car won't start

Could anyone help please? recently i have periodically experienced this annoying problem and I am at a loss as to what is causing it.
Now and then I will start the car and the engine turns over but doesn't ignite...almost like petrol starvation.
After a few attempts and pumping of the accelerator, it eventually splutters into life.

I had wondered if it was the immobiliser fob, but on some occasions the beeping hasn't come on before disengaging the immobiliser. so my other thought was could it be a build up of sludge in the in-line petrol filter causing a starvation to the throttle?

If anyone else has experienced this, I would be keen to know what causes it as the car runs brilliantly and fires up first time every time otherwise.

MK 1 or 2 F or TF if Mk2 or TF a cheap OBD code reader will help diagnose, if MK1 a pscan can help, but sounds like fuel pump or cam / crank sensor, if as you say sludge then that is highly unlikely as the tank is plastic therefore no corrosion as would happen with steel tanks.

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Cheers Steve, this is really useful...only happens maybe once a week, but is really annoying!

Its probably worth changing the fuel filter just in case if it hasnt been recently changed. I was surprised at the muck that came out of my old one with a bit of shaking.

Many thanks for the advice. I will give it a thorough check over this weekend.

Electronic OBD diagnosis can only go so far, if the original designers didn’t foresee certain problems and made no provision in the software or provided sensors for it then it can’t perform miracles. A lot of fuel system problems can go undetected by OBD systems because of this.
As such it can only find problems that it was designed to know exist, it’s not a crystal ball!
That is to say they’re not a useful tool, they can be extremely handy and can save shitloads of time in ruling out a lot of possibilities, but they have their limitations.
Cheap generic OBD scanners aren’t as good as the Pscan which is tailored to our cars various systems as it’s based on the factory T4 Techbook diagnostic system.

Modern fuel will go bad, sooner than the old stuff, and can destroy fuel pumps and clog filters, the fuel pumps in these are prone to intermittent failure anyway. And won’t necessarily show up on a OBD scan.
Also check your vacuum hoses a split or loose fit on the nipple can give no end of grief.

I doubt that it’s the immobiliser as the starter turns over.
Going on the information you’ve provided, shit fuel or vacuum leaks are the possibilities that have my instincts tingling

Really useful comments Cobber.
Will check the items you have identified.