[vcash]

Originally Posted by ravikn

@Vcash,

Pls have the mechanic to check the ignition coil. I think if it is cranking properly then starter problem can be ruled out.

This is one ODD car. Didn't drive her over the weekend at all and Monday morning - First crank and she starts without a fuss!! What is going on??

[vcash]

Okay - I am super frustrated now!!

After behaving herself all day yesterday, the GTX is throwing a big tantrum. I tried starting the car this morning and got nothing!! The car did not even crank because it ran out of juice midway. All the electricals in the car work fine but if I try and crank her, the battery cannot take enough load for ignition and dies midway. This is very strange as I just replaced the battery with a new one from Tata Green, last week!

I am at my wits end and don't know what to do? Should I call Tata Green and ask them for a replacement under warranty or should I first take the car to a mechanic and what should I ask them to inspect. Could it be the ignition coil or a question of battery leakage?

Please help!!!!!

[drifter]

Vcash: Did you check the starter relay and other related fuses?

Drifter

[vcash]

Originally Posted by drifter

Vcash: Did you check the starter relay and other related fuses?

Drifter

Not yet - I will put that on the check list. Where do you get your work done? My mechanic in Sion is not turning out to be too competent in these electrical jobs.

[ravikn]

@Vcash,

Just check the starter and ignition coil at an authorised service center. If it is ignition coil, it would set you back by around Rs.4000/- and Starter will cost abt 7500/-

[drpullockaran]

Originally Posted by vcash

Okay - I am super frustrated now!!

After behaving herself all day yesterday, the GTX is throwing a big tantrum. I tried starting the car this morning and got nothing!! The car did not even crank because it ran out of juice midway. All the electricals in the car work fine but if I try and crank her, the battery cannot take enough load for ignition and dies midway. This is very strange as I just replaced the battery with a new one from Tata Green, last week!

I am at my wits end and don't know what to do? Should I call Tata Green and ask them for a replacement under warranty or should I first take the car to a mechanic and what should I ask them to inspect. Could it be the ignition coil or a question of battery leakage?

Please help!!!!!

Check the negative earth connection to the body.
Check the alternator for voltage supply of about 14.4 volts after cranking it and then settling into idle.
Check the brushes of the solenoid.

For the tantrums of erratic starts in the morning check out the fuel pressure. If its low first clean the sockets and the leads of the fuel pump thats below the rear seats. If still the fuel pressure is low then change the pump. All to be done if you do not smell petrol in and around the car. If you smell petrol then correct the leak first before meddling with other things.

Warning: When tinkering with fuel lines remove the negative battery terminal. Its very important.

Remote possibilities are the rpm sensor and the TDC sensor.

[drifter]

Originally Posted by vcash

Not yet - I will put that on the check list. Where do you get your work done? My mechanic in Sion is not turning out to be too competent in these electrical jobs.

I send it to the Tata-Fiat workshop at Worli. Pretty satisfied with them. Yes check the voltage of the battery and if it is low, then check whether the alternator is charging at all.

Drifter

[JVH]

For any starting issue, one can check the following

Battery
Starter motor
Alternator
Spark plugs
Ignition coil

in that order.

Since your battery is new, that may not be an issue. Still, try putting your headlights on and starting the car. If the headlights dim substantially, there is not enough charge in the battery which could be surprising since its new. You can also check the voltage supply to be doubly sure.

For the rest of the culprits it'll be more or less issues of dirt, dust, clogging, lose connection. Before replacing anything, please make sure you try cleaning with compressed air and then checking.

During starting, do you also observe misfiring or it just does not crank at all?

[vcash]

Thanks for all the responses!

Originally Posted by drpullockaran

Check the negative earth connection to the body.
Check the alternator for voltage supply of about 14.4 volts after cranking it and then settling into idle.
Check the brushes of the solenoid.

For the tantrums of erratic starts in the morning check out the fuel pressure. If its low first clean the sockets and the leads of the fuel pump thats below the rear seats. If still the fuel pressure is low then change the pump. All to be done if you do not smell petrol in and around the car. If you smell petrol then correct the leak first before meddling with other things.

Warning: When tinkering with fuel lines remove the negative battery terminal. Its very important.

Remote possibilities are the rpm sensor and the TDC sensor.

Thanks. The Tata Green guys checked my battery and said that while the battery has charge, the gravity is low. They felt that it was either the alternator or the battery was leaking.

The recharged the battery and gave it to me. I took the car to an auto electrician who confirmed that the alternator is shot. The alternator is being repaired and the cost inclusive of labor is Rs.3800. All parts will be replaced with original Bosch parts. Hope this solves the issue.

I need to also look at why the car is stalling out or raising the engine itself while driving. Any suggestions.

Originally Posted by drifter

I send it to the Tata-Fiat workshop at Worli. Pretty satisfied with them.
Drifter

I checked them out as well but find the labor pretty expensive. I think a good independent garage would work well for an 8 year old car.

Originally Posted by JVH

For any starting issue, one can check the following

Battery
Starter motor
Alternator
Spark plugs
Ignition coil

in that order.

Since your battery is new, that may not be an issue. Still, try putting your headlights on and starting the car. If the headlights dim substantially, there is not enough charge in the battery which could be surprising since its new. You can also check the voltage supply to be doubly sure.

For the rest of the culprits it'll be more or less issues of dirt, dust, clogging, lose connection. Before replacing anything, please make sure you try cleaning with compressed air and then checking.

During starting, do you also observe misfiring or it just does not crank at all?

It would crank halfway. And the lights did come on with good luminosity. I think the alternator is the culprit and hopefully the repair work sorts this issue out.

[drifter]

Yes, the labour is high, but I'm yet to find a good independent garage.

Alternator I would suggest give it to the Authorised service station. I remember another member who had given it for repairs to an independent and in the end had to go buy a new one. Please check first with the dealership. Even they repair it at reasonable costs. A new one costs about 9k if I remember correctly.

Drifter

[thedragula]

About 10 days back, when I was returning from Pune, my GTX started acting funny. Initially, the Battery not charging light was on for about 10 min, and then it went off. By the time I reached Chembur, the wiper started behaving very slow, the ICE shut down, the A/c blower gave up and the speedo stopped working and occiassionaly the rpm would shoot up by itself.

I drove the car to a friend's place and called the battery helpline. They arrived within 30 min and gave a clean chit to the battery and said that the alternator is the culprit. A couple of days later, my workshop sent a person to chembur with a spare battery, managed to start the car and took it to the garage in powai. He confirmed that the alternator is shorting and might need replacement.

After scanning through some pages in this site, I got the contact details of Mr. Shekhar from Best Auto Electric Works in Opera House and he confirmed that he would be able to repair the alternator while KAVA Auto at Opera House confirmed that a not so new (i.e. an alternator taken off a new car) would cost about 7k.

So my mechanic had the alternator dismantled and sent to Opera House for repair. Mr. Shekhar confirmed that the rotor, voltage regulator and a couple of bearing need replacement. The cost of repairs was Rs. 4850/- (Rs. 2500 for the rotor, Rs. 1700 for regulator, Rs. 300 for the bearing and overhauling charges of Rs. 350/-).

The alternator has been fitted back in the car today and my mechanic confirms that "all is well" as of now but wants to test it for a day to make sure there are no further issues.

If you'd like any more details or information, please let me know.

[vcash]

So got the Alternator repaired from an experienced Bosch dealer and so far the car seems to be okay. He also mentioned that I probably never needed to change my battery in the first place but I guess what's done is done. The breakup of the repir was:
1. Regulator Replacement - Rs. 1650
2. Bearing Replacement X 2 - Rs.600
3. Rotor Cutting - Rs. 100
4. Labour - Rs. 1500

Total Cost is Rs. 3850.

Also this morning's drive was very smooth. No stalling out - 1 crank start. Hope it continues this way.

Cheers,
V

[JVH]

Great to hear the resolution vcash!

What exactly was the problem with the alternator?

[ravikn]

Nice to hear that Vcash,

Good to know that there are capable mechanics who can solve such problems instead of replacing items

[vcash]

So the stalling returned pretty bad last week. And to add to the problem the car took almost 15 to 20 cranks to start in the morning. And even after it started, if I was driving, the car would stall out and even when it started would not rev at all. It was almost like no fuel was going into the engine.

Took it to the garage and the mechanics cleaned the ICV and throttle body. They also replaced the fuel filter (Seems that the mesh inside the fuel filter had become loose) so fuel was not passing through to the engine.

Two days the car was driving super smooth and it seemed that all the above problems had vanished. Till this evening when suddenly the car started stalling out once again, the rev meter bouncing around when the car auto-revs itself and also the rev's being held at 3 to 4K (Best description would be "feels like something is blocking the fuel going into the injector" while the accelerator is fully depressed and then the blockage is cleared and the car spurts forward).

I am at my wits end!!!! What can be the possible issue and a fix? My suspicions lie in a faulty fuel pump or the O2 sensor or maybe dirty fuel lines \ injector.