so the van broke down, fiat scudo 1.9d y reg 2001, its only done 36000 and in great nick. started losing power at a certain rev point, and then just cut out a couple of miles down the road…now it won’t fire at all, just turns the starter, its got fuel in, glow plugs work, on cranking no white smoke coming out of the exhaust so i suspect its a fuel issue, new filter today and there seems to be bubbles in the pipe between filter and pump. its going to a diesel specialist on monday but i thought i’d ask the oracle, any thoughts?

If the only that has changed since it last ran well was a filter change, I’d look there first, could be a simple O ring failure allowing air in.

I hope its not the pump in the tank as mine went & it was 400e, air in pipe sounds like a filter issue. I’d reseal fuel filter & reprime.

How long after fitting the fuel filter did it cut out? As some cars can be a nightmare getting the fuel filter primed and starting the vehicle.

But as said above, removed fuel filter top up with fuel in filter or in where it goes (if paper or cannister) and then see. If you can get under the vehicle and turn the engine over, if you hear a slight hum coming from the fuel tank then you know the sender pump is working.

It sounds like you’ve air in the system. Re-check that all fuel-filter connections are tight, try to start with your accelerator padal firmly to the floor, for anything up to a minute. Has it started does it sound like it’s trying to? If not whilst someone cranks the engine loosen an injector ( should release with an audible crack ( I was recently told to go home and ‘ crack one off ‘ when my tdi engine was running on 3 cylinders )) ahem. Anyways loosen and see if diesel comes out. If yes pump is ok so tighten and ‘ crack another one off ‘ and crank engine. Repeat, this way any air trapped between the filter and cylinder can be released.

it conked out before i put a new filter in, the new filter was the first thing i tried, is there a bleed screw on the pump anywhere, i think its a bosch pump? will crack one off tommorrow…

Could be air in the system, check the seating of the filter seal.. other wee foible to check is the electrical supply to the stop solenoid on the injection pump if there is one – these are “fail to safe” they are normally easy to spot as there will be just a single lead running to it, due to the vibration on a diseasel the cable can be prone to chafing or breaking down internally. A quickie diagnosis for this is to run a lead from the battery +ve direct to the solenoid itself, crank & see if the engine fires, if it does fire REMEMBER to stop the engine you will have to disconect this temp lead — it’s also an evil trick to play on someone too… the look on their face as the engine fails to stop and they are running round the car with the keys in their hand is priceless.

Also check the engine earth… i have seen this cause MAJOR running issues on a TDi Landrover causing the stop solenoid to chatter in & out… that took 1/2 a bl@@dy day to find, grr

will crack one off tommorrow…

😆

If you are going to ‘crack one off’ wear protective eyewear. 8)

yes i suspected the stop solenoid (like i know what i’m on about) there’s some stuff on another forum where a guy cuts off the cover around the top of the solenoid with an angle grinder! even i wouldn’t do that…

Could it be a worn throttle position sensor sending an erroneous reading to the ECU? My Berlingo has started to ‘throb’ slightly at 1800rpm (ish) which is the most common engine speed. I suspect the TPS may be worn at this point. Putting the pedal down cures the throb instantly…

thanx for all the replies, its going in on monday, grrr, hate paying garages, i’m normally too stubborn to let anyone else do stuff. my motto is if he can do it, i’m gonna do it even if it means taking 5 times as long, and costing x in my time…some would call this folly…

I’ve not touched this sort of thing for years

Injectors are dangerous. You don’t want to touch an injector or go near it when it squirts. I’ve horror stories of it going through skin, I don’t even want to think about eyes

On my old van there was a button that pumped fuel to prime, near or on the fuel pump. This was used to prime the pipe the injector pump. I think you then cranked the engine with a union to an injector slackened to let out air as you cranked it

Hmm

you need some one who knows really

Get a TDi or earlier landrover… its ALL mechanical no electronics… if it dont work then a big hammer*/gaffa tape/welding rod or coathanger & WD40 will sort 99% of issues 😉

*or just make you feel better about the whole situation

just once i’d like a vehicle which didn’t break down, is there such a thing (new thread)

What ever you do don’t remove the injector…modern diesel engines force the fuel through the injector at around 200 – 250bar ( 3700psi ) with third generation commonrail diesel injectors producing 1800 bar…26000psi…wtf..

You don’t want those pressures coming anywhere near your bodily appendages.

So remember, when cracking one off, if it falls off you’ve overdone it.

would you call 2001 a modern engine? its a Peugeot xud engine that was in citroen dispatch etc, a really common engine apparently

If there are bubbles in the pipe, you’ve got air in the system somewhere
It’s either a faulty joint somewhere on the fuel line, the air in the system means the engine won’t fire.
Try bleeding the system, take the fuel filter off again and fill with diesel, make sure you have a good seal on the canister, then crank it over, if you still have bubbles in before the injector, could be you are losing pressure and air is entering and slowly creeping back down the pipes towards the tank, I’df this is the case they can be a bugger to bleed, the injector method is food as long as you don’t have a bad connection somewhere, if you do, you will never bleed the system, coa air is entering bush the bad connection all the time

If its the dw8 1.9 non turbo citroen/Peugeot engine the 2 most common faults are fuel cut off valve goes faulty , but due to it being the vehicles immobiliser the part isn’t changeable without removing the fuel pump and drilling out and changing the whole unit . The part is very expensive also . There is a way round it but its not the ” right ” way , the second most common is the throttle body shaft wear causing fuel leak from the shaft and airlocks and cutting out , this is far less common and easy to I.d by looking for play / leaks etc .
Good luck .

Seriously DO NOT open up an injector pipe. Modern diesels run at 300+ Bar (4500psi approx). The Haynes for my old Ford 1.6 stated that anytime you disturb the high pressure side of the fuel system the pipes should be replaced.

It does sound like air in the system so check the filter seal and then find the priming pump or if not one fitted the carefully suck (using a siphon or hand pump if poss) the return pipe to the tank.

Sounds just like my Iveco. Stalled, bubbles in fuel line and won’t restart. If left for a while it would restart for a few seconds, then stall.

It was the lift pump (not the high pressure pump) Mine is on the chassis, was £100 and quick connectors to change, but as above, usually in the tank. I’ve changed a tank sender in a Punto (electrical plug had melted so when I brimmed the tank petrol started swilling about under the rear seat!) and the hardest part about that was siphoning some fuel out of the brimmed tank, and then getting the sender unit itself unscrewed as it was blimmin tight!

As per my previous post IF its a PSA dw8 engine , it’s doesn’t have a tank/lift pump and is old school low pressure diesel injectors , 90psi if I remember right ?
But your safe to ” crack ” an injector to bleed and or check for the diesel pump producing fuel , as per my previous post I strongly suspect the fuel solenoid is faulty .

As. Per chris post

Yu say bosch pump – look for a rubber bulb in top or the side. My lucas pumped dw8 has one, simply push it in and out till it till it goes hard , try again

This fails to start it , crack an injector stand back and turn it over – see if you get fuel.

If you have fuel check the air filter hasnt broken up and blocked the air intake. – if you have fuel and air and its still not starting , get worried and get the wee grinder out to open the pump housing up 🙂

Have you not long bought the car ? Hasnt done many miles over the years – what do the service intervals look like ? Hs it had 3 services in that time or 11 …….

The lhesitation at 1800 is a common thing like troutwrestler says