can anyone help? zafira dti wont start!

illgetthere

Can anyone help. I went to the car this morning, started fine and drove 3 miles to the shop. After coming out a few mins later i went to the car and it wouldn't start. Towed it home and waited for the rac...

He tried everything from immobiliser/key, easy start, bump start, fuse and relay check. loads more

the fault code that keeps coming up is P0380 which is glow plug related.

The car turns over and tries to fire but nothing..

Would a faulty glow plug or relay cause the car to not fire?

Any ideas would be gladly received. Thanks

vax2002

fuses first
then voltage meter, turn key should have around 12v at the glow plug rail for around 6 seconds then down to 6
if no voltage, check all earths, bypass if necc and if still no voltage look for the glow plug relay unit, sometimes in fuse box, sometimes in aux fuse box under engine.
Swap for another relay, if still no joy suspect the glow plug distribution module.
If you have power to plugs, suspect a duff plug as it can break the circuit

illgetthere

would the car start if the glow plug circuit was faulty?

thanks for the quick reply.

mikey72

The car should still start eventually, especially with easy start and a lot of cranking.
Any other fault codes stored?

illgetthere

no other codes but it wont start, just tries its hardest....

mikey72

illgetthere wrote: »

no other codes but it wont start, just tries its hardest....

Do you mean it's coughing and spluttering, or just cranking with no sign of starting?

illgetthere

coughing and spluttering. Its getting right to the point of firing but sounds like it needs a spark or a final kick to get it going.

mikey72

Could well be glow plugs.
Our (much older) diesel's gave up, it used to try to fire, but wouldn't.
Cranking while squirting in easy start used to get it going, usually only needed when it was cold though.

illgetthere

thank you for the input, we have it booked in on monday for glow plugs so fingers crossed. I will update asap.

chrisw

I hope it is the glow plugs, but I wouldn't have thought they would stop it starting, certainly in this weather and particularly if you had only driven it a few minutes earlier. Although mine's a fairly new diesel, the glow plugs never really come on at this time of year and only do briefly in the very coldest weather. It should run briefly on easystart regardless. Unfortunately I don't really have any other suggestions, perhaps air in the fuel or other fuel system fault?

harveybobbles

Sounds like glow plugs. Or it could be the leak off pipes.