Astra 1.7 CDTI 100 struggling to start help,

[simon_172]

hi guys

over the past few days/ could be more, since the cold weather has come, my car has taken a while to start.

now last night i pulled onto my drive with full lock on and this stopped the fans (is like there wasnt enough power)

this morning ive come to the car and it wouldnt start. i had to plug a booster in to get it started. ive got the battery on charge atm but what else could it be?

glow plug?

also what should the battery read, its on 12.7v atm

si
_

its now been on charge 3 hours and its saying its 12v...

[trickywoo]

I'd say battery and possibly also alternator. I had an alternator fail with no warning light at least initially. The battery light eventually came on when totally fubar.

[Welshbeef]

Sounds like the battery.

Buy a new one Bosch Silver job done.
Also when you hop in the car turn on ignition leave it for ten seconds maybe more then the glow plugs will be super hot while just starting it up will be very hard.

It's evidently not holding charge.

If the new battery starts to go flat change the alternator.

[davepoth]

I'd wager the alternator is dying, and that's killing the battery.

[simon_172]

Oh awesome got a bosch silver on order from ECP for £70 which I don't think is too bad? They are £115 in halfrauds

Si

[simon_172]

Once I've started the car the voltage goes too 13.6/7v

[Welshbeef]

How old is the car and how old is the battery.
If still original well that's your first port of call cheapest and easiest to change and a new battery is hardly money down te drain if the old one isn't shot

[simon_172]

It's a 55 plate mate. I dunno if it's been changed or not it says GM on it..

[nervouspassenger]

If you are getting around 14 volts at idle with the engine running I'd say the alternator is fine. I've had an alternator fail before but didn't get the dash light. The giveaway was the fact the voltage was still around 12 with the engine running.

[Welshbeef]

simon_172 said:

It's a 55 plate mate. I dunno if it's been changed or not it says GM on it..

Ok so it's 7 years.
You have noticed the issue in the very short term on very cold days. Battery no question.

Bin it get a Bosch Silver 5 year warranty - or if you buy from Costco lifetime warranty which is superb.

[simon_172]

Would it help if I pop out and take a pic of the battery? If you guys can tell if it's the original

[Welshbeef]

Somewhere on the battery is a date stamp.

However fact is doesn't work when cold = dead old battery get a new one else you will likely get stranded this winter.
Tis only £60 ish size dependant

[simon_172]

Looked every where for a date stamp. There is a crude stamp that's been done in dots but is very hard to read...

Do euro car parts store do battery testing for free like Halfords. I'm going in the morning at 8 so I can get it fitted before work.

Si

[simon_172]

just fitted a Bosch Silver and all seams to be ok! its still reading 13.6v when idle but fires near enough straight away, i guess ill have to wait till tomorrow morning for the real test after a cold night.

thank you for all your suggestions

[aj520d]

Strange, i've been noticing my fans slowing down when turning also (in my 1.7cdti 100). I sometimes takes 3-5 seconds to start on cold mornings (but never actually fails to start). I need to change the glow plugs (have the error code) but i've read all the horror stories about them snapping off into the combustion chamber...

[simon_172]

the glow plugs can do what?? how do you know when to replace them?

today the car had started straight away, the noise it makes is better sounding too!

[aj520d]

They are thin and quite brittle so when removing them they can snap and crumble into the cyclinder. Required drilling the head to get them out.

[11110111]

Having a similar problem with an astra 1.7 cdti, the reg is lb07fye (in case you need engine code / year)

Symptoms are:

Car will tick over but not start and it appears not much power left in battery. Tried jump starting (not pushing but using another running car and plugging the battery cables over) - car still wont fire up but keeps on ticking over.

Any suggestions? Help would be muchly appreciated!

Thanks PH!

[kiethton]

11110111 said:

Having a similar problem with an astra 1.7 cdti, the reg is lb07fye (in case you need engine code / year)

Symptoms are:

Car will tick over but not start and it appears not much power left in battery. Tried jump starting (not pushing but using another running car and plugging the battery cables over) - car still wont fire up but keeps on ticking over.

Any suggestions? Help would be muchly appreciated!

Thanks PH!

Is this only when hot or all of the time?

I had a 1.7 2007 Astra that did this only when hot but couldn't get the issue resolved - I part-ex'ed it

[anonymous-user]

That model of Astra is pretty notorious for alternator problems.