' 94 RT Alize not (easily) starting when cold

[Furball]

Hi all.

I've got a '94 RT Alize 2L fuel injected (petrol), which over the winter has become very difficult to start. It cranks fine, but is very reluctant to fire consistantly to start with. If I persevere and do get it going, it's then fine, and there is no problem when restarting from hot. It's been to the garage (not a main dealer) and had the O2 sensor, water temp sensor, distributor cap & leads, plugs & fuel filter changed, but it's made no difference. The garage suggested it might be something to do with the immobiliser, which we never use, but I would have thought it unlikely.

Any suggestions for what I could try next?

Cheers

Lance

(Old Land Rovers are much easier to work on!   )

[Anders Dinsen]

• A land rover may be more fun to work on, but it's not an Espace.
• I would have suggested the water temp sensor to be the source of your problem.
• But since it has been replaced, it can't be it.
• It also couldn't be the O2 sensor since the computer runs open-loop for the first minutes of operation.
• Will it start more easily if you push the gas pedal a bit? I.e. is it getting enough air?
• Can you always hear the fuel pump make noise when you turn the key to ignition (not starting)? If not, then there's no fuel supply and engine won't start until fuel pump starts turning. A worn fuel pump will stop at some occasions. When I had one of these, hitting it with a heavy instrument would start it! I ended up replacing it though - it was just too embarrassing to have to hit the car underneath every second time I wanted to start it, and my wife refused to do it!

Good luck!

[mart]

I had the same problem ,the only way i found to solve it was to replace the idle speed control valve.

good luck
Mart

[Anders Dinsen]

I had the same problem ,the only way i found to solve it was to replace the idle speed control valve.

This is always a good place to start - for diagnosing the valve, I suggest taking a look at my page on http://dinsen.net/espace/teknik/j11-j63/fuelinjection.html.html
(scroll down for idle speed valve info).

Spraying a bit of WD40 into the valve (lift off the inlet hose) may fix it temporarily.

- Anders

[voyager]

Hi,
I recently had a very similar problem that after trying everything else turned out to be a faulty knock sensor.
It's screwed into to left side of the head half way along, between the middle two intake manifold branches.
It's a bit fiddly to get at but the car should run OK without it.
It's a long shot but it would only take a minute or two to unplug the wire from it and try starting.
If it cures the problem you've found it.
If it doesn't all you've lost is two minutes of your time, worth a try.

Paul

[roy4matra]

Hi all.

I've got a '94 RT Alize 2L fuel injected (petrol), which over the winter has become very difficult to start. It cranks fine, but is very reluctant to fire consistantly to start with. If I persevere and do get it going, it's then fine, and there is no problem when restarting from hot. It's been to the garage (not a main dealer) and had the O2 sensor, water temp sensor, distributor cap & leads, plugs & fuel filter changed, but it's made no difference. The garage suggested it might be something to do with the immobiliser, which we never use, but I would have thought it unlikely.

Any suggestions for what I could try next?

This sounds like a temperature sensor or air valve at fault, Lance.  Did they really change the correct sensor, as there are two close together...  One is for the gauge and the other for the injection computer.  Second, is the signal reaching the computer?  Renaults often have wiring/connection problems so the next step is to check the continuity.

Since it runs fine once hot, I doubt there is much wrong with the other sensors, but the air valve is the other most likely culprit.  This is controlled by the injection computer once it has the temperature data from the sensor.  The valve on my Espace was faulty recently, even though it was clean and free to rotate.  First you need to check yours is clean and free because they do get carboned up.  If it is free, like mine it still might be faulty and need replacing.

Roy