days above 5C. I did a lot of research and ended up purchasing a bosch uprated starter motor 1.7kw from ebay as apposed to the 1.4kw Mitsubishi that's fitted as standard. The car now starts in an instance with no hesitation. The starter spins so much faster no more slow embarrassing starting lol . Was well worth the £58 imo !!

I think the older XUD starters have a higher output which should fit on a Be3 box (for anyone else thinking of doing it)