About Tony Edwards Expertise Can answer questions on british and european diesel injection systems , Limited on the latest electronic and common rail systems but have accsess to technical backup .
Experience I have 27 yrs in the diesel injection repair business. Currently Service Manager at Toyota dealership, but more than happy to answer your diesel related questions.
Question Hi Tony, my 1993 escort 1.8 diesel won't start on cold mornings. Once I've charged the battery and let the sun warm it up a bit it starts and runs nicely,but i can't seem to start it in the mornings even if the battery has been on charge all night. I've put new glowplugs in but would welcome any other suggestions.
Regards, David Gallagher, Aldershot UK
Answer Do my best on this one for you. 93 model, possible high mileage? If so then this weather will definately cause problems because I suspect low compression. Worn rings probably. A compression check when cold will tell. Readings of 350lbs sq in will not start an indirect injection engine very well. By high mileage i mean 60k plus, this was about the ceiling on these engines. Also consider oil change if you have not done for a while, if oil is thick initially it will be very thick in this weather and thus engine will be slower turning over, which is another factor , battery condition , how well does it spin over? Are there clouds of smoke when it does start, indicating that fuel is going in all the time then it all gets burnt off in one go, another bad compression indicator. A simple test I found for compression/ or worn fuel pump plungers is to park car on slope , give it heater don't try bump starting as soon as light goes off, allow the timer to click off approx 25-30 secs, then roll it down slope in 2nd or 3rd and see what happens, if it starts quite well then that will be because the pistons are coming up a lot faster thus creating the heat required to burn juice, apart from these simple self diagnosis checks , with exception of comp test, the only solution is to get into fuel experts and see what they think. Good luck and thanks for your question!
Tony
