My car keeps cutting out...?

sgtbungo

New member
My car has just passed its annual MOT (UK) with flying colours with nothing needing done. Now a few days later the engine wont stay on for any period of time.
First noticed this last night when the engine did not want to start but I kept at it and after a few attempts it started. The problem is it wont stay on unless you rev it and even then you can only travel about 10 metres before it cuts out again...

What can be wrong?
should mention it is a Citroen c3 Diesel
 

LisaHW

New member
It could be any number of things, but the first thing that occurred to me is that it could be idling too slowly. Of course, if it had trouble starting, that could be a separate problem or else associated with something different.

Symptoms that it's a slow idle are that it would stall when you aren't giving it gas.

I don't know what's involved in your MOT, but if it's a safety and emissions check (the way it is in the US) there are things that can be missed. (Any chance they turned the idle down to get it to pass emissions?)

There are so many problems it could be, I'm sure others will offer guesses. If emissions aren't part of the annual check, that would make it more likely you could have dirty filters. You could have an electrical problem that only arises when the weather is particularly damp. Another possibility: problem with the fuel pump/fuel injection.

You could have a vacuum leak if a connection was loosened.

Those are my guesses.
 
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