Hey all im new here,

I bought a ford focus 1.8 tdci sport (imperial blue)a few months ago and now im having problems with it ,

When its cold outside and i start the car for the first time i need to keep my foot on the acclerater pedel and turn the key, then

a few seconds later the car will start but its very lumpy and there is a lot of white smoke coming out of the back, the colder

it is the harder it is to start, just had all four injecters replaced as the garage sayed that was the problem

BUT STILL NO CHANGE !!!! now they say they want another £650 to replace the diesel pump and that might fix the problem

I NEED SOME HELP AND ADVICE PLEASE PEOPLE , if possible is there anyone in the essex area that can have a look at it for me ?

the most common cause of non cold starting are the glow plugs not working,these preheat the cylinders so the fuel ignites better,white smoke out the exhaust shows unburnt fuel so i would get the plugs checked first.

thanks mate

the thing is though the glow plug light goes out as it should so i would have thought it was all working fine as the light is coming on then offagain

but i will have to get the plugs looked at then.

anyone else had this problem before ? or know of it ?

Hi mate,

I have a 53 plate 1.8TDCi which can be difficult starting in the cold (especially over last winter). I know for definate that a couple of my glow plugs are knackered and I find that turning the key to the 'II' position, waiting until the glow plug light goes out, then turning off and back on to re-heat them again, seems to makes it start better (a tip a mate told me!).

I've read on websites that some people reckon the glow plugs don't actually contribute / make no difference to starting the engine. How true this is I don't know, but if they don't then I have no idea what their function is. If I ever get around to getting mine replaced, only to find that it makes no difference, then I'll know these people were telling the truth ;)

Hope this helps!

Hey all im new here,

I bought a ford focus 1.8 tdci sport (imperial blue)a few months ago and now im having problems with it ,

When its cold outside and i start the car for the first time i need to keep my foot on the acclerater pedel and turn the key, then

a few seconds later the car will start but its very lumpy and there is a lot of white smoke coming out of the back, the colder

it is the harder it is to start, just had all four injecters replaced as the garage sayed that was the problem

BUT STILL NO CHANGE !!!! now they say they want another £650 to replace the diesel pump and that might fix the problem

I NEED SOME HELP AND ADVICE PLEASE PEOPLE , if possible is there anyone in the essex area that can have a look at it for me ?

she needs new glow plugs thats all get the top make ok thay can be gits to put in so id get a garage to do it as thay do snap in the head some times or if u wont to do them run it till she gets hot thay come out ok B)

she needs new glow plugs thats all get the top make ok thay can be gits to put in so id get a garage to do it as thay do snap in the head some times or if u wont to do them run it till she gets hot thay come out ok B)

What Brand of Glow Plugs are a top Brand Mate?

just interested for my own knowledge when it comes time for me to change mine.:)

Hi mate,

I have a 53 plate 1.8TDCi which can be difficult starting in the cold (especially over last winter). I know for definate that a couple of my glow plugs are knackered and I find that turning the key to the 'II' position, waiting until the glow plug light goes out, then turning off and back on to re-heat them again, seems to makes it start better (a tip a mate told me!).

Just as a matter of interest how long does your glow plug light stay on? Mine goes off after about a couple of seconds, which seems a bit quick. My car can be a b*****d to start on a frosty morning, even after trying your trick.

I'd also heard that on common-rail engines the glow plugs weren't really necessary because of the higher fuel pressures and finer atomisation. What is important, though, to generate enough heat for combustion the engine needs to be spinning over fast enough which means the battery and starter need to be in good order. I put a new battery on mine (proper lead-calcium) but it hasn't made a noticeable difference to the cold starting.

Maybe I am teaching grannies to suck eggs, but how is flooding the engine going to help to diagnose the issue...

If you flood the engine as your trying to start it, and its not starting because the glow plugs arent helping, then your filling the cyclinders with fuel. The engine will start, then when it does it will force out unburnt fuel causing your smoke output?

so first question:

Do you really need to flood the engine on starting the car for it to start?

If you dont, can you just start the car by not touching the gas, but leaving the starter to run? - if so worst case scenario it sounds like the brushes in the starter arent working properly.

If you really need to flood the engine to get the car started, it sounds like you might have a vaccum / fuel pump / distribution issue...