Occasional non-starting

Ah well, back in Blighty for the summer - 2 months of relatives, camping, self catering, caravans and house sitting..aaaaaaargh! Anyway, last week went to start the car, in the carpark of our B&B hotel in the delightful location of Feltham, Middlesex and it turned over but not a hint of firing. First time that's happened since we got the car. Quick dive under the bonnet, nothing obviously amiss. Figured prob fuel related so gave the fuel pump a bit of a prime with the little lever, got back in car and it started straight away.
Week later (yesterday) I was in Tescos carpark in Haverfordwest and as I got back into the car I mused to meself that the last time I was in this carpark was 2 days before last Xmas and 4 days before our planned drive to Spain....and when the gearbox failed.... Turned the key....same thing, engine turning but not not firing. Quick prime of the pump and away she went though. Any suggestions as to why this could be? Don't think there's a leak and it's only happened twice, once after an overnight park and once after short park in Tescos. Apart from that, starts instantly, runs and idles fine. I have a new fuel filter I meant to fit about 3 weeks ago before we left Spain but didn't get round to it so I'll do that asap but wondered if anyone had any thoughts? Got a loooong drive back in a few weeks time - plus a few hundred miles around the UK to do!

Cheers, Rich

I'd be checking the fuel leak off pipes between the injectors and the fuel stop solenoid myself.

That's exactly what I thought!.......Where's the fuel stop solenoid then?

sp33der said:

That's exactly what I thought!.......Where's the fuel stop solenoid then?

Click to expand...

Underneath the injection pump and towards the back.

Just a quick return to this one - I couldn't see any sign of leaks anywhere and I decided to change the fuel filter as I had meant to do a couple of weeks ago when I did the oil. Afterwards, the car ran much better - I thought it was all in me mind but after a few days it is definitely running smoother and pulling better on the steep hilly roads round here. The old fuel filter was only about 6 - 8 months old and had prob done about 6000 miles with my journeys to and from Spain and I hadn't realised just how far the performance had deteriorated. It hasn't done the non-starting thing again either although it's only been a few days......

Cheers
Rich