Corsa won't start from cold?

Question

Hi, I'm having some problems with my 1.2 V reg corsa.

When i go to start the engine from cold it won't kick in. The starter motor turns and seems fine but the actuall engine does nothing. I've just replaced the battery and spark plugs which hasn't helped.

One other thing that might help is that there is a constant clicking sound under the glove box when the starter moter is running.

Please help, having no car is making life so hard

I should mention that if i jump start the car off another car it does start up after some spluttering and what not, also it does start up if the engine is still warm

The orange engine management light does not come on and never has to my knowledge

Answer 1

BOBWEB ;- the corsa 1.2 v reg ECOTECH DOES NOT HAVE A CAMBELT BECAUSE IT IS CHAIN DRIVEN,

JOHN W ;- the corsa 1.2 v reg ECOTECH DOES NOT
HAVE HT LEADS, THE SPARK PLUGS ARE RUN DIRECTLY FROM THE COIL PACK THAT SITS IN THE ROCKER COVER,

Right then lets start, best thing to do is try to bump start the car, if this doesn't work then you know that its something more than the starter motor, if it does start then you know it is the starter, the clicking noise you are hearing is coming from the passenger side if im not mistaken, this is the injection pump relay, its regulating the fuel preasure, if non of this helps then get back to us and we'll try and help again, Gary

Answer 2

Hi

Interesting that a mechanic of 20 years would reference the lambda sensor in a COLD start problem when the lambda is ignored until the engine actually warms up!

You don't have leads, you have a direct coil pack or direct coil packs.

The clicking noise is very highly likely to be your fuel pump relay clicking in and out and is perfectly normal.

Apart from other things, your vehicle could be subject to "coil robbing", wherein the starter motor is using too much juice from the battery and not leaving enough for the coil(s) to generate a good spark to get the engine fired up. If you push start the car and it fires up immediately then there is a good chance that this is the problem.

I personally would say you either have a blocked fuel filter, a fuel pressure regulator problem, a weak fuel pump, or a faulty coolant temperature sensor. The first thing I would do is measure the resistance across the coolant temperature sensor with a cold engine. It should be at around 3000 ohms or thereabouts, and as the engine reaches temperature it should drop down to about 300 ohms or thereabouts. I would then move onto a fuel pressure test.

These engines do suffer from faulty camshaft sensors at times as well.

I am wondering if the orange engine management light is, or has been on at all? Have the codes read out and see if there are any stored because if so then they will point you in the right direction. Anyone with an FCR (Fault Code Reader) can read the codes out for you, and you can then post them on here and we can decypher them for you.

This should keep you busy for a while!!

Cheers

Geordie

Answer 3

It could be something simple like the automatic choke not kicking in and that would make it very difficult to start a simple thing to try is buy a tin of easy start and just spray a very little bit in the air intake and then try to start the car. If that works then the engine is not getting enough petrol through to start it hope this helps

Answer 4

HI there, has the same problem with an "L" redg corsa..

Have you tried to replace the HT leads? Check them by spraying WD40 onto them when engine running, if you see electrical arcing (Like lightning) then they are bust, replace them (Costs about a Tenner!) (!!!! REPLACE ONE AT A TIME, DON'T MIX THEM UP OR CAR WILL RUN REALLY BADLY!!!!)

Also worth a look is to replace the fly wheel inside the cap at the end of the leads, (You can also take it out and sandpaper it to clean it, unfortunately it get really dirty after a while causing problems with starting - but since they only cost about a fiver your as well to change it!)

Hope these help, i remember the problem well...

Answer 5

IF the engines NOT turning over the starters faulty> If the enngine IS turning over then it could be the Crank sensor OR coil OR the Ingnition module

Answer 6

If your timing belt has over 100,000 km on it and the engine seems to be cranking faster than usual, maybe the timing belt broke. You need to check anyways for the future to see if you have an "interference" type engine which can suffer valve damage if the timing belt breaks.

Answer 7

this sounds like one of two things?
1. being cold start senser or temp senser giving rong info to ecu (brain of the car)
2. lamnda senser ( part of the exhorst side telling the ecu not to start as there is to much fuel going in to the exhorst?
what ever it need to b pluged in at vauxhall as it is a senser fault!

Answer 8

Have your injectors checked.. If that isn't the problem then you probably need to replace the fuel pump.

the clicking is probably the fuel pump relay which is normal

Answer 9

maybe the starter motor is not working ok if i was u check it out

Answer 10

sounds like the starter is not enguaging into flywheel which indicates a selenoid /starter problem replace starter should fix problem.. good luck ..