Freelander TD4 Starting, Smoking and Hesitation Issues

Hi All,

I want to get to the bottom of a few issues my 2006 TD4 has, and hoping the group can advice, but also this could help others in the Future.

So last winter I started having starting issue when it got cold… I thought it could be battery but turned out to be glow plugs…. I got by by turning the ignition on 3 times and each time allowing the glow plug light went out.. replacement is on the todo list.

Then I started finding it struggled to start even when not cold, eventually starting and smoking heavily… then recently the engine warning light came on when driving and loss of power then fine, I had it checked and the errors were Fuel Rail Pressure Sensor.

Reset and changed the fuel filter just in case, ran lovely until stuck in traffic it came on again and the next day just cut out while driving…. AA came checked and same fault, he checked the connections and the contacts to the sensor were corroded so cleaned and all has been well but the starting issue has begun again no engine warning light though….

I’m hoping it’s a combination of the fuel rail pressure sensor and glowplugs as the car ran like a dream during the recent silly hot weather but can anyone advice or share thoughts on the best way forward?

luckily I have a decent bloke who’s mainly land rover but mostly disco and defenders.

Thanks for any help.

PaulN

Fuel rail pressure sensor connections being corroded can be a re occurring problem.
There is a replacement pressure sensor loom that fits as an overlay to the old one. Not sure why it was introduced but clearly because of a deficiency in the standard loom.
Worth pulling plug on end of rail and spraying with electrical contact cleaner, not WD40 !!

Get fault codes read again.
Also, glow plug light doesn't prove glow pugs are working, just how long you should wait before starting. If the glow plugs are open circuit then doing it any number of times won't help in cold weather.
Always worth cleaning out the egr and inlet manifold. I have cured 2 TD4s this week that were smokey just by doing this. The map sensor needs to be removed first.
If manifold clogged the map sensor gets a duff reading of pressure and upsets the fuelling.

They seem to really need the glow plugs. Have a look at this I did a couple of years back

Stv123 said:

They seem to really need the glow plugs. Have a look at this I did a couple of years back

Click to expand...

Great for the FL2 but not for the FL1 as that does not need the extra earth, as above new lead for the fuel rail sensor, and clean the manifold, Map, and EGR.
Land Rover Freelander 1 TD4 Fuel Rail Pressure Sensor Repair Loom Kit GENUINE 3863349465186 | eBay

Sorry just saw the 2006 and assumed it was fl2

Glowplug in summer ? If in winter the car start in less than 3 seconds, so the glowplug are still doing their job.

If you have fuel rail pressure code, it's problably the connection is correded, there is a modification provided by LR, that is almost present in all freelander TD4.

Fuel Pressure Regulator Repair Loom - YMQ503320 - Genuine (rimmerbros.com)

Hi All,

Thanks for the great advice….. I think my plan of action will be:

1, Cleaning out the egr and inlet manifold
2, Replacing the fuel pressure regulator repair loom.
3, Replace the glow plugs.

How easy is it to clean out the ERG & Inlet manifold? Also is the repair loom simply a plug & plug or do you need to cut out the old and re-crimp? I think it’s more just poor contacts but will cleaning and spraying with electrical contact cleaner solve the issue forever?

I know the glow plugs need changing as it was an issue last winter… just need to plan getting it done before the weather turns….

Overall the old girl isn’t doing to bad and looks like a she’s a few years old not 16 years…. It does put a smile on my face when my now 16 year old daughter sits in the front remembering the day we brought her home in it just a day old

Thanks

Paul

HI,

Which fault code do you have ?
With a fault reader you can read the value of the map sensor, and the fuel pressure sensor ... get one or buy one.
Cleaning the ERG and inletmanifold could help ... but will not certainly solve the car stopping in the middle of traffic.

My advice is to get your hands dirty ( cost nothing ) :
1 : Check and fuel line for any leak, small cracks in the fuel line can let the air pass, look if the fuel line look shiny and greasy.
2 : Check turbo hoses to see if there is no holes or cracks, check the full surface with your hands, pay attention to the one near the oil gauge, it can have a hole under it.
3 : You can check the egr valve by removing one tubro hose and the egr valve command ( small depression tube ), one can melt ...


Depending on the symptoms, when the engine stop in the traffic, does it will start again immediately, after some rest ?

Hi,

Sorry my poor descriptive skills, the car cut out while driving once. The engine light had been coming on intermittently prior I called the AA and it had a pressure rail sensor fault and the pressure nominal vs actual readings wasn’t the same…. That’s when he took off the connector cleaned it and sprayed with electrical cleaner. The readings then matched and I’ve not had an issue or warning light.

It’s the cutting out when starting up and heavy smoke after it cuts out at start up that’s the issue.

Ive ruled out fuel pump as it sounds fine and looks in good shape when we changed the fuel filter. I’ve read about injector issues but hope it’s fuel rail pressure sensor related more…..

Thank you for the suggestions to check, really good shout and I’d not thought about hose damage….

Paul

PaulN said:

Hi,

Sorry my poor descriptive skills, the car cut out while driving once. The engine light had been coming on intermittently prior I called the AA and it had a pressure rail sensor fault and the pressure nominal vs actual readings wasn’t the same…. That’s when he took off the connector cleaned it and sprayed with electrical cleaner. The readings then matched and I’ve not had an issue or warning light.

It’s the cutting out when starting up and heavy smoke after it cuts out at start up that’s the issue.

Ive ruled out fuel pump as it sounds fine and looks in good shape when we changed the fuel filter. I’ve read about injector issues but hope it’s fuel rail pressure sensor related more…..

Thank you for the suggestions to check, really good shout and I’d not thought about hose damage….

Paul

Click to expand...

So it takes long to start and smoke heavily, unstable idle, then after some warm up it run fine ?
If so check first the fuel return line near the injectors, and follow the line ( the fuel line should be clean and not greasy when you put your hands ... ),
Also check the fuel hp pump it can leak from one cover when starting.

Hi,

Yes 100% spot on with the problems there…. So does it sound like hose issues or has something else failed or leaking?

Thank you so much for the help and advice, I’m hoping as well as curing my issues having this thread can help others going forward.

lol out of interest anyone based in Leicester?

Thanks

Paul

Hi All,

Bit of an update, car really struggled recently after checking all hoses I’d put it down to the cold weather and the glow plugs but called the AA out and said about the Fuel Pressure Rail Sensor contacts being an issue last time… hey presto contact cleaner and she was running amazing. Also no issues starting when cold so ruled out the glow plugs and I’ve now purchased the Replacement Fuel Pressure Regulator Repair Loom and will replace the coming weekend.

Has anyone got any pics or tips for this particularly making the hole into the ECU Box? I’ve read a thread about it on here which helps I guess I just want to do it to the letter and keep it looking OEM.

Thanks

Paul

PaulN said:

Has anyone got any pics

Click to expand...

attached pic shows [red arrow] where the LR-garage ported mine ..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PaulN said:

I just want to do it to the letter and keep it looking OEM.

Click to expand...

The OEM location is in the picture above.
Make sure you drill the hole slightly undersized, as you want the grommet to seal tightly against the ECU environmental protection box.

somethin' else to consider ..

i'd suggest keeping the cable away from other electrical wiring ..
in particular, the injector harness .. [ electric pulses ]
i.e. to protect it from any electrical 'interference',
so as not to disrupt its' signal .. as the voltage carried by the f.r.sensor can be quite low.

" This voltage is in the 0-70 mV range [depending on pressure ]
and is increased by the evaluation switch to a range of 0.5 - 4.5 volts. "
[ https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/freelander-td4-m47r-manual.296006/ ]
..

Hi All,

Can’t thank you all enough for your help. Fitting the Replacement Fuel Pressure Regulator Repair Loom tomorrow so all the help is greatly appreciated.

Couple of observations with the starting of my car, starts up perfect first thing even when it’s cold out (definitely not a glow plug issue)… 35 mile drive to work and after work it starts, sometimes cuts out starts fine the second time but smokes a lot…. When the sensor connector was just cleaned it seemed to start first time so changing the loom will either sort that or highlight another issue.

Thanks

Paul

Hi All,

Apologies for not updating on this but eventually got the loom replaced and all starting and hesitation issues stopped…

By the time it was changed even contact cleaner on the sensor and wiring connections only helped a bit… and it smoked so bad when attempting to start….

I have a slight smoke at start up so wonder if that could be slight turbo weep or the bmw crank house breather……

For now I’m just enjoying a starting Freelander lol

PaulN said:

Hi All,

Thanks for the great advice….. I think my plan of action will be:

1, Cleaning out the egr and inlet manifold
2, Replacing the fuel pressure regulator repair loom.
3, Replace the glow plugs.

How easy is it to clean out the ERG & Inlet manifold? Also is the repair loom simply a plug & plug or do you need to cut out the old and re-crimp? I think it’s more just poor contacts but will cleaning and spraying with electrical contact cleaner solve the issue forever?

I know the glow plugs need changing as it was an issue last winter… just need to plan getting it done before the weather turns….

Overall the old girl isn’t doing to bad and looks like a she’s a few years old not 16 years…. It does put a smile on my face when my now 16 year old daughter sits in the front remembering the day we brought her home in it just a day old

Thanks

Paul

Click to expand...

By pass the EGR nothing good comes from keeping it

PaulN said:

Hi All,

Apologies for not updating on this but eventually got the loom replaced and all starting and hesitation issues stopped…

By the time it was changed even contact cleaner on the sensor and wiring connections only helped a bit… and it smoked so bad when attempting to start….

I have a slight smoke at start up so wonder if that could be slight turbo weep or the bmw crank house breather……

For now I’m just enjoying a starting Freelander lol

Click to expand...

A puff of smoke on starting is most likely due to oil seeping into the combustion chamber over night. The primary cause is likely the BMW cyclone crankcase vent, which doesn't filter as much oil out the breather air as the cotton reel type.
If it's only a small amount, and only when starting, it's of no real consequence, providing the CAT gets hot enough on the journey to burn off any oil soot that may be caught in it.

Dar ran Dar ran said:

By pass the EGR nothing good comes from keeping it

Click to expand...

I’ll do a search for bypassing the EGR on here unless anyone can enlightening me?