Toyota Corolla 2.0d Saloon, 2006 -- Starting Issue

[sh3hryar]

Dear all,

I have a Toyota Corolla 2006, 2.0d Saloon.

Recently I have been having issues starting the car.

Background:

The vehicle is in excellent state. 120,000 kms on clock. Fully maintained by Toyota Capital (i9 Islamabad). Oil, filters and tires, brakes replaced on time.

Scenario:
Occasionally the car will not start. Seven out of 10 times it will start perfectly fine. I do wait for the heaters to go off and give it appropriate time for normal start-up.

The other 3 times the car refuse to start. I wait for heaters and still the car wont start. Eventually it will start after waiting for few minutes. There is no pattern for the issue.

Sometimes it gets temperamental and will not start regardless of the temperature of the car.

Occurrence:
The car refused to start yesterday on motorway for the first time en-route to Faisalabad. On my way back to Islamabad the issue occurred again only once.

This afternoon and evening the issue repeated.

Actions:
I went to Toyota this morning. The car didn't play around then. They couldn't figure out any issue. They have asked me to come back when the issue occurs.

In the evening I grabbed local mechanic to have a look. He claimed the battery needs replacement.

I went to different battery vendor and asked him to check the battery. He claims the battery is in perfect condition and clearly said I will be wasting time/money replacing battery.

Situation:
I am really confused what could be the issue right now. I know for a fact the wiring/electronics in the car are in perfect shape. All lights, CD player and all electrics run smoothly, including A/C. No fuse has been blown up.

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Can you guys help me figure out the issue? It has been bothering me for 2 days now.

Appreciate your time in advance!

Shahryar

[Xulfiqar]

Check the shutoff solenoid plunger on the pump for anything sticking. If it does not work your engine wont start.

[sh3hryar]

Check the shutoff solenoid plunger on the pump for anything sticking. If it does not work your engine wont start.

How do I do that? What is Shutoff Solenoid Plunger?

Thanks for quick reply.

[argtr65]

Most probability is that,the shut off solenoid stop working due to loose electrical connection or plunger gets stuck.Take a piece of wire connect its one to battery positive terminal and other end to shut off solenoid valve terminal,if you hear a tik sound,it means shut off switch is functioning.If shut off found ok,then check fuel lines for air lock.

[sh3hryar]

Most probability is that,the shut off solenoid stop working due to loose electrical connection or plunger gets stuck.Take a piece of wire connect its one to battery positive terminal and other end to shut off solenoid valve terminal,if you hear a tik sound,it means shut off switch is functioning.If shut off found ok,then check fuel lines for air lock.

Pardon my ignorance, where is Shut Off Solenoid located?

[sh3hryar]

Is this what I am looking for?

[sh3hryar]

Development:
I just tried to start the engine. Didn't succeed.
So I pressed the black button on the "pump" (what you can see on the post above) until I couldn't more.

Gave it a go. The engine started perfectly. So I switched off the engine and started again. Engine responded perfectly and was running again. Repeated it few times (with out pumping fuel). It comes on perfectly.

Does it mean there is air block in the pipes?

[imran2d]

As I see the pictures, you are purging the air from diesel filter, but check the solenoid valve located on the fuel pump as said by Mr.Xulfiqar as this has to stop or cut off the fuel when you switch off the engine and if this solenoid valve is erratic or sticky then it will not open when you turn the key to start the engine,

Second thing if you turn the key and the engine does not crank then it can be related to self starter motor, a service or carbon bush replacement can solve the issue, thirdly as I see your post I can feel that you are maintaing your car as it should be so go to Toyota or any good battery shop which has the right battery test equipment as they will enter the right battery cold cranking ampere value (CCA) in the tester and will go through steps like start the car turn on the head lights etc etc and then they will report you whether bettery is to be replaced or is it a right battery for your car.

Pls., share when the problem is found out and solved.

[sh3hryar]

As I see the pictures, you are purging the air from diesel filter, but check the solenoid valve located on the fuel pump as said by Mr.Xulfiqar as this has to stop or cut off the fuel when you switch off the engine and if this solenoid valve is erratic or sticky then it will not open when you turn the key to start the engine,

Second thing if you turn the key and the engine does not crank then it can be related to self starter motor, a service or carbon bush replacement can solve the issue, thirdly as I see your post I can feel that you are maintaing your car as it should be so go to Toyota or any good battery shop which has the right battery test equipment as they will enter the right battery cold cranking ampere value (CCA) in the tester and will go through steps like start the car turn on the head lights etc etc and then they will report you whether bettery is to be replaced or is it a right battery for your car.

Pls., share when the problem is found out and solved.

Thanks Imran.

Engine does crank. So no issue with the starter motor. Also I have had the battery checked last night. The battery passed the test with flying colors. No issue there either.

So where is the fuel pump located? I would like to look for it before I get told some story from the "ustaad".

[imran2d]

If you stand in front of Radiator grille so look down to the engine, on your left hand there is a fuel pump, it has a pully as it is belt driven also you will see 4 small ss tubes going from this piece of equipment to the injectors so you can trace back from injectors to the pump by keeping your finger on the injector ss tubes( tubes or pump can be very hot), on the pump you will see one sensor type thing having a cable/wires connected to it, this is the thing called shut off solenoid. check it or simply replace it if it is not so expensive.

( mostly the AC compressor is just below the fuel pump)

[sh3hryar]

If you stand in front of Radiator grille so look down to the engine, on your left hand there is a fuel pump, it has a pully as it is belt driven also you will see 4 small ss tubes going from this piece of equipment to the injectors so you can trace back from injectors to the pump by keeping your finger on the injector ss tubes( tubes or pump can be very hot), on the pump you will see one sensor type thing having a cable/wires connected to it, this is the thing called shut off solenoid. check it or simply replace it if it is not so expensive.

( mostly the AC compressor is just below the fuel pump)

Thanks bud! I shall look into it later today (after work).

[Xulfiqar]

If you could start easily after priming the fuel from the manual pump you just took a picture of then you have a leak in the fuel system which is causing fuel to drain back to the tank. Check all the the pipes and also check that the fuel filter is tight.

[sh3hryar]

If you could start easily after priming the fuel from the manual pump you just took a picture of then you have a leak in the fuel system which is causing fuel to drain back to the tank. Check all the the pipes and also check that the fuel filter is tight.

The engines comes up with no hassle if the pump has been "used" manually.

[Xulfiqar]

check the supply and return lines for leaks - fuel is draining back to the tank when the engine shuts off - it should not do that. This can also be due to garbage in the fuel outlet banjo bolt too. 90% of the times its a rotted pipe or a loose clip.

[sh3hryar]

check the supply and return lines for leaks - fuel is draining back to the tank when the engine shuts off - it should not do that. This can also be due to garbage in the fuel outlet banjo bolt too. 90% of the times its a rotted pipe or a loose clip.

I see no diesel spill under the hood, neither any pipe out of place. Mind you, the car has been perfect today. Started on first crank all day. Strange.

[sh3hryar]

Day 3 of no trouble. I am assuming there must have been air stuck somewhere in the fuel system which was causing the issue.

Nevertheless thanks for helping comments and sharing your views!

[rizibaba78]

Had the same issue in my Toyota Corolla 2.0D Saloon 2005 , was not starting tried all the tricks by giving direct current to fuel pump from battery and by giving direct current to heaters was about to call a mechanic and then went through this thread and tried the same trick used by the author of pushing the black button over fuel filter multiple times and started the car saved lot of time and hassle and then you know mechanics try to make things more complex.

[Hassan1991]

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