I have a 1993 petrol Ford Fiesta "Fun" that generally runs very well and is regularly maintained.
The issue: Sometimes it refuses to start. This happens more often in cold weather, but it can also happen in summer. The time between starts doesn’t seem to matter; for example, it started perfectly after sitting unused for a month.

The battery is almost new and doesn't seem to be the problem. The engine cranks normally, but it just won’t start. Using "start pilot" spray often helps, but not always. Every time this happens, if I try to start it again the next day or a few days later, it starts without any problem. I’ve been told to press the accelerator while starting, which seems to help slightly, but not consistently. I haven’t had the chance to try push-starting it.

Since the car runs perfectly otherwise and there doesn’t seem to be any clear pattern to when it won’t start, I’m quite puzzled!

What I’ve tried so far:

• Checking fluid levels
• Cleaning the air filter
• Adding a fuel system cleaner to the petrol
• Turning the ignition key several times to "warm up" the system before starting

I hope someone with some knowledge can give me some ideas!

Thank you in advance!

My old 205 used to do that, and it turned out the coil lead caps had cracks in them and was sparking against the head.

check the spark caps i would do also do a compression test on it and check the plugs 

If i remember correctly fiestas around that year had auto choke and single point injection. 

 

10 minutes ago, festervas said:

it turned out the coil lead caps had cracks in them and was sparking against the head.

You can sometimes see that if you have a look at the Engine running/being turned over in the dark.