The Dispatch | Expert | Scudo Hub

tee_cee

Member

Registered: 2016-03-18

Posts: 633

Stop Solenoid

As mentioned in another thread, I had some problems with the stop solenoid on my 2012 1.9D Expert.

Initially the van would not start, with no sign of smoke from the exhaust - and no fault code.
Eventually the van did start, but after it sat for around 15 or 20 minutes, it would not start again. Remembering the thread here I figured that dirt was preventing the the solenoid plunger from withdrawing. The initial strategy was to leave the ignition on, and bang the hell out of armour covering the solenoid with a rubber mallet, and try starting again. Usually I could get it started in 5 minutes. This kept us going but were were 2000 miles from home, and it puts a dampener on the trip, when everytime you park, you wonder if the van will start again. I tried a few garages who weren't keen to do the work, and in most cases didn't understand that the solenoid was part of the immobiliser system. It was looking like this was going to take time & money to fix, and to be honest I don't really want to lose the immobiliser.
So I bought some injector cleaner and ran that through 2 half tanks, with little noticeable effect. Finally I changed the starting technique. Got the missus to turn the ignition, which while the glow plug timer is on, also pulses the stop solenoid (I still don't know if this is normal), during which time I'm banging the fuel pump. Low and behold the engine starts almost first time. After a few days of this, the engine starts without the banging, after a few seconds the vibration is enough to release the solenoid . A week later & the engine it starting first time and has carried on since.

So I'm not sure if the  injector cleaner softened up the debris or not, but things are almost back to normal now. If the engine is started from warm, sometimes I can still hear a slight hesitancy - but I can live with that.