My Seat Leon 1.9 TDi won't start again!!!

[AMoN]

Hello everybody,

as I already told you before, the car won't start, I checked time ago the fuses and find out that were mixed, after I fixed them the car was working till... 5 days ago!!!

I went to gas station for refuel and did the full of Diesel (from Shell).
After I paid the car won't start, then after 5 times I tried to start it, it started, arrived home and then... won't start again for 3 days!!!

This morning the car started, went to work without problems but, when I went out, the car already won't start!!! (32C are on the display).

I must tell you that:
1) A mechanic try to install an aftermarket autoalarm (magicar with the display on the key)
2) He was not able to let it work (always say that the doors are open even if are closed)
3) He changed the centralized lock main stuff on the driver's door (still not working)
4) After he putted his hands on my car the car won't start (he said that the problem was even before but is not true!)
5) I tried to start the car with the main key and with the second key - Not working
6) I changed the battery for a new one - Working but the second time not working again!
7) I fixed the mixed fuses - working for 15days
8) I did the full tank of diesel - not working, after 5 attempts working again for less then a week
9) the car was 3 days not working, then this morning working again and then again not working

Last check issued 1 hour ago:

- Fuses (remove one by one a put back) // Not working
- Battery (removed for 5 min) // Not working
- Keys (tried both of them) // Not working

When I put the key and turn it to "ON" the spy of the candels (the one that is in the diesel engine that tells you that you can start the engine only when it goes off) doesn't appear
(if this spy will appear the car will start)

The spy of the oil goes off before the starting of the car
The spy of the key (car with a key) goes off before the starting of the car
The cables of the autoalarm are totally a mess (and there are 2 cables that are going on the immobilizer directly)

And one last thing: Can somebody show me which one is the "best point" on the stuff for check the oil??? Because mine arrive on the small part on the end of the stuff just little bit less than 1cm.

Can somebody help me to fix this or at least understand what can be??? I already spent more than 500euros for this and still not working, I've to do next week a trip of 1400km and more for go back to my city (and there I will leave the car in the hands of MY mechanics)

 

[AMoN]

Maybe (and I repeat "MAYBE") I found where can be the problem...

Looking around the interweb I found another guy with my same car and my SAME PROBLEM:

The pre-heating lights not appearing on the dashboard and the car not starting, after lot of checks with his mechanic they disconnect the temp switch and the pre-heating light was turning on for some second then the car was starting, from their check seems that the engine (when is really warm like today here) still find the engine warm, so for this reason will not start the pre-heating system and won't start the engine...

Tomorrow I'll do the check with my friend (unfortunately now the car is at work, and I've nobody to go there and check together...

 

[AMoN]

Upgrade, is not working, we were not able to find the temp switch in the engine... and the car still won't start In the morning started without problems at the first attempt, but when I went out from work nothing!!!

 

[M20FES]

When were the glow plugs last changed ?

 

[AMoN]

When were the glow plugs last changed ?

Actually all the engine was changed in 2009 from a 1.9 TDi 81Kw to the 1.9 TDi 110Kw with 50k km on.

As far as I know the last check (with the classic changes) was in december, more than this I don't know.
The mechanic that was mounting the autoalarm said that this is a problem with the "Imobilizer" but this doesn't explain why sometimes is starting and sometimes not, and the time that is not starting the pre-heat light does not turn on.
As far as I know if was a problem with the imobilizer the light of the imobilizer on the dashboard will blink, something that doesn't happen...

 

[M20FES]

With an immobiliser I would guess that it would either work or not ?

 

[AMoN]

With an immobiliser I would guess that it would either work or not ?

This actually I don't really know... all the people that wrote on this forum (and on other websites) about a "starting problem" related to the immobiliser, they had the car starting and then after few seconds stopping, with the immobiliser light blinking (or not starting but still with the immobiliser light blinking).

The rest is working fine, no problems, with other friends that understand something more than me about engines, they said that is like the "electricity" does not arrive to the glow for start the diesel engine, because there is still the "trying" of the engine to start but not "explosion"

 

[Muttley]

You've had a failed attempt to install an aftermarket alarm. You need to have the work completely reversed by the original installer, incompetent though he may be, it is his responsibility to get your car back to the way it was before he started work.

Until this is done you cannot reliably predict what is at fault.

One thing I can say, though, is that the glow plugs are almost certainly not the cause of the non-starting. They are only there to warm up the cylinder heads when it gets below about 5°C. The diesel cycle relies on the heat of compression alone to ignite the inlet charge. You should still be able to start without glow-plugs, but it will take longer and the engine will be rough until it warms up.

If the immobiliser doesn't recognise the transponder in the key, it will allow the car to start then stop the engine by telling the ECU to shut it down. Once a diesel has started the glow plugs are not required to keep it going, and indeed an old-fashioned diesel with no ECU will keep going unless the fuel is cut off or the air inlet blocked.

 

[AMoN]

Last news:

Another mechanic checked my car and found lot of cables cutted and flying under the stearing wheel.
Now, with the help of another car, mine is in his service, tomorrow he'll let me know 100% what was the problem and how long will take for solve it...

cross the fingers for me!

 

[BUBBA808]

definately feel sorry for you, it seems to be what 'mechanics' do...rip you off. reason why i do all work myself.

 

[AMoN]

definately feel sorry for you, it seems to be what 'mechanics' do...rip you off. reason why i do all work myself.

Thank you Bubba, unfortunately I'm new in the Leon world, if was a Ford Fiesta or Hyundai Coupe Tuscani or an Opel Tigra for me was not a problem, but for the Leon I'm totally new...

And is really difficult for me find manuals for this car (I mean "how to"), yes of course, there are lots of how to here on this forum, but I'm looking even for the stupidest one like "how to change the oil and the filters" "how to check the oil status" "how to change the breaks" and so on.

I must give a "bad point" on the manuals here:

Not many "illustrative" pics regarding how to do the job
Not so "specific" pics of the parts / places where to work on.

But of course are really good manuals, if the car will be fixed before wed, I'll have to go back to my country and my city, where I have lot of things from my old fiesta TDCi (the control for turbo pressure / oil / battery, the HIFI that I had mounted on it before).

I'll mount them on my new Leon and I'll try to partecipate more on this forum posting some "how to" that somebody one day will find interesting

BTW cross the fingers and let's see tomorrow what the mechanic will tell me

 

[Muttley]

Mk.4 Golf manuals are your best bet for nearly all the jobs on a Leon (which is built on the Golf 4 platform).

 

[Seatmann]

If your new mechanic is any good it should be fine, sounds like the first guy got a bit lost in there and screwed up, what engine is in your leon?

 

[AMoN]

If your new mechanic is any good it should be fine, sounds like the first guy got a bit lost in there and screwed up, what engine is in your leon?

Is the 1.9 TDi 110Kw 150bhp

 

[BUBBA808]

other good places are vwvortex and a programme called elsawin which is very helpful!

 

[AMoN]

other good places are vwvortex and a programme called elsawin which is very helpful!

Thank you for the info

BTW last updates:

THE CAR IS WORKING!!!

The previous mechanic took the cables directly from the Central Computer of the car, cutted them and linked back but "mixing them" and in a really bad way...

This mechanic fixed everything, and in half day I had back my car full working!!!

 

[Muttley]

Great news