Van won't start, suggestions? (1 Viewer)

[Trikeman]

Well done Gromett, :thumb:

enjoy where your off.

Trikeman.

 

[Gromett]

Off to Louth, having a night out at the steak house then beers with friends :thumb:

Been looking forward to it for months as the Steak really is great and you get to cook it at the table on a Black Rock... Lovely...

 

[pappajohn]

I am no expert on the subject of Easystart but I understood that it should never be used if engine has heater plugs.

makes little difference and almost every diesel has a cold start device of some type...commonly plugs.

if it sprayed with ign off it cant imediately get in the cylinders and if cranking it will ignite faster than diesel.

if the heaters are working theres no need for easystart anyway as if it wont start theres another fault.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[JJ]

When starting a reluctant diesel engine in winter with suspect glow plugs, under no circumstances should you drink a cup/mug of coffee at the same time...


Hope this helps...


JJ :Cool:

 

[novawight]

had same probs with my van vw topaz , changed plugs .no start, the relay had just come loose, alot of expense that was,nt needed, ...............Del

 

[teddybard]

Take more water with it &

Get in your own Van

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Gromett]

had same probs with my van vw topaz , changed plugs .no start, the relay had just come loose, alot of expense that was,nt needed, ...............Del

I don't think it can be the relay as it did start when I left the ignition on for 8 seconds 3 times before trying to start.

logically this leads me to believe that the glow plugs are all weak or one is duff and the extra heat I give it by cycling 3 times allows it to start? This is just a guess on my part as I have no practical mechanical experience of diesels.

I am a bit miffed that the coil light on the dash doesn't accurately reflect the action of the coils though. Thanks for that tip by the way.

 

[pappajohn]

having to cycle 3 times is a sure sign of failed/ing plug/s.

only takes a couple of weak or dead plugs to make a no start when its cold.

you obviously never knew to look but when cranking there would probably be a bit of smoke puffing from the exhaust as the better plugs tried to fire it up

 

[Gromett]

having to cycle 3 times is a sure sign of failed/ing plug/s.

only takes a couple of weak or dead plugs to make a no start when its cold.

you obviously never knew to look but when cranking there would probably be a bit of smoke puffing from the exhaust as the better plugs tried to fire it up

Yes there is the odd puff of smoke from the exhaust. More as it gets closer to starting....

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Peter JohnsCross MH]

If its cold try using a hair drier on hot around the fuel filter bowl and injector pump and warm them up, if the fuels got water in it or got cold the diesel will not flow/pump

Peter

 

[Ivory55]

Remember in my younger days setting light to empty cement bags under the cement mixer in the cold winters to get it to start in the morning on the building site. The warm air helped it to fire up, needed when cranking it over with a starting Handel .

 

[Terry]

Bite the bullet and buy a set of new heater/ glow plugs --Only around 20 quid for a set of 4 off eBay --easy to test the old ones but for 20 quid ???
terry

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Gromett]

Bite the bullet and buy a set of new heater/ glow plugs --Only around 20 quid for a set of 4 off eBay --easy to test the old ones but for 20 quid ???
terry

That is my plan Terry. Having paid £500 for new alternator, belt and battery another £40 to potentially sort it out once and for all is worth it.

 

[JJ]

Following Ivory55's post above I actually watched my juggler friend Dom start the diesel engine on his narrow boat by holding a lit fire torch over the air intake...

Didn't suggest it to Karl though as I didn't think he would have a fire torch readily at hand.


JJ :Cool:

 

[Peter JohnsCross MH]

Following Ivory55's post above I actually watched my juggler friend Dom start the diesel engine on his narrow boat by holding a lit fire torch over the air intake...

Didn't suggest it to Karl though as I didn't think he would have a fire torch readily at hand.


JJ :Cool:

Thats how the Spanish fishermen start their engines on the old single diesels!

Peter

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[DBK]

The CHALLENGER tank has it built in - a diesel burning heater fitted into the air intake. It is there primarily to reduce exhaust smoke on starting by heating the air as it is drawn into the engine but of course helps it to start in cold weather. Some vehicles built for the Arctic use propane gas heaters to pre-warm the engine coolant prior to starting although the Russian approach is just to keep the engine running and never turn it off!

 

[JJ]

Thats how the Spanish fishermen start their engines on the old single diesels!

Peter

Fancy that Peter!

Fire Juggling Spanish fishermen...


JJ :Cool:

 

[Gromett]

Following Ivory55's post above I actually watched my juggler friend Dom start the diesel engine on his narrow boat by holding a lit fire torch over the air intake...

Didn't suggest it to Karl though as I didn't think he would have a fire torch readily at hand.


JJ :Cool:

I do have a hot air gun and was tempted to point it into the air intake on the air filter. However I couldn't do this while turning the ignition key........

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Rob e Lee]

Everyone seems to be assuming it to be a Glow Plug problem. It could also be faulty injectors.
I recently had this problem on my Sorento - very hard to start but ran perfectly when it did fire. Had engine checked out and Glow Plugs were OK, fault was found in Injectors. Had all four Injectors replaced and problem solved. Expensive repair though :Sad:

Using Easy Start as a temporary measure always got engine running.

Rob

 

[Gromett]

Everyone seems to be assuming it to be a Glow Plug problem. It could also be faulty injectors.
I recently had this problem on my Sorento - very hard to start but ran perfectly when it did fire. Had engine checked out and Glow Plugs were OK, fault was found in Injectors. Had all four Injectors replaced and problem solved. Expensive repair though :Sad:

Using Easy Start as a temporary measure always got engine running.

Rob

Rob, its a combination of things that are making me look towards the glow plugs.

1) When the temp is above 8-10 degrees there is no problems starting at all.
2) When I turned the ignition on and left it for 8 secs, do this 3 times before attempting to start it started fine.
3) After the engine has been running for 5 minutes there is no further problems starting it again.
4) the problem has got worse over the last 3 winters.

Ocam's razor springs to mind here... Much more likely to be glow plugs than injectors due to temperature sensitivity?



I really can't see it being the injectors. Replacing the glow plugs makes a lot more sense than going straight for the injectors.

 

[hilldweller]

. Much more likely to be glow plugs than injectors due to temperature sensitivity?.

Or a small chance of the feed to the plugs. Get you meter right across a plug and measure the volts. If you have 2 meters, one across plug, one across battery and see how close they are.

Another good measure is battery neg to block, should be zero but if the earth bond is corroded it won't be.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Terry]

We are looking for the easy option Easy to check glow plugs once out and it only takes one not working right -while they are out may as well replace them but do check the new ones are working before putting them in :thumb:
terry

 

[Gromett]

Or a small chance of the feed to the plugs. Get you meter right across a plug and measure the volts. If you have 2 meters, one across plug, one across battery and see how close they are.

Another good measure is battery neg to block, should be zero but if the earth bond is corroded it won't be.

The electrics at the battery side are all ok as they were all replaced about 5 months ago. There is 2 earthing points for batteries as I have a 500AH battery bank in the back of the van which I currently have connected in parallel to the vehicle battery (with bloody thick cable) which is also earthed independently.

I don't know enough about diesel engines to start poking my meter about in it and even if I did doing this single handed may prove difficult as I have no one to turn ignition on to activate glow plugs.

As I say. I can now start it using the above mentioned procedure. I will as soon as the garages reopen get new glow plugs fitted (not doing it myself) and see if that cures it. If not I will leave the mechanic to poke his meters around

I am really really grateful to everyone who has contributed to this thread. It's time like this that the practical value of the forum shines. I am pretty much 100% self sufficient and can handle most problems myself so for me the forum has always been a social thing for me which it excels at :thumb: Needing the practical backup and getting it has pushed it over the top for me.

Thanks guys :thumb:

 

[Gromett]

Just so everyone knows what led me to my solution (however temporary). I wanted to thank you all for the process you led me through.

Has you MoHo got heater plugs Gromett? Are they working?

One of the most common issues with diesels not starting first click on a crisp winters morn.

This had been mentioned on a facebook response but was also one of the possibilities I was thinking ....

Geo once pointed out that the light on some van lies to you, ours does.

I didn't know that. In combination with a suggestion from Artona of trying to turn ignition on and of a few times before attempting to start..... I had done what artona suggested but only for a second or two.

it takes a while to get the tip of the plug to glow white hot

maybe take 10 to 15 seconds to glow white and will remain too hot to touch for quite some time.

Ok, another thing I didn't know so my 2 seconds or so would not be enough to do the job?

have you tried turning ignition on
let the heater light go out
then turn off ignition on and repeat a few times
may just warm the glow coil and cylinder up a little bit before you crank the engine

:thumb::thumb::thumb:

This will be my next try after the batteries have charged up.

So if anyone else has problems starting on cold days. Try switching the ignition on for 8 seconds. Then off. Repeat 3 times and then try to start. It worked for me :thumb:

You guys are stars and thank you so very much :thumb::thumb::thumb:

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Rob e Lee]

Rob, its a combination of things that are making me look towards the glow plugs.

1) When the temp is above 8-10 degrees there is no problems starting at all.
2) When I turned the ignition on and left it for 8 secs, do this 3 times before attempting to start it started fine.
3) After the engine has been running for 5 minutes there is no further problems starting it again.
4) the problem has got worse over the last 3 winters.

Ocam's razor springs to mind here... Much more likely to be glow plugs than injectors due to temperature sensitivity?



I really can't see it being the injectors. Replacing the glow plugs makes a lot more sense than going straight for the injectors.

Of course it makes sense to check out Glow Plugs first - that's what I did. On inspection my Glow Plugs were fine - Injectors were the last thing to be inspected after everything else checked out fine. Hope yours is an easy cure :thumb:

Rob

 

[pegleg]

fillters

Have a look at the diesel filters as they after time gain water through condensation and causes contamination fuel and there is a fuel bleed on some ,reason I saying this is when it started it run but cut out ,hope you solve the problem

 

[DeuceBG]

A split Leak Back Pipe caused similar symptoms on mine recently.
Simple replacement of a 4" length of braided rubber hose and it's Happy Days......:thumb:

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[pappajohn]

A split Leak Back Pipe caused similar symptoms on mine recently.
Simple replacement of a 4" length of braided rubber hose and it's Happy Days......:thumb:

see Grommets post, below.

Rob, its a combination of things that are making me look towards the glow plugs.

1) When the temp is above 8-10 degrees there is no problems starting at all.
2) When I turned the ignition on and left it for 8 secs, do this 3 times before attempting to start it started fine.
3) After the engine has been running for 5 minutes there is no further problems starting it again.
4) the problem has got worse over the last 3 winters.

Ocam's razor springs to mind here... Much more likely to be glow plugs than injectors due to temperature sensitivity?



I really can't see it being the injectors. Replacing the glow plugs makes a lot more sense than going straight for the injectors.

 

[DeuceBG]

see Grommets post, below.

I'll get me coat..........:Blush:

 

[Gromett]

I got really bored tonight at around 18:00 so decided to move on... by 18:30 I was on the road :thumb:

I did the trick as described above. 1st time it kind of started then conked out again. 2nd time started up no problems.

I am now convinced it is the glow plugs.

Thanks again guys :thumb:

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}