STARTING PROBLEMS

[lee]

the mrs is having problems stating her megane, tries to start then stalls has to press start 3 or 4 times before it will finally kick in then it struggles to find revs, seems ok once you get it started has anyone any suggestions ,im getting some earache of her help please

[IainMW]

Lee

Would it be a 1.6vvt?
Need more info on the car, engine, age, mileage etc...

Were good but not that good

Welcome along BTW

[kenny1001]

I have a 1.6vvt 2003 dynamique and it has just started doing the same, has 47000 miles on it. Any ideas on what is causing it and how to fix it?

[IainMW]

1st, check all of your coil packs. Normally you will get rough runing and Toxic Fume messages with a failed coil pack.

2nd, get the TDC sensor checked and cleaned as this can cause starting problems.

3rd, get the throttle body checked and cleaned (for the same reason.)

4th, there have been issuses with the injection computer needing reprogramming (Renault job unfortunately )

5th, Dephaser Pulley!!!
If this has failed or is failing you will get many running problems. Search the site and you will see
There is a set proceedure that Renault dealers use to test the operation of the Dephaser. If you are out of warranty and this has gone be prepared for a big bill!

[normski23]

My 2003 -1600cc 50000 miles Megane was doing the same ,i read on this forum about a software injector upgrade that might cure the problem.Contacted Renault they said i whould have to go to a main dealer,whent to Westover Renaul in Bournemouth they had the disk but my car was not shown on the list back to Renault after 5 phone calls they then said they will send me a cheque for £50.00 to pay for the upgrade .
Booked the car in for the upgrade and left it with them ,2hrs later went to pick the car up but found that the upgrade had not been carried out because it was not on the list and the injector upgrade was mainly for the air conditioning commpressor but it did change the injector software.Then i was then told that the problem was that the software required a complete upgrade and they will contact Renault.
Two days later phone call to take the car to Westover in Bournemouth
they stated that Renault had sent a disc software upgrade after a long disscssion and they had to return it after the work was carried out.
The car had the software totally upgraded the car starts first time and does not cut out, the engine sounds 100% the performance and acceleration has also improved,it is like driving a new car The cost £50.00 which the cheque payed for, A good result and a big thank you to this forum

[kenny1001]

Had my TDC sensor changed today at Renault. They fitted a new style sensor with a blue plug and a new wiring loom (apparently fixes any degrading problems). However low and behold as soon as i went to pick the car up and paid £70.50 for the labour. Got into the car and it played up with starting again, eventually with the help of the accelerator got it to start.So i suppose it is on to changing the coil packs now and cleaning the throttle body.
Anybody know how much the coil packs are from Renault?

[IainMW]

Search for Beru coil packs on eBay. Much better than Renault Sagem one's and cheaper!

[kenny1001]

Have now replaced the coil packs with Beru ones as suggested (£163 later), but am still having starting problems. Anybody got any ideas on how i can finally solve this problem as it is costing me a fortune

[IainMW]

I think you now need to investigate the following

Throttle body (clean)
Injection computer reprogram, and then Dreaded Dephaser pulley operation! Renault job unfortunately

There is lots on the forum about these.

[Jimbo86]

I had the same problem with mine, until Renault cleaned the throttle body and its been fine since *touchwood*

WARNING! Renault will try and charge you for cleaning it if its out of warranty!

Tried fobbing me off saying 'it was an adjustment and not a replacement so therefore labour needs to be charged' Am under an extended warranty, and they didnt want to pay for it either (not suprising, not paid for anything thats gone wrong yet!!) so a simple threat of throwing the keys back at them and taking the money am owed on finance, and they soon did it free of charge

[Lefterisk]

well i had the same problems with mine megane 1.6lt phase1 since january.....most of the times it started ok but there were some times that i had to help it with the accelerator.....i saw here that you suggested a re-programming of the tdc sensor and i spoke with a renault agency and he told me the same....
unfortunately the reprogramme didn't help the situation and franckly speaking it made it worse, forcing me every time i wanted to start the engine to step on the accelerator....
i spoke again with renault's agent and he said to me that maybe was a fuel's pump faulse....we measured it with a pressure-meter and it was ok...
then i suggested them to clean the throttle body and they said that this might help....
eventually, this was the right action that made my megane starting ok!


ps:i had noticed that before cleaning the throttle body every time i started the engine the needle of the rev counter reached only 1200rpm and when it bacame warm it kept only 600~640rpm! now, after the cleaning every time i start it the needle reach approximately 1600rpm and by the time it has been warm enough it shows about 700rpm....

[Simon R]

I am currently experiencing the same problems on an 04 scenic. Even with my 2 year extended warranty they want to charge me for the diagnostic and then any labour involved. I have tried cleaning the TDC Sensor and replacing the emissions sensor but the problem remains. After reading this thread I want to try and clean the throttle body. Can anyone advise if this is something that I could do myslef and if so how? Or would I need to take it to a garage.

[magnus1]

my car does the same, 1.4 16v 03 reg.
even when the car is revved it still stalls, this usually happens when im running abit low on petrol, which is quite common at the moment considering the price of fuel!!!

i am struggling with the same problem though

[keeforelli]

you should def look at having throttle body cleaned...and then TDC sensor replaced as these have been updated from the early models.. also look at changing coolant sensor.

This sounds like a prob with the fuel mixture which all of the aforementioned can cause....

i had exact the same issue with my 1.4 and these esp throttle body sorted it.....an hours labour for the throttle body from your garage of choice....would advise having garage sort as can cause probs if unsure and doing your self...


your car can feel completely different after..well worth a go....more performance and hot starting better...have been advised by my garage NEVER to let it run low on fuel..this caused problems with the fuel pump sucking air and dirt into the system on mine....causing a fault on diagnostic which had to be cleared....and then had to get some injection cleaner, fill up and go for a long run...


would also advise shell v max as it fantastic!!!!

i did all the above and now feel like i have a new engine!!!!

good luck!

[hebibo]

Hi Everyone,

I hope you've sorted out your engine worries. Maybe your experience might be able to help me. I've recently found that when I start my 2003 1.6 16V petrol it will idle nicely for 5 seconds then cut out. If I drive off before this then doesn't cut out but it drives like i'm learning how to use the clutch for the first time. Any ideas?