gillyskillz
13th January 2011, 00:03
Right, heres my story.
Been driving my saxo vts again since getting it back on the road and it's been fine for about six months now. The other day I had driven the car for approx 30mins before stopping for 5-10mins, then drove the car for another 30mins or so, then stopped for another 5mins, then drove for another 20mins or so before stopping for about 20mins. When I attempted to start the car at this point, it refused to start. The engine seemed to be turning over, but would not start. I left it for about 10 mins then tried again and it started. Although I'm no expert, it felt as though fuel was being restricted to the engine, and when pumping the throttle trying to start, it cleared a blockage and fuel found it's way to the engine. Anyway, after the car started, I drove for about 10 minutes before the engine cut out while travelling at about 30mph. First the engine management light came on for a few seconds, then went off, then a few more seconds later the engine cut out completely and all the dashboard lights appeared like they would when you stall. Again, the engine refused to start, turning over but not fully starting, even though on the odd start attempt, the engine would start up but then immediately stall. I was even more concerned about the fact I had broken down on a busy road! I left the car and didn't touch it for about 15mins, then tried again and it started! I quickly drove off the busy road into a layby, and left it there for about 2 hours or so. I checked all the basics, oil, coolant, loose connections, air filter etc. but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Finally plucked up the courage to attempt the 30minute drive home, to which it completed without a hitch! Couldn't believe it!
Since then I have driven the car twice, and on both occassions it has acted like described above, start fine, drive fine for a period of anything between 10-40 mins, then cut out and refuse to start fully unless left for a period of anything between 10mins to several hours, then when it eventuallys starts, runs fine again for a short period, and the cycle starts all over again. There seems to be no pattern as such, and will cut out whether stationary or in motion.
I should mention that the car has a slight oil leak from the head gasket, this has been the case for a while, but gives me no bother regarding the performance of the car, providing I regularly monitor oil and coolant levels, the engine does not overheat.
I've since replaced the fuel filter for a new one, to no avail, and was about to start looking for a cheap fuel pump, except for the fact that I can hear the pump priming everytime I turn the ignition, whether it starts or not. Would I still hear the pump prime if it was faulty? I've read a few similar issues on here where the fuel pump was the eventual culprit, even though the pump was not initially suspect. At one stage when I was broken down, I called out recovery because I didn't have time to wait for the car to decide to start, and the mechanic said he thought it sounded like a coil pack? I wasn't convinced as I assumed the car wouldn't start at all if the coil pack was faulty, although he was certainly better equiped to judge than me.
I apologise for the essay, but I wanted to provide as much information as possible. So basically, any help or advice on what to try next would be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Been driving my saxo vts again since getting it back on the road and it's been fine for about six months now. The other day I had driven the car for approx 30mins before stopping for 5-10mins, then drove the car for another 30mins or so, then stopped for another 5mins, then drove for another 20mins or so before stopping for about 20mins. When I attempted to start the car at this point, it refused to start. The engine seemed to be turning over, but would not start. I left it for about 10 mins then tried again and it started. Although I'm no expert, it felt as though fuel was being restricted to the engine, and when pumping the throttle trying to start, it cleared a blockage and fuel found it's way to the engine. Anyway, after the car started, I drove for about 10 minutes before the engine cut out while travelling at about 30mph. First the engine management light came on for a few seconds, then went off, then a few more seconds later the engine cut out completely and all the dashboard lights appeared like they would when you stall. Again, the engine refused to start, turning over but not fully starting, even though on the odd start attempt, the engine would start up but then immediately stall. I was even more concerned about the fact I had broken down on a busy road! I left the car and didn't touch it for about 15mins, then tried again and it started! I quickly drove off the busy road into a layby, and left it there for about 2 hours or so. I checked all the basics, oil, coolant, loose connections, air filter etc. but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Finally plucked up the courage to attempt the 30minute drive home, to which it completed without a hitch! Couldn't believe it!
Since then I have driven the car twice, and on both occassions it has acted like described above, start fine, drive fine for a period of anything between 10-40 mins, then cut out and refuse to start fully unless left for a period of anything between 10mins to several hours, then when it eventuallys starts, runs fine again for a short period, and the cycle starts all over again. There seems to be no pattern as such, and will cut out whether stationary or in motion.
I should mention that the car has a slight oil leak from the head gasket, this has been the case for a while, but gives me no bother regarding the performance of the car, providing I regularly monitor oil and coolant levels, the engine does not overheat.
I've since replaced the fuel filter for a new one, to no avail, and was about to start looking for a cheap fuel pump, except for the fact that I can hear the pump priming everytime I turn the ignition, whether it starts or not. Would I still hear the pump prime if it was faulty? I've read a few similar issues on here where the fuel pump was the eventual culprit, even though the pump was not initially suspect. At one stage when I was broken down, I called out recovery because I didn't have time to wait for the car to decide to start, and the mechanic said he thought it sounded like a coil pack? I wasn't convinced as I assumed the car wouldn't start at all if the coil pack was faulty, although he was certainly better equiped to judge than me.
I apologise for the essay, but I wanted to provide as much information as possible. So basically, any help or advice on what to try next would be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance.