Car not starting - suspected fueling issue

[Rawhide]

Hi - I'm having an issue with my 182. A few weeks ago it was parked for a few days and when turning it over it would not start. no sign of firing at all. I assumed it was perhaps battery related and put it on a charger. Its a second car so not a big issue. When I went back to the car it started fine, perhaps took a bit longer than normal but ran fine. I doubt the battery charge changed anything.

Yesterday I noticed a missfire and managed to stall the car at a busy junction. The car would then just turn over. it then seemed to fire up again and ran albeit missing a bit. I was able to rev it up and it drove ok for the short trip home. I parked it overnight and tried again this morning and its just turning over again. I cannot hear any fuel pump sounding like it's priming.

The car showed no warning light, and no CEL codes. I've essentially rebuilt the entire car, engine out belts etc and in doing so cleaned well all the electrical connections. I also believe the earth straps should be fine as I cleaned and tightened them up well knowing this can cause issues.

I'm guessing based on some googling that the fuel pump relay might be playing up? I'd welcome some other suggestions.

 

[Mr Trailer Man]

The pump primes on the 2nd ignition cycle (no idea why).

Turn the key on and off and then back on again, you should hear it prime.

 

[Yarp]

Does the red light on the clocks go out?

You can do a bit of bodgery and pop the fuel hose off the rail and into a suitable vessel to see if it’s pumping fuel when you crank it. More scientific methods are available.

1. Fuel System​

• Fuel pump failure – listen for a priming buzz from the rear when you turn the ignition on.
• Fuel pump relay – known weak point on these

2. Ignition System​

• Faulty crankshaft position sensor (TDC sensor) – very common on Clio 182s; if it’s faulty, you’ll get no spark or fuel injection signal.
• Coil pack or HT leads – can fail with age.
• Spark plugs – worn, fouled, or incorrectly gapped.

3. ECU / Electrical​

• Immobiliser fault – the red immobiliser light staying solid or flashing on the dash means it’s not deactivating (often caused by key/UCH issues).
• Bad earth connection – especially the main battery-to-chassis or gearbox earth strap.
• Blown fuses or relays – particularly those related to injection or ignition.
• Corroded ECU connectors – water ingress is not rare.

 

[Louis]

Not recently serviced it and done the plugs have you? Sounds like a trapped lead.

I have a full loom with all the relays if you're in need

 

[Rawhide]

Thanks for the guidance so far. I've just tried it again and it's just cranking over, no firing. I can't hear a fuel pump from the rear and annoying parked near a wall so I can't open the boot. The red light (solid round circle top centre) goes out, so I'm ruling out the ECU for now.

I'm wanting to check the fuel pump relay next. It's a bit dark and wet to be checking if there is fuel being pumped tonight so I'll have a crack at that next.

The plugs were recently done, before my ownership but I checked them when I took the engine out and they looks fine and the car had no missfires.

Can the fuel pump relay be checked by swapping or bridging the relay connections with a wire? I see some confusion as to which relay is the fuel pump.

 

[Rawhide]

Thanks to mr @Mr Trailer Man for posting this elsewhere