[i30uk]

Hi All,

I have a 2011 i30 FD 1.4 petrol (80,000 miles) which developed an intermittent issue whereby the 'ESP OFF' light would come on and I would notice a reduction in power. It typically occurred after driving for a distance, say 40+ miles. Turning off and back on would correct the immediate issue. It would then continue to work normally until it happened again, maybe a few days or maybe weeks later. The past week or two it developed an issue where the car would stall, sometimes it would restart immediately other times it would need to be left off for a few minutes before retrying.

Reading through various post on this forum and others it suggested the crank shaft sensor may be at fault so I got that replaced by a local independent. However, after they did this it would not start at all! The engine turns over but will not start. They put the old crank shaft sensor back in and exactly the same issue occurs. They checked for error codes and found nothing and after a couple of days of trying they got no where.

Other posts suggest I now have an immobiliser issue but looking at the lights on the dashboard the car with key light comes on at what appears to be the correct time and it does not flash. Which if I interpret correctly means the immobiliser is detecting the key. This then lead to consider the fuel pump but when I turn the key I can hear a noise which sounds like what I presume is the fuel pump. I have swapped out the fuses (although they were fine) and switched the relay for the fuel pump but still it refuses to start.

I have a cheap ODB2 adapter connected to an app which still shows no error codes being logged. This reported the battery voltage as low as 11.1v but I am not sure of the accuracy of this. I have since put the battery on charge and it now shows a voltage of around 12.5v from both the app and a multimeter but still the same issue.

My knowledge of cars extends to what I can find via google, so any thoughts would be appreciated :-)

Thanks,

[eye30]

I know is may be obvious but it does have the correct/enough fuel?

Re battery,  is it healthy in that it holds the charge after cranking?
Turn ignition and head lights on. Do the lights dim quickly.  If so, then battery not holding charge.

Have you tried to jump start from another battery, healthy?
Is it still not starting.

Like you i'm no mechanic but above are what i would do. 

I'm sure someone with more knowledge will provide help.

Ps
Welcome

[i30uk]

Thanks eye30 for taking the time to reply.

It has about half a tank of petrol, so no issues there with wrong fuel or too little.

The battery seems healthy, although it is probably at least 3 years old. I replaced it with a halfords battery a few years bank when the original stopped holding charge. If I crank the lights dim but only momentarily like normal. If I stop cranking the lights return to being bright.

I have tried jump starting it from another vehicle with a good/health battery but still exactly the same experience.

I could pick up a new battery but from what I can see it seems okay?

[Shambles]

Sounds like a fuel pressure issue, possibly the FP regulator. I'm surprised there are no codes stored.

Our resident tekkies may be able to recommend a way forward.

[sundiz]

Sometimes error codes do not store in the memory. Drive the car until it goes to reduced power mode (limp mode) and stop to a safe place. Do not shut down the engine. Read the error codes while the engine is still running and the power is reduced. Sometimes this is the only way to get the code which caused the limp mode.

Based on the symptons it seems the battery or the alternator is not working. Measure the voltage of the battery with multimeter. Without engine running it should be ~12.8V. With engine running the voltage should be ~14.2V.

[Dazzler]

Welcome i30uk,

Very sorry to hear of your issues.  Like the others I'm afaid I can't really offer much mechanical help.

We have 3 Aussie based technical advisors who may be able to help when they see your thread.

I must say I was impressed with your first post. A pretty frustrating and stressful situation but you seem to be keeping your head and working through the options logically.  You also explained the issue and your attempted fixes well.

[Aye30]

Hello,  a question for some of the more techie people, If the crank sensor signal is not received by the ecu, does the car eventually start ? I was thinking the wiring between the sensor and the ecu may have been intermittent, but  swapping out the sensor may have completely jiggled a loose wire . Just a thought.

[i30uk]

Hi Again,

Thank you all for the words of support and suggestions.

I started the day by collecting a new battery just in case there was an issue with the old battery. The bad news after swapping it over is exactly the same issue.

Another issue I have seen mentioned is the ignition/immobiliser coil, not sure what the correct name is, but the black ring around the key barrel. Unlike the suggestions online it is not necessary to remove the steering wheel, instead move the wheel to the left to reveal one screw, then to the right to reveal the other then remove the screw from underneath. It also helps if the lever to adjust the wheel height is pulled down.

After all the above I tried disconnecting the plug that connects the 'ignition immobiliser coil' to the loom. As expected, this does not help but what it did show that if I attempted to start the car with it disconnected the immobiliser light (car with key symbol) started flashing. Given it does not flash when it is connected, it again suggests this is not faulty?

As I was not sure whether the old or new crank shaft sensor had been left in by the independent I managed to scramble around on the floor and feel where it was - just to the right of the oil filter. I removed it, which given the dirt was the old one and managed to put the new one back in. Again, absolutely no difference.

No fault codes continue to be found :-(

I have uploaded a video of the cluster when I try and start it, perhaps I am missing something with the lights:

Uploadfiles.io - VID_20170902_160445.mp4

[sundiz]

Have you measured the voltage when engine is running? New battery will not help, if the alternator is faulty...

[i30uk]

The engine does not run so I cannot measure... Unless you are thinking to measure whilst trying to turn over?

[eye30]

Do you have spare key you can try?

[i30uk]

Yes, I have the spare key that came with it but I encounter exactly the same issue using it.

Given the value of it, taking it to the Hyundai dealer really is not worth it from my perspective as the diagnostics could easily add up. It is increasingly looking like calling it a day and look at new cars 

[eye30]

Why not have a word with local hy service centre and explain above.

See what they may suggest and possible cost.

I've found in past that my local hy service centre have a fairly good idea what the issues i've taken them and cost was reasonable.

They have the specialist diagnosic equipement for hy car which others don't have.

[sundiz]

The engine does not run so I cannot measure... Unless you are thinking to measure whilst trying to turn over?

Ahh. I understood it happened occasianally based on the first post. A full battery would start the car even if the alternator would not charge. It would just drain the battery...

If it does not start at all anymore, it makes things bit more difficult.

[yodm]

if the wiring from the crankshaft sensor was bad, than you would have an error code. when the signal is not good but exist, there would be no error code.
it could be that the new sensor is bad also and taking the old sensor out damaged it. or its not the correct sensor. so you get a bad signal that is too bad to get the car started but exist enough not to get an error code.
you need to connect a scanner to measure all sorts of signals, like fuel pressure and to look at the crank shaft sensor signal.
there are plenty of videos on youtube that explain how to to this.

[i30uk]

Hi Yodm, thanks for the suggestion I will investigate.

I picked up the replacement from Amazon, it looks identical to the original whose part number is 39180-2B000.

Blue Print ADG07272 Crankshaft Angle Sensor: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike

[i30uk]

The i30 is still refusing to start but I have run some further diagnostics using some software mentioned online and noticed ignition coils 3 and 4 fail to complete the test. Clearly this would cause a problem with starting but would coils suddenly fail like this?

Before I go spending money I will try swapping the coils and re-run the test, fingers crossed I may have located the issue.

[Dazzler]

Sounds like you are on to it. Not sure why the sudden fail, but it happens.. 

[yodm]

ignition coils can fail. Renault had this issue with the first Megan, the coils would fail.
any component can fail, it happens.

[uriyeshno30]

Hello there. Sorry for my english as it is not my first language.
As an owner and a mechanic I would defintily go for the cranck sensor. Never seen two coils go at once.
So if the problem is not solved yet my guess is the crank sensor

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

[Dazzler]

Hello there. Sorry for my english as it is not my first language.
As an owner and a mechanic I would defintily go for the cranck sensor. Never seen two coils go at once.
So if the problem is not solved yet my guess is the crank sensor

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

Welcome and thanks for trying to help! 

[nzenigma]

Hello there. Sorry for my english as it is not my first language.
As an owner and a mechanic I would defintily go for the cranck sensor. Never seen two coils go at once.
So if the problem is not solved yet my guess is the crank sensor

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

Welcome and thanks for trying to help! 

Welcome as above.
Agree about coil failure. More likely the stoppage is due to your initial fault and that is something to do with the crank sensor issue.
Battery could be better but probably ok and your alternator appears to be working. about 14.5v when running.
Fuel pump will run for a few secs when ignition is turned on. Seems it ok.

So if we look at this logically, you had intermittent low power and ESP off. You could re-start the car and it would run ok. You had a usable but annoying car until your mechanic changed the crank sensor . From that point on the car has never started. When the old sensor was refitted it still did not start. Your total failure is mechanic related.

It is rare for an electronic device to fail and come good so irregularly. If they do, it is usually temperature that is causing the break down.

I think that you have a poor and previously intermittent electrical connection that old muppet has disturbed.
You need to jack the car up and look at every connection he has touched or ( importantly) accidentally disturbed.
Look for loose connectors or broken wires on top as well.
Just stick to the facts that you have and don't get distracted by coils and the usual immobiliser / key suggestions. THE CAR WAS RUNNING before your so called mechanic dicked around with it.