2001 renault scenic dislikes the cold

[captaincaveman1]

Hi my 2001 scenic is the 1.4 and when the weather turns cold it still starts first time but the engine "runs lumpy" for a minute or so then behaves fine its only when its cold though and i understand the coil packs are prone but does the damp really effect these or is it the leads or something else cheers all

 

[Burnerman]

Thats perfectly true - Renault coil packs are definitely pretty unreliable.
However, more often than not they fail completely, and not just when its cold, but there's no harm in removing them from the spark plug and giving them a wipe over - looking at the same time for evidence of spark leakage or 'tracking'.
I imagine your car has 4 pencil coils, rather than the block type with HT leads coming out of it? Another tip from days gone by is to run the engine in the dark - and look for escaping sparks or the traditional click sound of a spark jumping.
Another possible cause is the coolant temperature sensor that instructs the cars ecu in how much fuel to pass through the injectors - in the same way that we used to have a choke.
John

 

[Peter.N.]

I don't like the cold either - any suggestions?

 

[Burnerman]

I don't like the cold either - any suggestions?

Cold?? In Dorset?? Your winter only lasts 3 weeks.....
Try moving North, Peter - even the dewdrop on the end of ones nose requires some de-icer before you can blow it
John

 

[Peter.N.]

Tell me about it, we were at Beamish in the summer and it was cold I'm afraid its just me, anything below 25C and I'm cold, we have a Siamese cat that's just the same.

Peter

 

[captaincaveman1]