Disco 1 Discovery 1 300 tdi not starting

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13
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Right chaps here's the situation.

Discovery 1 with a 300tdi engine. Cranks but does not start.

When cranking small amounts of white smoke come out the exhaust. (Think asthmatic toddler). I have checked fuel is getting to the filter and injectors and have bled the system(at least I'm fairly sure I've done this correctly.)

I have also checked that the fuel stop solenoid is working and it is.

All out of ideas now and not overly familiar with the 300tdi engine. Any thoughts?

TIA
 
Right chaps here's the situation.

Discovery 1 with a 300tdi engine. Cranks but does not start.

When cranking small amounts of white smoke come out the exhaust. (Think asthmatic toddler). I have checked fuel is getting to the filter and injectors and have bled the system(at least I'm fairly sure I've done this correctly.)

I have also checked that the fuel stop solenoid is working and it is.

All out of ideas now and not overly familiar with the 300tdi engine. Any thoughts?

TIA

Is it spinning freely and well, not struggling at all ?

Try a simple solution, to run a lead from your battery to the fuel solenoid at the rear of the FIP, if it fires up and runs then fine, and you simply have to trace back to the Multi Function Unit (MFU) located at the rear of the main under-dash fuse panel to see why you don't have a power supply, -- it could be as simple as a blown fuse, broken wire, bad connection or a defective ignition switch or bad earth -- to turn off the engine simply remove the lead...
 
Right chaps here's the situation.

Discovery 1 with a 300tdi engine. Cranks but does not start.

When cranking small amounts of white smoke come out the exhaust. (Think asthmatic toddler). I have checked fuel is getting to the filter and injectors and have bled the system(at least I'm fairly sure I've done this correctly.)

I have also checked that the fuel stop solenoid is working and it is. How did you check this ?

All out of ideas now and not overly familiar with the 300tdi engine. Any thoughts?

TIA

Was there voltage at the stop solenoid when cranking?
 
I don’t have a multimeter to hand at the moment. I tried running a lead to the solenoid I hear a click and then a few seconds later another click. Almost as if it’s energising and then switching off? Could this be what’s causing me the grief?
Cheers
 
Was there voltage at the stop solenoid when cranking?

I don’t have a multimeter to hand at the moment. I tried running a lead to the solenoid I hear a click and then a few seconds later another click. Almost as if it’s energising and then switching off? Could this be what’s causing me the grief?
Cheers

Ok so the solenoid is getting power when cranking i tested it with a multi meter. Truly baffled now...
 
When cranking small amounts of white smoke come out the exhaust

If it smells of diesel and is continual while cranking, you are getting injection cycles and can probably rule out the stop solenoid - next (on the assumption this engine worked fine recently + has compression), is to check the timing, a rotten / oil soaked cambelt can be inclined to slip a few teeth before breaking.

If that's fine, I'd pull the plugs out for a look. If they're all washed in fresh diesel I'd suspect a problem with poor atomization from the injection system (i.e problem with FIP / fuel delivery). Did you crack the injector lines off at the injectors when you bled the system or just use the bleeder on the fuel filter head?
 
If it smells of diesel and is continual while cranking, you are getting injection cycles and can probably rule out the stop solenoid - next (on the assumption this engine worked fine recently + has compression), is to check the timing, a rotten / oil soaked cambelt can be inclined to slip a few teeth before breaking.

If that's fine, I'd pull the plugs out for a look. If they're all washed in fresh diesel I'd suspect a problem with poor atomization from the injection system (i.e problem with FIP / fuel delivery). Did you crack the injector lines off at the injectors when you bled the system or just use the bleeder on the fuel filter head?

Little update for you all. The history is it has been stood up for a while due to timing belt idler sheering off and ruining the push rods. I’ve fixed that all up.

I cracked off the injector unions and when I crank the engine, diesel flies out the top of all of them bar number 1.

I also got a mate to spray easy spray whilst cranking and she fired up straight away but as soon as he stopped spraying the engine died.
 
Probably not, check the fip timing isn't out as james suggested first, this is easily done - you can take the inspection plate off of the front timing case cover without removing anything more major if you've already put everything back together.
 
Probably not, check the fip timing isn't out as james suggested first, this is easily done - you can take the inspection plate off of the front timing case cover without removing anything more major if you've already put everything back together.

OK - my suspicion after another few hours of poking about this evening is that the fip timing is not quite right in some regard. I know before timing the fip that i'll need to lock the flywheel - which brings me nicely on to the my next problem. How to i tell when the engine is at TDC. When i tried to insert the locking pin into the larger of the blanking plate holes(auto gearbox) the pin did not what to go all the way in...
 
What pins do you have? If they went in before they should go in again
Pic of gears.jpg



Once you have the crank locked, there is only 10-15 degrees of total adjustment in an ideal situation on the sprocket of the FIP with the timing case cover on - you will probably need to take it off, remove the belt and start over to ensure it is right.

Keep at it, and you'll have a tale for the pub and a disco to drive :D
 
Fellow Comrades/Nut jobs/Land Rover enthusiasts - GOOD NEWS - it was the FIP timing. Once that was sorted it started straight away!! Very impressed. THANK YOU to you all for helping me out. If any of you are down near Canterbury I'd love to buy you a pint!
 
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