Cold Start Issue On A 1.4

[LEK]

Hey all,

I've got a Fiesta MK6 2004 1.4 Zetec (100K miles) in my possession at the moment that is suffering from a cold start issue, on a typical cold morning the car will turn over & fire up as normal but then will instantly cut out as soon as it's started up. This started yesterday afternoon after finishing work and I've noticed that the engine light has been on as well for the past few days.

I have managed to keep the engine from stalling/cutting out by holding the accelerator down at 2000rpm for a minute of so before setting off and the car will happily idle once the engine starts to get warm. Also, once the engine is at full temperature the car never cuts out at all and will be fine for the rest of my journey to work, however as mentioned when I come to leave work 8 hours later when the engine is cold the problem will be present again so the problem is isolated to when the engine is cold.

I've hooked the car up using my trusty OBD-II connected to my laptop and I am greeted with a P0030 error code (bank 1 sensor 1) which I believe is linked to the pre-cat Lambda sensor which is located above the manifold. Am I right thinking that the lambda sensor is the root of this problem? I have already ordered a replacement Lambda sensor either way.

Many thanks all - Liam

[wase16ll]

although i wouldnt dismiss the lamda sensor, but find it unlikely it will affect cold starts as the sensors dont really come into play till the engine warms anyway.

if you want a cheap gamble, throw in a new engine coolant temperature sensor

[LEK]

although i wouldnt dismiss the lamda sensor, but find it unlikely it will affect cold starts as the sensors dont really come into play till the engine warms anyway.

if you want a cheap gamble, throw in a new engine coolant temperature sensor

It's interesting that you mentioned another sensor of some sort i.e. the coolant temperature sensor as I also have an incling that could be the cause. Though if it was the coolant temperature sensor, wouldn't it give bad temperature readings on the dash? As mine are displaying fine.

Thanks for your quick reply though, I will still replace the Lambda sensor when the new one arrives just so that it clears the engine light.

Liam

[wase16ll]

its a different sensor to the guage, its purely for engine managment

[LEK]

its a different sensor to the guage, its purely for engine managment

Ahhh I see ok, cheers fella :)

Is the engine temperature sensor an easy job to carry out?

Liam

[wase16ll]

thinking about it, i might be wrong about the sensors being different, but believe the wiring is seperate....either way, worth trying

from memory, sensor is close to coil pack, fairly straightforward to change

[LEK]

thinking about it, i might be wrong about the sensors being different, but believe the wiring is seperate....either way, worth trying

from memory, sensor is close to coil pack, fairly straightforward to change

I think your theory is correct going by how electronic these MK6 Zetec engines are i.e. with them having no Idle Control Valves! It's amazing how many parts on these engines are all electronic & linked directly to the ECU.

Also after quickly googling again with the engine temperature sensor as a suggestion, there seems to be a lot of reports on different forums which very much resemble my issue...

Thanks again mate - Liam

[LEK]

thinking about it, i might be wrong about the sensors being different, but believe the wiring is seperate....either way, worth trying

from memory, sensor is close to coil pack, fairly straightforward to change

I got round to changing the engine temperature sensor yesterday, I left the car for a few hours and started it up and it fired up first time and didn't cut out. This morning when I left Derby to come home, it started first time again and didn't cut out at all - it looks like it was this sensor after all, many thanks mate - I owe you a beer! :)

However, as one problem is now looking solved another has arisen! On my way to Derby yesterday I hit a dreaded pot hole that I failed to avoid at a split second, a massive bang followed by slightly wobbly steering and minor groaning noises coming from the front passenger side when going over bumps on the roads. I pulled over at a petrol station to check all the tyres as fearing the worst I thought that it may of buckled the allow. However, upon inspection I was greeted with a large amount of what looks like oil splattered inside of the wheel arch & all over the shocker, small drips of oil were also present underneath the shocker... great.

Am I right thinking that the pot hole has managed to bust my shock absorber or if not, the CV joint/driveshaft? I'm absolutely amazed that the tyre did not burst from the impact!

Thanks - Liam

[wase16ll]

be easy enough to work out once you get a proper look..more inclined to believe it will be cv joint, or could well be a combination of faults..

but either way, needs checking asap...potholes are causing some serious damage, suspension/tyres/wheels and beyond..

[LEK]

Yeah that's absolutely true, pot holes are a serious problem on the roads where I live at the moment, and a lot of them seem to come in the masses too.

I've had another closer look over the weekend but it's hard to put my finger on what it could be, I know that its not anything like the fluids underneath the bonnet i.e. oil etc. as all the levels still look intact. The car is booked in at my Uncle's garage on Weds anyway to diagnose & replace what's been damaged (as well as having 2 new front tyres fitted too).

Liam

[LEK]

I had the car in the garage this morning, as suspected the shock absorber was totally knackered and the oil had leaked from out of the top where the seal is so it was replaced. However, at the same time when removing the old tyre off the alloy from the same arch (both fronts and one rear were replaced at the same time as part of the job), to our shock horror an indent was discovered on the alloy itself! Luckily my uncle knows a chap who can refurbish alloys and they managed to successfully sort it out (sadly part of the alloy where the indent was has now got burn marks as a result but I'm not too fussed).

So a new shock absorber and 3 tyres later the car is good to go and feels better than it did before. BUT before I forget to mention... when I went to start my car first thing this morning, it started and cut out/stalled again, the same happened when I picked the car up from the garage this evening as well :( The problem has returned after 4 days... Any ideas what else the problem could be besides the engine coolant temperature sensor?

Thanks - Liam

[wase16ll]

re the shock, really recommend shocks are changed as a pair, they play a major role in braking/handling, partiularly important on the front

odd to see the problem return....dont suppose it could be weather related, such as rain?

beyond that, always start with the basic stuff, ie...do you know when plugs/oil/filters were last changed, any doubts then change them...if that doesnt sort it, next step will be to carry out tests, can help out with these if your equipped to carry out basic voltage tests, plus if your diagnostic is capable of reading live data

[LEK]

re the shock, really recommend shocks are changed as a pair, they play a major role in braking/handling, partiularly important on the front

odd to see the problem return....dont suppose it could be weather related, such as rain?

beyond that, always start with the basic stuff, ie...do you know when plugs/oil/filters were last changed, any doubts then change them...if that doesnt sort it, next step will be to carry out tests, can help out with these if your equipped to carry out basic voltage tests, plus if your diagnostic is capable of reading live data

Yeah your absolutely right about that shocks should be changed in pairs, which I was thinking about while my car was in the garage the other day but my uncle reckons that the other one on the driver's side is still perfectly fine at the minute and is not showing any signs of where at all & is still operating as it should, also funds at the moment permit me to have the other one done :(

It's interesting that you mentioned about the weather being related - as when I started the car yesterday morning to go to work, it fired up first time again and didn't cut out! Bearing in mind that it had rained a lot the previous night and yesterday too. Even when I left work to come home yesterday evening, it still started up absolutely fine. However, this afternoon it cut out again when I attempted to start it but it didn't cut out after the second attempt.

I've got a new Lambda sensor present now as well but I haven't got round to getting it changed yet (I'm currently trying to source the special 22mm socket adapter to be able to do it). According to the service history & receipts the spark plugs were last changed in 2008 but the car could do with having an oil & filter change as the current oil filter looks a bit aged to say the least.

Here is a video that I made the other morning;

Liam

[Nathan_M]

Pretty common for the throttle body to get full of carbon and cause this can be cleaned easily enough, maybe IAC also.

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[wase16ll]

would still change that other shock as soon as you can when finances allow.

trust me, the old shock is going to be far weaker than the new one, despite it looking and feeling perfectly servicable...this will affect the steering/road holding/braking etc...not enough to really notice any difference under normal circumstances, but they will really come into play when having to brake hard and quickly...proven fact that new shocks will reduce your braking distance, but in order for this to work, they need to be matching pairs.

good shout on the throttle body and idle control valve, well worth a clean.

another possible..have the fuel pressure checked, with particular attention to the fuel holding pressure when engine is switched off.

[Nathan_M]

I ignored the suspension concern as I ask were the title, all suspension and steering components should be changed in pairs, so front spring both sides or In your case both shocks, if it feels alright the chances are it will get you some time to save your readies for round 2 but for future reference everything that involves stopping,steering and keeping the car in the air will want to be in pairs.

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