Starting From Warm...

[chrisash32]

Hi Guys,
Had my Altea now for just under 2 months. Amazing car and would ask for anything else at the moment. Its a 2.0 TDi Sport (Manual).

When i come out on these very cold morning i put the key in the ignition, wait for the glow plug light to go out. Then i start and the car turns over instantly!

Then when i get to to work i quite frequently have to move my car after 10min to another space after the last shift have left.
When i get into the car the engine is still warm, but i follow the same procedure to start as above, but then when i make the final turn, the car can take 3-5 seconds before it will turn over.

Is this normal? i always thought the car would turn over easier when the engine is warm.

Does anyone else experience this?

Many Thanks

Chris

 

[Richie D]

Mine does the same thing, never really thought much of it. Service coming up in 1500 miles or so, see if it makes any difference.

Rich

 

[Tabintab]

Hi guys,

My 05 2.0l tdi sport is exactly the same, takeslonger start her up when the engine is warm, dont need glow plugs when cold, always starts instantly. I've also noticed mine idles a little rough when pointing downhill & stationary. Strange huh!

 

[chrisash32]

how odd!
i thought it was just me!

Here is another strange one for you!
If you stall the car then restart again (yes takes a while if warm) but look at how rough the idle is! mine ranges between 1 and 1.5k with the car revving itself for about 5min.

 

[Joec1]

Hi,

I know this is an old one, but i have searched for an answer to the same thing and not really found anything specific.

I have just bought (pic up this friday) a 2.0 TDI (140bhp) and it has the same issue.

Having read on here that it was likely to cause a problem i specifically drove it out, and did the usual "Test drive" stuff, then when i got back to the dealer (non Seat) turned it off, walked around and tried ot restart it.

However it wouldnt turn over.... after 5-10 Seconds it eventually started, the Dealer (who i know personally) is going ot get it looked at, and its due a service (which he is doing)

Just wondered if you guys had worked out what was causing yours? did a service solve the problem?

 

[Toxic]

i have heard it can be one of the temp sensors that could be at fault. i've not changed mine. though I have exactly the same issue. once the engine is warm it usually takes a few turns to start the engine.

 

[Joec1]

Right, further to my previous message, the car has been serviced (less than 10 miles ago) and has still kept hold of this fault. (i was really hoping it would go away)

it does have a slightly rough idle when stationary... i notice it at traffic lights etc where it is slightly chuggy (if you sit still you can feel yourself rattling slightly)

Going to give the garage a call and explain the sensor theory and see what they say.... (unless anyone else here has any ideas?

 

[Wonderland]

I have exactly the same problem. It must be common to the 2.0 TDI S 140. It will be interesting to hear if anyone gets an answer for it. Mine is lumpy on idle at times too.

 

[cadman2k]

Lumpy Idling

Just wanted to through this one in, does the auxiliary belt have anything to do with the idling?
I was certain mine slipped during the cold winter (had battery light on for a few secs, on then off with some engine bay noise), I suspected the Aux Belt so asked the dealer to change as a matter of course, pretty cheap Job actually.
I know when I got it back the engine certainly seemed to be running that much better or maybe it was the BP Ultimate that I'd filled it up with prior to having the belt changed.
I had heard that with a worn belt (and sometimes you od not know if it is worn, to the eye) that it causes some imbalance as runs around the alternator etc as the engine is ticking over.

 

[Joec1]

Nope its a brand new belt and tensioner on mine... (had it done as a condition of sale) (its new to me from agarage but a 2006)

test drove it prior ot the belt being done and it was still a little bit of a pain then...

so garage sadi they will first off try the coolant temp sensor and go from their.

Here here for having a warranty

 

[davidmills2002]

keep us posted on if the coolant sensor fixes it. I've heard mixed opinions on it.

 

[MWG]

I have exactly the same problem, cold starts are perfect but when warm it takes a couple of seconds

I did read somewhere (may have been on the VWforums or uk-mkivs) about a possible software update that fixes it. Apparently unplugging the coolant sensor when you start the engine will make it start like it does when cold, its due to a speed threshold that the engine has to reach before it will start injecting fuel when its warm and the update is supposed to remove the threshold.

I've also heard that removing the starter motor and cleaning it all and re-greasing the gears sorts it out but that'll be something that needs to be repeated yearly if not more regularly

Anyone else heard of these?

 

[Joec1]

Coolant sensor was a no no... had it changed and it made no difference.

since then the car went into limp mode twice (in the same trip... after stopping, restarting) and then the Engine management light trigerred... so its currently at seat (under warranty through the garage i bought it) to have the fault diagnosed.

the garage are thinking the following:

EGR
MAF
or Turbo.....

 

[Phil_B]

Just a thought here, is there a cut off time for the fuel system to prime when you turn on the ignition? If there is and the car has not been standing quite long enough perhaps the fuel doesn't get through straight away, whereas after a longer period the system will prime so fuel is available straight away!

Like I say, just a thought, could be complete bunkam!

 

[MWG]

I'd have thought that the priming would only last for 1-2 seconds which is about as long as the glow plug light stays on for. It could be related but it doesn't seem to make any difference as to how long i wait between ignition and cranking

I dunno what the limitations of vag-com are in terms of being able to modify tables etc but it'd probably be a good start for finding the cause

I've been thinking of emailing some of the companies that do remapping to ask some questions about their maps before i get one. I'm sure they'd be able to implement a fix for this, assuming it is a limit in the map

 

[Phil_B]

I was thinking more along the lines of, if the ignition had only been off for a short time, say 5 mins, that the fuel system wouldn't prime at all, thinking that there was no need. But then after a longer period say 10 mins or more, it knows that it needs to prime so does, therefore starting OK.

Hope that makes sense.

I also don't think that this is a VAG issue. My MG (BMW Common rail diesel engine) can be slower to start when warm and also idles lumpy after a stall, so maybe it's a more generic diesel related thing.

 

[MWG]

That's an interesting idea, could be something like that. I'm hoping that with vag-com you could log the engine speed, fuel pressure, injection events etc during cranking when cold and hot then plot them vs time and see the differences in the values to get an idea of what is happening

The only cars i can compare this to is my sisters V reg 1.9TDI Golf and my parents 53 plate 2.8 TDI Jeep, neither of which have a problem starting when hot

 

[Joec1]

Right,

Seats "PC" said that there was one fault code for "low Voltage" something or other... they cleared it off and made a few changes, upgraded the software on the ECU and told me to go straight there if i have any further issues.

so far so good... feels a lot nicer to drive. and doesnt seem as rough on idle.

not really checked the warm starting as i havent been out in it straight after a drive. but will report back.

 

[CrispDust]

mines just started doing it - 5 years old and 35k. Could be the fuel is too hot having stood in pipes in/on engine? The overflow fuel does go thru a cooler on way back to fuel tank when engine is running.
Will check if anything comes up on vag com. Could be egr system sticking somewhere?

 

[MWG]

I can't remember what the effect of fuel temperature is on a diesel engine but i honestly don't think the fuel temperature be it hot or cold should stop them starting on the first couple of cycles. Will have to check this though

I'm going to talk to some of the guys i used to work with about this and see if they can come up with any ideas