Intermittent First Start of the DayIssue Focus 1.8tdci 2008

[royed31]

Hi

Have a Focus 1.8TDCI 2007.

Up until 7mths ago stated fine then one day took 60 attempts , thought battery would give up.

Filled the street with white smoke but once going was fine and every start after it was fine

Since then , this issue has got worse

Sometimes go 2 -3 weeks. sometimes 2- 3 days starting OK but then have a week of many many many attempts to get going on first start of the day and loads of white smoke .......................but always does going

Weather does not seem to play a part as starts in the very cold , damp , etc.

As said once going runs well and every start after that day is no problem

As car is old , with 140 000 on clock , do not really want to try things if that is not the issue as not worth much anyway but would like to get some more millage out of it

Anyone had the same experience and if so what was the remedy

thanks

royed31

[Rat_Fink_67]

The Lynx engine is very sensitive to fuel filters, when was the last time it was replaced? Glow plug failure causes starting issues as well and is also quite common, it only takes one to go down to cause excessive cranking. The supply end of the glow plug feed wire can burn out too; it deteriorates with age and causes the resistance to increase until it melts. The glow plugs themselves are easily checked with a basic multimeter.

[royed31]

Thanks Rat_Fink_67

First thing I did was change the fuel filter , still same problem

Have cleaned the EGR and also stopped using supermarket fuel

Mechanic I normally use said he doubted it was mechanical but as it is intermittent (albeit getting more frequent )

Reckon will get he glow pugs changed as he said will cost £100

If that does not work then maybe time to get rid as I do not want to spend 000s and 000s on a car that is not worth much anyway

cheers

[LamboDave]

Hi, I had the same problem with my car. Turning over for ages and loads of smoke, turned out that it was the starter motor even though the symptoms point towards glow plugs. I was also informed that this engine doesn't use the glow plugs until the temperature is well below freezing. Not sure how true that is, but replacing the glow plugs didn't solve the issue. Being a diesel engine, it needs to turn over at a certain speed in order to build up enough compression to start. Once the new starter was fitted the difference was huge, it was like a new engine.