Starting problems

[Narutodono]

First time i start my car in a day the glow plugs will come on and it starts fine its after this time it becomes difficult, if ive drove somewhere and the engine becomes cold again the car becomes difficult to start. Touch wood it always starts ever since ive got it but the glow plugs never come on again in that day which i find weird because it can take over 10 seconds of turning over sometimes before the car starts which i believe wouldnt be healthy for the starter motor or battery. does anyone know any solutions or can diganose the problem thanks

[tony-1977]

What year / car / engine size is it?

[Narutodono]

sorry i was about to post that as id forgotten .
It is a Vectra C 2003 2.0 DTi

[tony-1977]

The 2.0DTi ... There's quite a few threads regarding this engine not starting in the cold

I'm sure there's an ECU softwre update available for cold starting and glow plug timing issues on this engine?

I'm sure someone will confirm

[bigmac]

Check some of my threads about starting, Mine would start fine from cold but once left for an hour it would be a nightmare I did post some videos in threads too

I would start with your battery even if it has a green light and feels fine as I thought mine was ok but once I fitted I new one omg it turned so much quicker

[Narutodono]

you can update the ECU ? if so how would one go about doing this or is it a dealer job?

[bigmac]

you can update the ECU ? if so how would one go about doing this or is it a dealer job?

Read my posts first as I changed everything and I had ECU update done but it still didn't start right, in the end I changed my starter motor and battery and touch wood she's been fine since

If your symptoms are the same as mine I would start with battery then starter motor first

[Narutodono]

how expensive is a starter motor? and is it a gamble to get one from scrap yard?

[bigmac]

You can get new ones on eBay for under £70 or Vauxhall charge around £117 with trade club iirc but my starter was kicking out and I didn't have a lot of money so bought a 2nd one off a low mileage DTi for £20 iirc

[Narutodono]

Also thank you for your help and advise its much appreciated