Alfa 156 engine starts after 2nd or 3rd try

[nikosp]

Hello all,

My first post here and it comes with a problem

I have bought a second hand Alfa 156 1.8 T.Spark petrol last year. I noticed that there was an indicator lamp on at the upper right corner, I think it is the fuel pump but as I did not intend to keep the car for long and it did not cause me any problems I just ignored it. The last months I have to try 2 or three times to start the engine, especially in the morning or when it has not run for 1-2 days. When it starts I don't have any problems, I can turn on and off the engine with first try. Could it be the fuel pump? and if so how easy ti would be for me to replace it? I am electrical engineer by profession but I feel quite comfortable with tools and machinery in general (brake pad replacements and stuff like that). I just don't want to spend a fortune on servicing a car that will be replace probably in a year.
Any help would be much appreciated.

Thank you

[jimmy156]

That's the fuel injection warning light and can mean almost anything is wrong! Mind you mine has been on intermittently for 3 years and I pretty much ignore it (except when it came on permenantly when the MAF sensor went)

When my 156 wouldn't start first time it turned out the crank sensor was on the blink. Like yours initially it would start after 2 or 3 times, until I killed the battery a few times and finally it started cutting out when I was driving it and would need 20 mins before it would start again.

[nikosp]

I have read in some forums that it may be the pump that sprays the fuel ( I don't recall the exact name)and that it may not be building enough pressure. But when I drive the car for a while and then turn the engine off, it will start first try at any time within 1-2 hours. I am afraid that if I go to a car engineer I may be ripped off for a car that I do not intend to keep for long.

[jimmy156]

nikosp said:

I have read in some forums that it may be the pump that sprays the fuel ( I don't recall the exact name)and that it may not be building enough pressure. But when I drive the car for a while and then turn the engine off, it will start first try at any time within 1-2 hours. I am afraid that if I go to a car engineer I may be ripped off for a car that I do not intend to keep for long.

As I said, that warning light could mean almost anything is wrong, and may be unrelated to your starting issue. I have learnt over the years of owning my Alfa that you cannot get a proper diagnosis for problems on the internet. Way too many variables. Your best best might be to download fiat multiecu scan and buy a cable from eBay to hook your laptop up and read the fault code. Otherwise you are just stabbing in the dark.

[nikosp]

Thanks for this Multiecuscan software, I was not aware of it. It may be worth giving it a try, on my search for cable!

[jimmy156]

I think there is a chap on the alfa owner forums that sells them too, could be worth looking on there.

[nikosp]

Cheers!

[gazza82]

If you just want to look at the ecu codes and not worry about airbags, abs, etc you just need a basic VAG-COM KKL 409.1 interface cable.

MultiECUScan may need to be licensed though to work with the 1.8 ecu versions.

Normally the crank sensor stops the engine restarting when warm .. not from cold. It might well be the cam sensor (£££s as you need to remove cambelt) or lambda sensor which is throwing the fuel mix out.

Either way you won't really know until you have read and interpreted the fault codes that are causing the engine management light to come on ... just because it looks like a small injector, doesn't mean it is even related to the fuel system!