GN Sigma - Intermittently Wont Start

[SigmGN]

Hi Team,

I have encountered a fail to start issue. When the car is cold its starts fine. When i drive around and the car is in operating temperature and once turned off it wont turn back on.

Soo i waited for it to cool down for 1-2 hours and it started up fine...

Im clueless to why as its not a flat battery but acts like it is when it cant start...

The car cranks but wont turn over..... the battery light comes on too....The car is a GN 2.6 Unleaded model.

Scary enough the car cut out and wont crank back on while driving at operating temperature too last week...random.

Again any help will be much appreciated..

[simon]

I had an Alfa that did the same thing, it turned out to be spark plug gap too wide
I also had a gh sigma do the same, I think it was the fuel lines/filter getting too hot, from memory I think I moved the filter

[zabatron]

Sounds like your ignition coil is on the way out....also remove coil lead from coil and check that the coil tower is not burnt/black. Check condition of spark plugs-take all 4 spark plugs out,if one or more are shiny and clean this indicates that coolant is entering into combustion chamber.Also check spark plug gap is correct(for GN 2.6 litre gap should be set to 0.7mm), and electrode wear/leads(check for excessively high resistance in spark plug leads if you have access to a multi-meter).
Also check for cracks in the distributor cap as theses will open up/get bigger as engine warms up and cause misfiring/stalling when hot.
Where are you located?If you are in Melbourne i have a couple of used coils you can have for free,as well as brand new champion N9YC spark plugs(correct for your car, and new champion spark plug leads/wires you can also have for free as my Sigma is long gone.

[Superscan811]

Are you running the standard mechanical fuel pump, or an electric one?

Sounds like it's starving for fuel, which can mean either bad fuel pump, clogged fuel filter, or possibly vapour lock.

When it happens again, check for spark to confirm.


Cheers.

[SigmGN]

Thanks Guys,

You guys are legends and very grateful to have such supportive community. I am based in Sydney and appreciate your generosity @Zabatron

I will check all of above. I've had new fuel filter and sparks plugs done about 4 weeks ago. So ill check on the other items.

Cheers Andrew

[SigmGN]

Hi team,

Just an update. So today whilst I was driving it started to cut out again..50 meters on...it fully cut out....had to push the car to the side of the road...i then tried to turn the key to start it over again ...didn't start.....

Luckily a friend drove past and we cable jumped started the car...it started fine and then drove fine after that....

Any advice from this point on what it could be?

Cheers again

[simon]

It might be worth checking the pickup gap In the distributor, my lancer would not start on the key but would bump start fine