[ghodlur]

The reasons for the car not starting could be one of the three:
1) Starter motor not engaged
2) Faulty Ignition system
3) Clogged fuel lines or low fuel pressure or faulty fuel pump.

Since you have ruled out reason#1 & I assume the battery is perfect, it is better to start with the rest of the two reasons. Any particular reason why you chose not to visit the FASS when the problem was first identified? Since you are not getting any messages on the MID which means the ECU is not detecting any malfunction. Could it be also because you are releasing the clutch faster than required?

Better visit the FASS to rectify the issue. When was the last servicing done for the car??

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Since you are not getting any messages on the MID which means the ECU is not detecting any malfunction.??

No, this is not necesseraly true. A Check Engine Light will come up primarily due to a malfunction that will cause emission problems. Some MID might give other warnings too, but te only way to know for sure, and I have said this about a billion times on this forum is to hook it up to a OBD analyzer, preferably a car manufacturer specific and not generic one.

As I understand the engine does crank, but does not fire up? As suggested by others, still get the battery checked. Starting a warm engine (an thus warm starter motor) can be heavier than starting a cold motor.

Also, most engines/electronics start behaving eraticly when the voltage drops too low. During starting the battery voltage does drop, maybe it still sounds as if the engine is cranking at the correct RPM, but unless you actually check the voltage and state of the battery you will never know for sure. Its probably the one thing I would do before hooking an OBD analyzer to it. Takes a minute and either you have found the culprit or eliminated one potential cause. Obviously, preferably do this when the engine is warmed up and the likelyhood of this problem manifesting itself is there.

The one other thing that can cause this behaviour is a bad crank position sensor. I've seen it reported many times on various car forums and I have experience it myself once. Somehow the temperature affects the sensor. Will show up on the OBD Analyser and you can actually measure the sensor with a regular a voltmeter as well.

Good luck

Jeroen

[lejhoom]

When I asked a Fiat mechanic, he suggested checking the fuel pump. If you can loan one from some other car and drive for a while, you may be able to identify the issue. If this turns negative, the common rail injector could be the culprit. Again, you may need to fit another piece and test. His diagnosis is that it has something to do with the fuel system.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by lejhoom

When I asked a Fiat mechanic, he suggested checking the fuel pump. If you can loan one from some other car and drive for a while, you may be able to identify the issue. If this turns negative, the common rail injector could be the culprit. Again, you may need to fit another piece and test. His diagnosis is that it has something to do with the fuel system.

If it is related to fuel pressure it will show up on the OBD analyzer!!

Again and again and again. Dont go swapping parts without a proper diagnosis. If you cant find somebody with an OBD analyzer. Find at least somebody who can verify the basic working of the fuel system. There are some very simple ways of checking whether there appears to be sufficient fuel pressure and flow, without having to resort to swapping parts and see what happens

Swapping parts and see what happens is the old hit or miss method.

Jeroen

[sammyboy]

Strange but I had the same problem in the ikon. The service station also recommended changing fuel pump, starter motor , alternator to see what the culprit was. Nothing worked, then I went to a local mech who said the battery isn't giving out the correct voltage for some reason. I thought what the hell, let's try that too. Been 3 years or so no issues . Don't overlook the battery, is all I say. It's the cheapest to try out too.

Edit: by the way, I have a linea multijet too.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by Umesh Kumar61

What can be the possible causes ? Have anyone experienced a similar problem?

I faced a similar issue in my swift VDI (after 1.8 lakh kms though) and it turned out to be a faulty starter motor.

This was replaced at an FNG at ~1000 bucks.

[Umesh Kumar61]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

The reasons for the car not starting could be one of the three:
1) Starter motor not engaged
2) Faulty Ignition system
3) Clogged fuel lines or low fuel pressure or faulty fuel pump.

Since you have ruled out reason#1 & I assume the battery is perfect, it is better to start with the rest of the two reasons. Any particular reason why you chose not to visit the FASS when the problem was first identified? Since you are not getting any messages on the MID which means the ECU is not detecting any malfunction. Could it be also because you are releasing the clutch faster than required?
?

I'm certainly taking it to FASS, but before explaining the problem to them I need to know what can be the most probable causes. Once I had a similar problem in my esteem lx . The car would stop abruptly even while moving at considerable speeds and wouldn't start unless it cool down for sometime. The MASS assumed it was a faulty fuel pump and they checked with another pump but then also it didn't start and they told me to replace many other parts. I felt that they are trying to give me a big bill for some small cause. I took it to a local mechanic and he figured this out in minutes unlike the MASS which took half a day. It wasn't the fuel pump, it was the faulty fuel pump relay. This time if I know what can be the most probable causes, I think I can save my time and wouldn't have to make unnecessary replacements. But in the esteem, things were easier for me as I was familiar with Maruti's Petrol engine components and working, and Linea is my first diesel car.

[arun_josie]

My brother-in-law faced a very similar issue in his i10 and it turned out as a battery issue. He replaced the battery and issue got resolved. How old is the battery in your linea?

[h14]

Originally Posted by Umesh Kumar61

Hi,

My Linea MJD is showing an awkward problem since a few weeks. The car after driven for a considerable distance (~60 km or more), happens to be turned off, wont start even after multiple and cranks with sufficient interval. But once i let it cool for 15 minutes it starts fine.

What can be the possible causes ? Have anyone experienced a similar problem?

Importantly, how old is the car and how old is the battery. Couple of my friends have faced the very similar issue in their Punto's and on both cases the culprit was the battery. For them car stalled at a toll plaza after being driven for almost 150kms and did not start. Some 10 mins later, it started and he drove off and upon confirmation the culprit was the battery and upon changing the same the issue never re-occurred.

Seeing your symptoms, I strongly suspect the battery.

[Jeroen]

Put a voltmeter on it. When the engine is switched off you should see at least 12.5Volt. Now start the engine, if the voltage starts dropping below the 10 - 9.5 V you are very likely to have a battery problem. The cranking might be a bit slow and the electronics could be going wonky.

Alternernatively, if you dont have access to a multimeter, get some jumper cables and put another car's battery in parallel. If that solves the problem, again most likely cause the battery.

If not, find somebody with an OBD reader for the next troubleshoot steps.

To get some sense of fuel pressure, whether the fuel pump is working etc, put the ignition on, but don't start the engine and loosen up some of the connectors in the fuel lines. If fuel squirts out, its most likely ok. Careful that you don't squirt fuel on hot engine parts such as the exhaust.

On lots of engine it simple to hook up a pressure gauge and you can take an actual reading. With the OBD it is ver likely you'll get a pressure reading too.

Jeroen

[Umesh Kumar61]

Thank you all for your suggestions,

Problem resolved. Took it to the shop. The battery was the trouble maker as most of you suggested, it has reached the end of its span. I thought I would have to fish out a lot of money as I suspected a faulty ECU, fuel pump, immobilizer and what not . and I even thought it was a bad decision to buy a the car and would have ended up selling it. But man, it was one really frustrating problem which arose due to negligence.

Lesson learnt : check batteries which are more than 3 years old periodically, like once in two months and especially before long trips.

[h14]

Originally Posted by Umesh Kumar61

Thank you all for your suggestions,

Problem resolved. Took it to the shop. The battery was the trouble maker as most of you suggested, it has reached the end of its span.
Lesson learnt : check batteries which are more than 3 years old periodically, like once in two months and especially before long trips.

Glad to know all is well! From my experiences with FIAT's, often you get mislead. In the Palio's, the caliper noise was one such issue where improper diagnosis left many people spend on suspension when the actual culprit was the caliper. Similar is the case with a weak battery in the Linea/Punto which gives an interpretation of some major failure.

Hope you ain't regretting now? Happy driving

[Rajeevraj]

Had a question for the experts: We have a Toyota Etios in the family (4 Years old, Petrol ~60K run, in Calicut-Kerala). From around 6 months back, it would randomly refuse to start. Happened a couple of times. Jump start worked fine each time. Service Center (Amana Toyota-Calicut) immediately said it was a battery issue and needs to be replaced. Since the car was 3.5 years old, seemed a valid scenario and hence battery was replaced.

But the problem did not go away. Couple of months back (~2 months after the new battery was installed), it again failed to start. Service Center again said battery issue and charged the battery (I came to know of it after the fact). Am not an expert, but I fail to see why a new battery needs to be charged.

Couple of weeks back. Again same issue. This time to try to get a pattern, we left the car a few days and then tried starting, it did not start. Some more tests indicated that it would not start if not used for a few days. 4 days back again it stopped. This time my father in law was around and he fired them proper and told them to take the car and make sure the actual issue was found.

Yesterday they came back with the reason. The boot light switch is faulty and hence the boot light has always been on and is draining the battery. And to top it all they do not have stock of that switch and it should come from another center it seems. Expected tomorrow.

Questions:

• Any thoughts based on this description
• Can the boot light be the cause for this? Although in general the starting trouble happens after the car has been left for a few days, it has happened on a warm car also.

Note: I am in Bangalore and this is based on the info I got from my sister in law over the phone. Currently only my sister in law is there and dealing with the service center.

[SunnyBoi]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Can the boot light be the cause for this? Although in general the starting trouble happens after the car has been left for a few days, it has happened on a warm car also.

My friend had the exact same problem with the boot light being on and he had battery drain issues.

I kept the map light on for 2 days and failed to notice during these two days; however the car was able to start afterwards and so I didn't have a problem. Maybe I was lucky

[Jeroen]

Oh yes, a boot light puts a continuos drain on your battery. I have had the exact same problem on one of my cars several years ago.
Jeroen