My brother has a 2002 Saab 93 diesel, recently it's become hard to start.
It can sometimes take a few minutes of cranking to start, followed by a cloud of smoke which soon goes and the exhaust returns to normal, once started
it runs okay. Any ideas on what could be wrong? Could this thread be relavant?
glow plugs maybe?
quote:
Originally posted by blakep82
glow plugs maybe?
Glow plugs or glow plug relay would be the first things to check.
Will check the glowplugs and relays ^_^
Also read this:
"if you are experiencing long cranking times its more likely to be air in the fuel sytem, caused by perished leak off pipes or leaky fuel
injector bridge seals "
Complex modern car is complex
If there is air in the system, it wont run !
You dont get intermittent air leaks with a diesel.
It either has air in the system and doesnt run, or doesnt have air and runs....
Diesels usually do a bit of white smoke when they are cold, unburnt fuel. Black smoke is indicative of over fuelling or maybe a weepy injector.
Try switching the ignition off after the first use of the glow plugs, and give it a second go.
In the winter any extra heat you can get prior to cranking it over will help it start.
The plugs could just be a bit tired and need replacing. A tired battery will give you the same effect....
tired injectors will allow fuel to run back after shut off. The HP pump then has to fill the injection pipes before it fires up...
have had this problem on a vauxhall engine, and i think saab use a few of those.
Try the leak off pipes, same thing happened on my vectra. Intermitant starting problems then would be ok for a couple of days. Easy to do and only
cost a couple of quid so worth doing anyway.
Andy
I got a new set of glow plugs today and something's not right. The glow plugs in the engine at the moment don't want to come out, 3 of them
I can get a socket onto and then start to turn but not all the way, I can only get about a quarter of the thread out before it then 'spins'
without undoing 
and one of the glow plugs doesn't even have anything for a socket to get hold of, it's a round surface :S
Also the wires that clip onto the glow plugs come off the existing ones very very easily, the replacements that I've yet to fit snap on very
nicely. Seems like the wrong plugs have been fitted in the past or something :S