Cold start question.

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luggsey

luggsey

Active Member
Posts
209
My Hippo does not like starting from cold! (1998 diesel) Changed the fuel filter which made almost no difference. The heater plugs were recent but I took them out anyway and checked them and cleaned them. Ok so far. I connected up a working heater plug to the heater plug loom and tested that to prove the relay, now here is my problem. The heater plug fires up off the cold start relay but it dosen't stay on long enough to make the end of the plug glow. My test shows they need 4 seconds before they glow and my ECU didn't heat them that long. So, temprature sensor in the stat housing faulty? I looked in the Haynes book and that sensor controls the temprature display on the dash which seems to work ok, goes to just above half way during normal driving. Can anybody throw any more light on this for me?
Hippo runs like a sewing machine when started BTW.
:confused:

I have done the VCU and the IRD, just the cold start and two central locking units to go!:D
 
The gauge has it's own single wire sensor. You could try changing the 2 wire ECT sensor but it's more likely to be FIP timing that's causing the poor cold starts. It's a common fault on L series, pump timing only has to be a fraction out to cause this.
 
Ok, I will change the temprature sensor anyway as that's easy.
How easy is it to adjust the pump timing? My mate works in a general garage, can they do this or is it a dealer job?
:5bdriving:
 
Nothing difficult about checking or adjusting it, it's just that you have to be absolutely spot on. Doing cam belt first and then FIP belt, it's all in the rave.
If someone changes the cam and FIP belts and don't turn the engine a couple of times to settle the belt and recheck it it will be out just enough to give these symptoms.
Similar cock up can come from someone removing the pump to change #4 glowplug.
 
I checked the heater plugs timing in the morning and they gave 5 seconds so that makes me think the temperature sensor is working ok.
Off to get the pump belt checked then!
 
I got my Freelander pump timing checked today, garage said it was spot on. They said they 'pegged' it up and checked it that way. It made no difference to the cold start problem! Is it possible for the main timing belt to cause this problem then?
Garage bod insists that number 4 heater plug should be working to make it start better, that flys in the face of advice here that says three working plugs is ok? They want at least £100 to install a new number 4 plug. What to do!!!!
The other three plugs are NGK, I bench tested them and they glow at 4.5 seconds, the cold start lamp however never stays on that long.....
Aragghhhhhh!
Garage also checked for air getting into system with a clear bit of pipe on the fuel filter flow and return, said it was fine.....
What else can I check before lashing out another £100+ which may not even work!
 
luggsey said:
I got my Freelander pump timing checked today, garage said it was spot on. They said they 'pegged' it up and checked it that way. It made no difference to the cold start problem! Is it possible for the main timing belt to cause this problem then?
Garage bod insists that number 4 heater plug should be working to make it start better, that flys in the face of advice here that says three working plugs is ok? They want at least £100 to install a new number 4 plug. What to do!!!!
The other three plugs are NGK, I bench tested them and they glow at 4.5 seconds, the cold start lamp however never stays on that long.....
Aragghhhhhh!
Garage also checked for air getting into system with a clear bit of pipe on the fuel filter flow and return, said it was fine.....
What else can I check before lashing out another £100+ which may not even work!
Click to expand...

Do you trust the garage, I'm not sure?

There is a version of L series cylinder head that does not have a glow plug in number 4 at all so they're talking bollocks.

A duff glow plug in #4 won't prevent cylinders 1-3 firing up will it...

My money's still on pump timing, it has to be spot on. Even if you believe they have checked it correctly someone could have previously removed the pump pulley without locking the pump and lost the timing that way.
 
So if the timing is out that way how do I ask for it to be checked?
I know a Rover trained private garage that I can try but he charges! :)
 
Brand new six months ago, exide heavy duty?
Spins the motor pretty quick.
Only thing I was going to try was injector cleaner, I held off doing that to see if there was anything else wrong first.
 
luggsey said:
So if the timing is out that way how do I ask for it to be checked?
I know a Rover trained private garage that I can try but he charges! :)
Click to expand...

The pump should be timed and locked before the removal of its sprocket. If for any reason it has been removed without doing this the pump should be timed and locked by a diesel specialist then refitted to the engine.

Alternatively there is a mark on the pump shaft for anyone wanting to try to time it by trial and error.

But any of this is only relevant if the tension and timing of both belts is spot on and there is reason to suspect the pump has been interfered with at some time.

Belt and timing checking/changing isn't that difficult to DIY if you have the confidence to give it a go. It'll cost you nothing but time and the procedure's in Rave.

Whenever these symptoms come up, new glow plugs but still lots of cranking needed to start, it has been pump timing at fault apart from maybe the odd occasion where air has entered the fuel system via a perished primer bulb.
 
I checked the primer bulb a couple of times before starting and had to pump it five times before it went hard! :)
Does this mean I need a new rubber......
Fleabay has 8mm, 12mm, 5/8 and some others!!
Anybody tell me which size pipe is fitted to my L series diesel Hippo?
 
Update on this, I replaced the primer bulb which didn't really improve things. I replaced all the bleed off pipes on the injectors, that didn't seem to make much difference either!
While checking the ABS sensors today I noticed a damp patch on the chassis next to the tank. It may be a slight diesel leak letting air into the system here. Could this be the cause of my cold start problems? Could a leak here cause enough air to enter the system causing starting problems?
What should I look for, rotton fuel pips of some sort of seal?
 
Well I have 'found' a way to stop this problem....
If just before turning the engine off I give it a rev and turn off the engine promptly then next time I start the engine it fires up normally with no problems?
So I suppose the 'extra' delivery of fuel is helping matters?
With this in mind can anybody suggest what causes the problem?
 
Hi, I have the same problem, i replaced the four plugs, had to get brutal getting the old ones out so i couldn't test them, still wouldn't start then i realised that the heater light didn't stay on for even a second, is there a timer or relay somewhere? Frentchy.
 
luggsey said:
My Hippo does not like starting from cold! (1998 diesel) Changed the fuel filter which made almost no difference. The heater plugs were recent but I took them out anyway and checked them and cleaned them. Ok so far. I connected up a working heater plug to the heater plug loom and tested that to prove the relay, now here is my problem. The heater plug fires up off the cold start relay but it dosen't stay on long enough to make the end of the plug glow. My test shows they need 4 seconds before they glow and my ECU didn't heat them that long. So, temprature sensor in the stat housing faulty? I looked in the Haynes book and that sensor controls the temprature display on the dash which seems to work ok, goes to just above half way during normal driving. Can anybody throw any more light on this for me?
Hippo runs like a sewing machine when started BTW.

I have done the VCU and the IRD, just the cold start and two central locking units to go!:D
Click to expand...
Hi, I have the same problem, i replaced the four plugs, had to get brutal getting the old ones out so i couldn't test them, still wouldn't start then i realised that the heater light didn't stay on for even a second, is there a timer or relay somewhere? Frentchy
 
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