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2003 Clio Priviledge 1.4 16V Difficult Cold Starting **Fixed**

2K views 18 replies 6 participants last post by  con244 
#1 ·
Hello all, I am having a problem with the starting if the above car. We bought it recently as a second car and had problems straight away. We had to replace all the coils and spark plugs(only two were faulty but decided to do all in case the others also faulted). It has been running ok but as the over night temperatures are now getting down to below 15 degrees Celcius (yes still quite mild) we are having trouble getting it to start. It turns over freely, and starts to catch but them just stops. I usually do not have my foot on the accelerator pedal. We have found that if we do give the pedal a slight pump it will start but run very roughly for a few of seconds and then starts to even out. After that its all good. It runs ok all day and starts easily. Next morning we are back to the the poor start routine. I know about the TDC sensor and intend to check it out but wouldn't that cause problems all the time? Is there anything else I could check out myself? Thanks in advance, Con
 
#4 ·
Not 100% on your engine but usually very close or in the thermostat housing.
Trace top hose back to engine block for the stat housing, flat black plastic box with pipes coming out of it.
I think the thermostat housing should look like this
Replacement Thermostat & Housing - Renault Trafic, Master & Clio 1.4-2.5 | eBay
Coolant sensor, the four pin socket in centre
Clip holds it in
This is what it looks like out


See if this matches your engine.

Hint, when changing.
Take cap off coolant bottle, stick a plastic bag (or bit of one) over hole, screw cap back on.
Will hold coolant by vacuum so when you pull sensor, only a dribble will come out, saves draining down.
 
#6 ·
Not 100% on your engine but usually very close or in the thermostat housing.
Trace top hose back to engine block for the stat housing, flat black plastic box with pipes coming out of it.
I think the thermostat housing should look like this

Coolant sensor, the four pin socket in centre
Clip holds it in
This is what it looks like out


See if this matches your engine.
Warning.... When I fitted one of those housings to our 2008 Scenic, It came with the 4 pin sensor. Trouble was Ours was a 2 pin sensor, So the old one went back in the new housing. SO unplug & count the pins. Before buying.
BTW Brand new unused 4 pin one, in stock here, if it helps?
 
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#11 ·
some of the renaults around that time either had one 4 pin sensor or x2 2pin sensors one covered the temp gauge the other the ecu there was a post many moons ago saying if you had x2 sensors and your temp gauge was working ok then swap over the connections and see if it still works if not the sensor to the ecu has failed
never tried it myself so could all be misleading
Ron
 
#12 ·
wow thanks for all the info guys. Will stick my head under the bonnet next weekend and see what there is to see. Thanks also for the links, may have to order from ebay but usually takes a while for anything to get here in Adelaide, Australia. thanks again!:grin2:
 
#13 ·
Well I found the sensor and it is the three pin type. The motor is the K4J 711 variant. I have found several suppliers on ebay but am not sure who to buy from. There are several from Hong Kong at around $12Aus and then there is a supplier here in Australia selling a Bosch part for $55 dollars. Seems a huge difference. Have any of you guys used the generic Chinese parts before? What is your experience? Can you recommend a supplier who is happy to send to Australia?
 
#14 ·
Have you checked/cleaned the TDC sensor yet? Before you go spending money on new parts. It's a common problem on the Clio and really should be ruled out first. First symptoms are difficult starting. Then later non-running at all.
 
#15 ·
Hi Twodogs, thanks for the post. I had considered the TDC sensor but as the starting only seems to play up when the air temperature is lower (say under 16 degrees C ) the coolant temp sensor seemed a better bet. If the coolant temp sensor replacement does do the job the TDC sensor will be next on my list.
 
#17 ·
Well, not sure what to think. The new CTS arrived yesterday and I fitted it. The car started ok afterward but I thought I would leave it until morning so that it would be nice and cold. It fired up easily this morning so all seems good. I just went out to move the car (about 8 hours later) and it will not start at all. At first it would just crank for about twenty seconds then stop. Then I tried again and it now just cranks and cranks without firing. Any ideas? . The battery is showing about 12.3V which I don't think is fully charged. Should it be reading about 13.6V? I was also messing around with a spare key that does not work could this cause any problems?
 
#19 ·
OK all problems solved. Thank you to Dancingdad for the suggestion of changing the Coolant Temp Sensor. All other problems were solved by putting the battery on charge for a few hours. Still not used to the problems caused by not having a fully charged battery. All other cars I have owned would either not turn over at all if the battery charge drops below optimum or would crank really slow. The Clio just keeps on cranking but won't fire up. Need to make sure we use it more often. Cheers.
 
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