PD 150 struggling to start and then juddering badly at idle......

Jonny88 · 23-07-2012,10:55 PM

Hi all,

I've been having a bit of trouble recently starting my '02 GT TDi 150. It seems to be completely random as sometimes it's absolutely fine and other times not.

It is occassionally (more frequently recently) struggling to start. When I turn the key, it just turns over pretty slowly, gradually picking up speed until it finally starts. Sometimes it can take 10 secs. Then once it starts, it judders badly at idle pretty much until I give it some revs and drive away.

Any thoughts on what could be wrong here?

Cheers in advance.
J.

**adamss24** · 24-07-2012,08:44 AM

Get a new battery first and have your starter looked at + i will whip the rocker cover off and check the condition of the cam- pd 150 is known for munching the lobes on cyl 1 !

Jonny88 · 25-07-2012,05:52 PM

Thanks for that mate. It's going in for a service and MOT tomorrow so will see what comes of that.

However, the plot thickens. Have got the same issues with starting and the juddering. Furthermore, in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th, at low ish revs it shakes pretty noticeably when I accelerate. The shaking is also accompanied with a ticking noise. It pretty much did this for the whole journey home this evening (33 miles).

Any thoughts?

Cheers.

Jonny88 · 26-07-2012,01:28 PM

By some miracle it's just passed its MOT first time, with not a single bit of work being done.

The mechanic conceded it is a pretty noticeable misfire and suggested it could be either a problem with a wiring loom or an injector breaking down (hoping the former!).

Any advances on that?

Thanks.

**zollaf** · 26-07-2012,01:36 PM

the in head harness that controls the injectors does fail. about £50 for one from a dealer and an hour to fit, which means taking the cam cover off, so a good time to check the cam.

Jonny88 · 26-07-2012,02:32 PM

Thanks zollaf. That makes sense. He said something about head harness and cam cover but I didn't fully follow it all to be honest.

He reckoned a couple of hundred for the harness replacement. That is including labour though I guess.

**zollaf** · 26-07-2012,03:06 PM

thats a good price, if he charges £150 an hour. if he doesn't charge this much, he's taking the mick. if he does charge this much, then he's taking the mick.
remove the battery, remove the cam cover. undo the big multi plug. unclip the harness from injectors and slide it out, into the gap left from removing the battery. slide new harness in, plug into injectors and connect to main harness plug. replace battery and cam cover. job done, 1 hour allowing for a fag and tea, and a test drive and natter. oh, you could fit a new seal to the cam cover if you want as well, and have a look at the cam, make sure its still got lobes on it.

Jonny88 · 26-07-2012,03:14 PM

Thanks a lot for that mate. Doesn't sound like too technical a job?

Do you think it's worth trying this before having a diesel specialist look at it? Replacing the injector is a bit of a bigger job.

**zollaf** · 26-07-2012,03:48 PM

very very unlikely to be an injector. its very likely to be the 10 year old harness that runs at 100 degrees covered in oil. every pd needs one every few years.