Car having trouble starting

[Sasha13]

I have a Ford Orion 1.8 diesel. Recently, and especially in cold weather it has real trouble starting. The engine ticks over ok (although slower then I think it should), it just takes much longer than normal to fire up. I do mainly short journeys, so have tried charging the battery but the charger tells me the battery is ok. Also, once it has started, I can drive for car for literally half a mile, stop it and then when I restart it it starts with very little hesitation. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks, Sarah :-)

[v64paul]

you need to get the glow-plugs checked out as it seems like they are'nt doing their job.

they use an elictric current to heat up the air inside the combustion chamber to aid cold starts. this is why the car starts ok when it is warm. hopefully not too expensive as it's usually a relay that's at fault. an average home enthusiast can trace the problem.

[v64paul]

sorry, ELECTRIC !

[landie]

It may be that you haven't waited for the glow plug light to go out before turning the engine over for the first time.

[brian5]

A lot of diesel drivers do not know that you must switch on the ingition and wait for the pre heat little light to go out before you turn the starter, A diesel will be difficult to start if the Glow plugs are not allowed time to heat up the chambers, old plugs will take longer to heat up and even if one plug fails it could cause starting problems, I would have them checked, or replaced

[Garrards]

Used to have a 1.8 diesel Orion myself. Horrible underpowered thing. Sounds like your glowplugs need replacing. Find a local Lucas dealer. Their glowplugs are better than Ford's.

However, I would strongly suggest you ditch the Orion and replace with a newer Peugeot or Citroen HDI high-pressure diesel.