Clio 182 cold starting problem

[Edd90]

Hello,

Today when i left work my 182 wouldn't start properly, it was as if it had a flat battery. After about 5 seconds it started, when i got home and the car had warmed up a bit, i turned the car off and then started it again, this time it started fine so i didn't think too much of it. I then went Tesco a couple of hours later and it done the same thing, sounded like the battery was flat and struggled. When I left Tesco, it started straight away again, first turn of the key.

If it was struggling to start all the time, i would put it down to the battery, but it only seems to do it when cold. Theres no warning lights that stay on when started, they all come on then go off as they should. The car also seems to drive fine once it is started. I've been doing a bit of reading and i've came across the TDC sensor, could this possibly be the cause and does cleaning it really help?

My dephaser also needs doing, which i've emailed 519 about today, could this also contribute to my problem?

Any help would be appeciated, as I'm trying to save money for the dephaser and could do without any other problems at the moment.

 

[Edd90]

The journeys i done weren`t very long, maybe 7 miles/10 mins from work and about 2 miles/3-4 mins to tesco. So they`re not long commutes/journeys to give the battery lots of charge either for it to start first time after it`s been turned off, in my opinion.

 

[Dave H]

Sounds like a battery problem. An engine is harder to start when cold. Try charging it and then start from cold and see what it does. Short journeys wont help the battery, especially in winter.

 

[Edd90]

Yes mate, you're correct. It was the battery after all.

Thanks for your reply.