On the understanding you are getting fuel through - check the spark plugs and see if they are wet with fuel, if so dry out.

When it is trying to start keep the accelerator flat on the floor (throttle wide open) and keep it turning over on the starter motor - quite often they will fire up

 

I have just started a Citroen that has stood for 6 years - fresh 5 litres of fuel, plugs out and cleaned, turned engine over by hand a few times, tea spoonful of oil down each plug hole (if the bores and piston rings have all dried up cylinder compression could be very low, the oil usually fixes that.

59 minutes ago, TrevorB said:

On the understanding you are getting fuel through - check the spark plugs and see if they are wet with fuel, if so dry out.

When it is trying to start keep the accelerator flat on the floor (throttle wide open) and keep it turning over on the starter motor - quite often they will fire up

 

I have just started a Citroen that has stood for 6 years - fresh 5 litres of fuel, plugs out and cleaned, turned engine over by hand a few times, tea spoonful of oil down each plug hole (if the bores and piston rings have all dried up cylinder compression could be very low, the oil usually fixes that.

Thanks for that, when I removed the old plugs they were sooted up but dry.... I've now replaced all 4 new plugs, so are you saying to remove each plug & add a tea spoon of fuel or engine oil before refixing all the spark plugs ?

1 minute ago, Rajput said:

so are you saying to remove each plug & add a tea spoon of fuel or engine oil before refixing all the spark plugs ?

NO !!!

Don't put anything directly in to the cylinders.

What Trevor is saying is the plugs need to be dry. Not wet with petrol.

You can spray something like Easy Start in to the air intake. Also Trevor's suggestion of holding the accelerator pedal hard to the floor (don't pump it up and down) while trying to start is a very good one. On injection engines it will help clear the system if it has become flooded, the opposite of what you might expect by holding the pedal down.

3 hours ago, unofix said:

NO !!!

Don't put anything directly in to the cylinders.

What Trevor is saying is the plugs need to be dry. Not wet with petrol.

You can spray something like Easy Start in to the air intake. Also Trevor's suggestion of holding the accelerator pedal hard to the floor (don't pump it up and down) while trying to start is a very good one. On injection engines it will help clear the system if it has become flooded, the opposite of what you might expect by holding the pedal down.

 

3 hours ago, unofix said:

NO !!!

Don't put anything directly in to the cylinders.

What Trevor is saying is the plugs need to be dry. Not wet with petrol.

You can spray something like Easy Start in to the air intake. Also Trevor's suggestion of holding the accelerator pedal hard to the floor (don't pump it up and down) while trying to start is a very good one. On injection engines it will help clear the system if it has become flooded, the opposite of what you might expect by holding the pedal down.

Ok, thanks for explaining that.

This is all irrelevant until you have fuel to the rail...  Have you rechecked the flow from the rail pipe yet?

But Trevor is suggesting to put some oil (or diesel, but definitely not petrol) into the cylinders.  [I'm sure he can speak for himself lol].  Oil helps the piston rings create an air-tight seal.  Usually it comes up from underneath through normal engine running, and will cling for a long while after switch off.  But after considerable time, the oil can drain away and leave the cylinder without an air tight seal, so little to no compression can be created.  Adding a little oil from the top recreates that seal again.

13 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

This is all irrelevant until you have fuel to the rail...  Have you rechecked the flow from the rail pipe yet?

But Trevor is suggesting to put some oil (or diesel, but definitely not petrol) into the cylinders.  [I'm sure he can speak for himself lol].  Oil helps the piston rings create an air-tight seal.  Usually it comes up from underneath through normal engine running, and will cling for a long while after switch off.  But after considerable time, the oil can drain away and leave the cylinder without an air tight seal, so little to no compression can be created.  Adding a little oil from the top recreates that seal again.

Hi, how do I check the flow from the rail pipe, where is it located, if any diagrams to guide me I'd appreciate it. Thanks for your advice Tom.👍

11 hours ago, Rajput said:

Hi, how do I check the flow from the rail pipe, where is it located, if any diagrams to guide me I'd appreciate it. Thanks for your advice Tom.👍

No problem.  I did post a picture yesterday, but you may have missed it. 

Remove this pipe (circled), and place it into a container to catch any fuel.  If you're not familiar with this type of clip, you just have to press in the grey parts to release it.  Then switch the ignition on and you should get a reasonable flow of petrol coming from it.  If there's no petrol flowing, see if you can hear the whine of the fuel pump from under the rear seats.  Then report back to us.  

On 7/1/2022 at 9:32 AM, TomsFocus said:

No problem.  I did post a picture yesterday, but you may have missed it. 

Remove this pipe (circled), and place it into a container to catch any fuel.  If you're not familiar with this type of clip, you just have to press in the grey parts to release it.  Then switch the ignition on and you should get a reasonable flow of petrol coming from it.  If there's no petrol flowing, see if you can hear the whine of the fuel pump from under the rear seats.  Then report back to us.  

Hi, I removed the fuel pipe as shown, started it up but no fuel flowing through... I couldn't hear no whine sound under the rear seats. The only consultation was it started for a little while after spraying easy start into the air duct pipe.

Sounds like you need a new fuel pump. Best to check that it is actually getting a supply before getting a replacement.

50 minutes ago, Rajput said:

Hi, I removed the fuel pipe as shown, started it up but no fuel flowing through... I couldn't hear no whine sound under the rear seats. The only consultation was it started for a little while after spraying easy start into the air duct pipe.

Ok thanks, that's a good sign.  Means it'll probably run fine once the fuelling issue is fixed.

As above, first check is to make sure voltage is getting to the fuel pump in the tank.  

I can't remember if there's an access hatch under the rear seats on the mk3.  If not, the tank may have to be removed to replace the pump.  Someone may confirm over night, but if not, lift the rear seat base and have a look for a round plastic cover, roughly 9 inches across.  

If there's no access hatch.  There are a couple of other things you can try on the off-chance.  Firstly replacing the fuel pump fuse in the fusebox.  Secondly, there's small fuel cut-off button under the glovebox in the foot well.  It's either red or yellow iirc..  If you can find it, press the top in to reset it.  You can also try swapping the fuel pump relay with another identical one in the fusebox.  Fuse and relay numbers are in the handbook and/or on the inside of the fusebox lid.

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

I can't remember if there's an access hatch under the rear seats on the mk3.

The OP might be in luck, I think that there could be an access hatch if the circle on this floor plan is correct.

https://ford.7zap.com/en/car/99/code.1p,1.15405,2.36157,6.18020,7.24135,10.32097/0/2302/18285/80065/

16 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

I can't remember if there's an access hatch under the rear seats on the mk3. 

There is but it's only really there to access the pump fuel and electrical connections. To get proper access to remove the pump and sender unit it's a tank off job. 

4 minutes ago, agraham said:

There is but it's only really there to access the pump fuel and electrical connections. To get proper access to remove the pump and sender unit it's a tank off job. 

Thanks for the confirmation. 

In that case, I'd suggest simply checking for 12 volts at the pump plug (with ignition on) as the next step.  That quickly rules out the fuse, relay and cut-off switch if there is voltage present. 

On 7/3/2022 at 12:34 PM, TomsFocus said:

Thanks for the confirmation. 

In that case, I'd suggest simply checking for 12 volts at the pump plug (with ignition on) as the next step.  That quickly rules out the fuse, relay and cut-off switch if there is voltage present. 

Ok thanks I'll get that checked out next👍

On 7/4/2022 at 2:11 PM, Rajput said:

Ok thanks I'll get that checked out next👍

Checked the pump plug & got 9.5volts as ignition was on, but still not starting. A friend/mechanic said remove the fuel filter pipe from 1 end to see if any fuel flowing, then the other side to see if there's any blockage upto the fuel filter, also he reckons the fuel pump may need to be replaced.

Hang on! 9.5 volts not adequate! Maybe a corroded connection causing the voltage drop - you need a healthy 12.5 volts at that pump. (depending what your battery voltage is measuring - which shld be at least 12.2 volts. 

I wonder if the relay that switches the pump could be at fault... 🤔 

Remember what TomsFocus said :

You can also try swapping the fuel pump relay with another identical one in the fusebox.  Fuse and relay numbers are in the handbook and/or on the inside of the fusebox lid.

10 hours ago, Rajput said:

Checked the pump plug & got 9.5volts as ignition was on, but still not starting. A friend/mechanic said remove the fuel filter pipe from 1 end to see if any fuel flowing, then the other side to see if there's any blockage upto the fuel filter, also he reckons the fuel pump may need to be replaced.

Yes, it's looking like the pump probably will need replacing...but that's a big job on these if the whole tank has to be removed for access.  You should hear the pump whining if it's working, I don't think you need to disconnect the fuel filter to check visually but there's no harm in doing that.  

As Nick said above, you should be getting 12volts to the pump.  However, the pump should still run with 9.5v.  It may just be that the battery is weak after all the failed starts, or your mulitmeter connections weren't perfect.  You could swap the relays as suggested.  Or, you can put 12v directly to the pins on the pump, by running a jumper wire from a spare 12v battery.  (Or a long jumper wire right from the engine bay.)

Ultimately, I do think you'll need a new tank pump, but would want to see 12v getting to it before finally condemning it!

14 hours ago, nicam49 said:

Hang on! 9.5 volts not adequate! Maybe a corroded connection causing the voltage drop - you need a healthy 12.5 volts at that pump. (depending what your battery voltage is measuring - which shld be at least 12.2 volts. 

I wonder if the relay that switches the pump could be at fault... 🤔 

Remember what TomsFocus said :

You can also try swapping the fuel pump relay with another identical one in the fusebox.  Fuse and relay numbers are in the handbook and/or on the inside of the fusebox lid.

The new battery went flat, considering the amount of times I've tried to start the car, so had it on jump leads whilst checking the voltage of the fuel plug.

3 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Yes, it's looking like the pump probably will need replacing...but that's a big job on these if the whole tank has to be removed for access.  You should hear the pump whining if it's working, I don't think you need to disconnect the fuel filter to check visually but there's no harm in doing that.  

As Nick said above, you should be getting 12volts to the pump.  However, the pump should still run with 9.5v.  It may just be that the battery is weak after all the failed starts, or your mulitmeter connections weren't perfect.  You could swap the relays as suggested.  Or, you can put 12v directly to the pins on the pump, by running a jumper wire from a spare 12v battery.  (Or a long jumper wire right from the engine bay.)

Ultimately, I do think you'll need a new tank pump, but would want to see 12v getting to it before finally condemning it!

Yes Tom, I think as you rightly pointed out the amount of failed starts has probably affected the slight drop in the voltage to 9.5, still no whining sound. Access to the fuel pump is directly under the rear seat covers, isn't that the fuel pump ?

15 minutes ago, Rajput said:

Access to the fuel pump is directly under the rear seat covers, isn't that the fuel pump ?

Can you remove the pump through that hole?  Someone suggested earlier in the thread that the hole was only large enough to access the connections on the Mondeo, but not to remove the whole pump.