no throttle response, rough idle and starter motor spinning

[ryn079]

Hi, I am having an intermittent problem with my 2004 1.5 DCI. Car starts fine on some occasions and on others, on starting, there is no response from acc pedal, car idles rough, steering remains stiff and starter keeps spinning for some 5 seconds after car has started.
Cel is not on and the only error recorded is the preheater unit.
What could it be please as I am going mad?

[AlexB]

Check if the headlight access hatch on the front left wheel arch liner is covered.

[ryn079]

No it is not but fusebox has no sign of water ingress. I read that it could be a faulty injector, making the engine run rough and at a lower rpm thus tricking the ECU in thinking that the engine is not running. Could it be?

[AlexB]

No, the only way the engine can run without the ECU "knowing" about it is to run away, i.e. to run on the oil leaking through the turbo without any injectors involved.