2001 2.0 tddi 75 hp 109K miles .
I've owned the van for 15 years now and it has always started immediately when starter engaged .
Last weekend I noticed, suddenly, it took several churns of the engine to catch and since then on each start it has taken longer to " fire " than before .
The van has sat since Friday night and tonight I went to start it and it churned over four or five turns before starting . When I say churned it was if it was trying to catch but just couldn't fire up.
Upon each start after that it fired quicker but not as fast as it used to.
I then noticed the water in fuel filter lamp stayed on for a couple of seconds after firing and there was also a strong diesel smoke smell in and around the van when running.It may be imagination but I also thought it was down a little in power too this week.
Fuel Filter was changed 2K miles ago and prior to that each year ,and the van is serviced by myself every 5 K miles and repaired professionally when it's something either I can't or don't want to do .....
Would water contaminated diesel ,and therefore a the filter warning light coming on ,cause these starting symptoms ?
I'll fit a new filter tomorrow and see if that helps but there is half a tank in there .