Car wont start without a tow,yet turns over fine

2004 Vauxhall Astra 1.7 tdi
Car: Vauxhall Astra
Year: 2004
Variant: 1.7 tdi
Categories: Running Rough, Starting & Power Loss
Hello all,this is a problem with my 2004 astra 1.7 tdi that 3 garages £450 spent and 4 code reads cant sort out.the problem is the car can be fine for weeks on end or sometimes days,turn it off after a run and it simply will not start again hot or cold,it has a new battery,fuel pump with cut of switch,fuel filter,heater plugs,various relays,starter moter,ect ect,NOW this is the weird bit try as we might it refuses to start,tow it a short distance and it starts first time every time,weirder if we just tow it pull up then try to start it on the key it starts fine,ive had three garages look at it and they cant find the fault nor are there any fault codes comming up after 4 code reads,can anyone please help.apart from this the car drives spot on,
Problem added: May 22, 2012 (11 years ago)
Sounds like you have a issue with the fuel pipes where it is allowing air into the system so that it needs bleeding before it will start. This would be done while the car is being bump started. It would only need a slight bit of air to be seeping in so that you can run the car all day long happily once started as the fuel pressure would be maintained once running. This would probably just a union which has been opened at some point and now not creating a good seal.
Answered May 23, 2012 (11 years ago)
I've had this fault on various cars and almost 100% it's been down to a faulty starter motor.
Elecrtical noise generated by the high current starter motor produces electrical noise that can swap out the signal from the crank angle sensor.
Bad bit is either an ocillisope is neede for diagnosis,not common garage equipment,or swap out the starter.
Answered May 23, 2012 (11 years ago)
either air leak on fuel system or faulty crank sensor... does that engine have the seperate fuel ECU bolted to the fuel pump... these do give trouble... they are just plug and play and also dont throw up any fault codes... just a thought..
Answered May 23, 2012 (11 years ago)

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