[Closed] Anyone having problem with diesel gelling?

I should think that knackered glow plugs would give the same symptoms. They're still needed on modern diesels for smooth running in cold weather even though the engine can start without them.

Failing that, try changing the fuel filter. Doubt the diesel is gelling, have driven and parked overnight in -18 on UK diesel without a problem before.

switch on ignition, and glowplug light illuminates, then wait for it to go off,switch off ignition,repaeat a few times,then drive off,works for me.

Also keep the tank topped up.

Have you got your Diesel fuel from 1982?

yup the same is happening to my car,
pretty sure its the glow plugs,
will be changing them next week,

Glow plugs were changed in the summer - less than 3000 miles ago.

Fuel filter not changed for 20k but manual states its a 60k interval job.

Its odd because he took it on a decent drive two days ago - but now it can't even get off the drive, all of a sudden.

It is just possible that the vent in your filler cap has frozen, stopping air from getting into the tank. This causes a vacuum, and stops diesel from reaching the injectors. Try running with the cap loose.
Diesel is OK to minus 20.

My folks live way up North (middle of sod all north of Grantown on Spey) - currently house bound due to being snowed in. Plenty of the locals around those parts use about a litre of petrol mixed with 50lt of diesel to prevent freezing. There is currently a Discovery abandoned on the road near their house from an "outsider" who drove into the area without taking precautions. By the time a local farmer sorted it for them all the roads were impassable so they are holed up at my folks house too.

My Focus TDCI had a problem where there was a solenoid operated shutter on the air intake manifold which didn't open on starting.
It would start first off and run really rough but then cut out as it was starved of air.

I had something like this a few years ago. Pretty much tried everything. Turned out that there was a tiny filter (like a thimble) in the fuel pump which was getting blocked. If you removed the fuel union from the pump you could get to the filter and lift it out with a little screwdriver but you couldn't see it.

I put it down to 'bad' fuel as even after a new diesel filter, fuel lines and the addition of a second filter inline the thing would still block every so often.
Try priming the system with the engine running (primer on top of fuel filter) and see if there's an improvement as you force fuel through ... doing this helped me find the problem/filter.

Good luck.

Used to get this problem with my Mahindra jeep every winter when I lived up in hills in India (no additives in diesel). Solution was to hold a candle under the valve from the fuel tank for 5 mins...

Unless your dad is getting his diesel from a spurious source or putting untreated tractor diesel (Gas Oil) in 😉 then it won't be the fuel waxing.

Definately one of the plugs breakling down.More noticeable in the colder weather.I just had new plugs put in my van and the difference was instant.

Glow plugs as first port of call its not unheard of that a batch of plugs are faulty. I had the same problem on my Passat TDI turned out that a full dose of STP injector cleaner cured the problem (cleans the fuel system too). Cheap diesel is the devils own blood one particular garage locally buys up all the unused stock/left overs and its utter crap.
For now if you can whack some super diesel in it which has an increased cetane rating and will burn better. (Could also be a sticking air mass meter too they only run on fine neeedle type mounts).

Diesel will start to gel about -10 ish but the "winter mix" in UK fuel stations will have an additive so it should be OK down to about -20 or so.
In Alaska they give have a completely different mix, it'll work down to -50!

I'd go with glow plugs or fuel filter as the problem rather than the fuel.

Gonna look at the plugs in the morning - would a bad plug/plugs result in the car stalling after a few seconds of idle? I thought they would lead to non-firing at all? The dash light goes out when it should.

don't think it will be the fuel. Just back from New Year in Speyside and it never got above minus 3, with minus 10 at nights and our cars were all ok (apart from the 2 feet of snow !!)

last year it was colder and one of them died when it was around minus 15, definately due to fuel gelling then though.

Now then thinking about it the only other time that I had it happen it was the battery was fubarred. This was causing the fuel solenoid to shut cutting off the fuel flow. If tha battery is tired it will give out the intial 16 odd volts to turn the starter but then will drop to about 9 or so straight after which may be insufficient to keep that solenoid open. Rather than spashing the cash on glow plugs check out the state of the battery or put it on charge overnight see if it make a difference tomorrow morning.

Not wanting to appear pedantic, but it's wax that starts to solidify, not gel. It's called waxing, not gelling. It's liquid wax that is the offending additive and then causes problems at low temps without another additive.
[url= http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/australia/corporate_australia/STAGING/local_assets/downloads_pdfs/f/Fuels_Winter_diesel_Problems_Summary.pdf ]BP diesel waxing info.[/url]

Resistance of glow plugs is ok.

I still think its a problem with the fuel 'waxing'. The tank was filled way before the weather got cold (some 2 months ago) and still has 1/2 tank left so thinking it may have some 'summer'-grade fuel in it. Got a blow heater under the block so i'll give it a while to thaw the ice off the block and then try again.

Glow Plugs mate desil gelling is a thing of the past.
Ive started my van in extreme cold spells with no probs.

Starting isn't the problem - its keeping it going that is!

Certainly sounds like fuel starvation . . .

Check for water in the fuel filter, there is almost always a way to drain it and there is usually a water trap built into the filter housing, If it's running summer fuel then even at -5 I'd be surprised if you had a waxing issue but probably worth filling the tank with some fresh stuff . . .

It's not uncommon to have water contaminate the fuel filter element which then freezes and blocks the filter . . .

I'd try heating the fuel filter rather than anything else, that's where waxing issues and water issues tend to lurk.

UK winter grade diesel waxes at about -20 . . .

Fd