Starting woes.. glowplug inline fuse??

Still having a hell of a job starting my 300tdi.. only happens from cold ie overnight. Turns over fine, quick and steady, eventually firing up, as soon as she does start she runs smooth as, never missing a beat. will start fine all day then. Have removed sedimentor, replaced leak off pipes, still no better..

However, while doing this, became distracted with glowplugs. Replaced them, checked power at the plugs, but none, have checked for a voltage at the relay(removed relay and checked the brown/orange cable which looks like live coming straight from the battery, but still nothing?!

Question is, does this cable have an inline fuse hidden somewhere? if so where is the damn thing!, also, any ideas re the lack of fuel to fire up?

one blast of easy start will fire her up first thing, so it is like she needs a boost first thing

sorry for the length of post, just trying to get this sorted

Yes there is a fuse for the GP's - it is in the fuse box next to the battery - it's one of the big ones - you will be able to see if it is blown or not. You could take the cover off which exposes the screws and terminals and check the GP circuit is live from there and follow it out to the relay etc.

Next thing would be to check the GP relay coil leads (small wires) are they going live OK?

Might need to have someone sit in the cab turning the ignition on and off to check.

Regarding the lack of fuel to start I would be almost certain you need to change the little piece of rubber pipe which link between the injectors, just the 3 link pieces, it's called leak off pipe. If these leak air in it will allow diesel to seep back and let air into the injector body overnight meaning the pump needs to essentially prime the injector to allow the diesel shock wave to open the injector and spray diesel.

Something to try next time you are starting from cold is deck the throttle, it will increase the fuel for cold starting (On Bosch pumps, don't try on Lucas) and help to purge the air quicker and give you a quicker start - let go of the throttle as soon as it starts or you risk reving the engine hard and fast too soon after starting before the oil can properly lubricate the engine and especially the turbo.

thanks for the quick response..

when checking the leak off pipes the other day iI found they were right offs, all of them, so I have replaced with 8mm fuel pipe and jubilee clips, until the correct size pipe comes home, as I don't rate the temporary job I have done, so don't really know if this will help until fixed.

When looking in the fuse box, I cant see one marked for the glowplugs, however the one for lights(30a) appears blown, but all lighting still works, so unless it has been swapped at some stage?, will replace and see if any difference.

When testing for power at the relay, I simply unplugged the relay, and stuck the positive probe of the meter in the female connector with the large brown/orange wire which I can see comes directly from the battery via the flexi-conduit running under the fuse board, and negative directly to the battery, but no power... I was not sure if there may be an inline fuse hidden among the conduit somewhere? the relay does not click, but then if it has no power, it won't i guess!

Will have another root around after work..

thanks again

yup, it won't be the glows in this temp unless your engine is stuffed.

see if the leak off pipes fixed it, then look at all pipes that would allow air to enter the system... even a iffy fuel filter can cause this.

SenseiLeon said:

When looking in the fuse box, I cant see one marked for the glowplugs, however the one for lights(30a) appears blown, but all lighting still works, so unless it has been swapped at some stage?, will replace and see if any difference.

Click to expand...

You need to check the fusible link (the ones retained via screws) accessed after removing the inner cover, not the seven or so fuses u have also in the box.

If the fusible link has blown and a replacement also blows u need to also find the cause before renewing again, I believe the links are not cheap.

STC1757 1758 1759 or 1760 are the part numbers, ie. the yellow one is a 60amp STC1758.

cheers for that.. I agree, I still think that air seeping in is the culprit, so need to trace this, as she is a real pain to start, relying heavily on the fact I have a bloody good battery!

As for the fusible links, does the glowplug circuit piggyback off another circuit, as they are all labelled, but none for glowplugs? I need to get in to my local Land Rover spares shop as the one marked lighting is blown, they are bloody good, and a fraction of the cost of the nearby dealers!

thanks again for your patience guys...

if you didn't care about being standard, you could just wire up a switch to put the glows on.

further investigation, at the fuel filter has me more baffled...

I fired her up, and opened the bleed screw on the filter housing, and nothing comes out, tried revving the engine, but stalled.. had to close bleed screw and turn her over to get her to fire up again.. can't find any threads with a clue to this symptom

anyone have any ideas?

still sounds like an air leak.

check your lift pump works, if not stick a delphi on.

cheers for that.. I have had my suspicions about the lift pump, as I cant get the manual lift lever to work, last time I changed the filter I just cranked her over to self bleed, but there is none of the side effects described on here for a failed pump ie the lack or loss of power etc, as she runs perfect once started, so had just dismissed it!

cheers

I've got exactly the same problem. i'll keep and eye on this and if I get it sorted i'll let you know what I replaced.

SenseiLeon said:

cheers for that.. I have had my suspicions about the lift pump, as I cant get the manual lift lever to work, last time I changed the filter I just cranked her over to self bleed, but there is none of the side effects described on here for a failed pump ie the lack or loss of power etc, as she runs perfect once started, so had just dismissed it!

cheers

Click to expand...

depends, the injector pump can pull fuel so it helps a failing pump. remember the pump has to be on the right part of the cam to work.. again sometimes the manual side fails.

if it's been a while, i'd switch it anyway.

if you slacken off an injector pipe connector and get someone to crank it over from cold, you should see a load of fuel coming out. if not, and it more comes out after a few cranks than at the start, then it will be an air leak and the fuel is draining back towards the tank

btw, check around your tank and sedimentor too

Cheers,
Removed the sedimentor, as someone previous to me had already rounded the bolt on top!, yesterday I replaced the lift pump and was really looking forward to firing her up no probs today, but no joy, still as bad.. back out now to have another go

Its not cold enough yet to need the glow plugs to help in starting. You may well be low on compression.

Deffo sounds like fuel run back to me, it happened on my 300TDi.

It was down to leaky leak off pipes, once she fired in the morning it was fine all day. Leave it over night and you had to crank all the fuel back up in the morning.

If you have that, coupled with a weak lift pump then it sounds about right.

think I will just replace the whole damn lines, got to be worth a shot, and only about £20 off Ebay...

just noticed while playing around under the bonnet though, that the glowplug behind the A/C pump has come in two.. the element has came out, leaving the threaded part still in the block. I have spent an hour trying to unscrew the rest of the plug, but I can only get it so far, and I am afraid to put anymore force on it, incase the thing shears.. I guess it will be alright leaving it in, until I get a brave enough garage to remove it for me?