TD5 woes - any bright ideas?

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Brown

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I was going for a little drive yesterday afternoon, enjoying the lovely smooth new bearings I fitted the previous weekend, when all of a sudden the engine stopped and could not be restarted.

I failed to make it go, and neither could two AA men. The engine died as if it had been switched off, and that was the end of that. Trip home on a flatbed truck.

It's a TD5 90 Defender, 2006 model year.

Any ideas?

Below are some of the things I've checked already:
Oil in loom? No, loom was new two months ago and the multiplugs are dry.
Crank position sensor? Probably not, I've tried my spare and still no go. The Nanocom is obtaining some cylinder balance values when I crank it on the starter which suggests it's sending a signal.
Fuel pump and fuel system? AA men checked for fuel supply at the fuel pressure regulator, and pump current draw (within normal range), besides you can hear it whirring. They felt it would be drawing more current if it were fighting a blockage
Wires, fuses and relays? I've started working my way through these. All fuses under the driver's seat are OK, and relays appear to be working. I did find a couple of loose wires, so I went through them all and soldered them to their terminals in the relay housings. Didn't solve the problem but a useful job to do anyway.
Earths? I haven't physically removed and cleaned them, but the multimeter says near zero resistance between engine block and negative battery terminal. There's also near zero resistance between the black (earth) wires coming out of the ECU and the battery negative terminal.
ECU? I think it's OK. I believe you usually get a 'topside switch failure' message when it is duff, but I could be misinformed.
Nanocom error messages? Just the usual 'tachometer open load' and 'gearbox abs drive open load' (well, it doesn't have a tachometer, auto gearbox or ABS, so it would say that wouldn't it?). Nothing that gives me any clues.
Mechanical fault in engine? Probably not. The AA men had it going by spraying stuff in the inlet tract, and it sounded pretty sweet.

What am I missing?
 
I was going for a little drive yesterday afternoon, enjoying the lovely smooth new bearings I fitted the previous weekend, when all of a sudden the engine stopped and could not be restarted.

I failed to make it go, and neither could two AA men. The engine died as if it had been switched off, and that was the end of that. Trip home on a flatbed truck.

It's a TD5 90 Defender, 2006 model year.

Any ideas?

Below are some of the things I've checked already:
Oil in loom? No, loom was new two months ago and the multiplugs are dry.
Crank position sensor? Probably not, I've tried my spare and still no go. The Nanocom is obtaining some cylinder balance values when I crank it on the starter which suggests it's sending a signal.
Fuel pump and fuel system? AA men checked for fuel supply at the fuel pressure regulator, and pump current draw (within normal range), besides you can hear it whirring. They felt it would be drawing more current if it were fighting a blockage
Wires, fuses and relays? I've started working my way through these. All fuses under the driver's seat are OK, and relays appear to be working. I did find a couple of loose wires, so I went through them all and soldered them to their terminals in the relay housings. Didn't solve the problem but a useful job to do anyway.
Earths? I haven't physically removed and cleaned them, but the multimeter says near zero resistance between engine block and negative battery terminal. There's also near zero resistance between the black (earth) wires coming out of the ECU and the battery negative terminal.
ECU? I think it's OK. I believe you usually get a 'topside switch failure' message when it is duff, but I could be misinformed.
Nanocom error messages? Just the usual 'tachometer open load' and 'gearbox abs drive open load' (well, it doesn't have a tachometer, auto gearbox or ABS, so it would say that wouldn't it?). Nothing that gives me any clues.
Mechanical fault in engine? Probably not. The AA men had it going by spraying stuff in the inlet tract, and it sounded pretty sweet.

What am I missing?

fuel filter blocked?
 
One of them pulled a pipe off the regulator on the side of the engine and reckoned he was getting fuel. Maybe it wasn't at sufficient pressure though, as they need 60psi.

Won't do any harm to change it as it's nearly due a service anyway.
 
Its not the immobiliser is it? I don't know if that lets the engine spin over without starting or not though.
 
My immobiliser is an aftermarket Thatcham one, where you turn the key, it bleeps, you press the button on the key fob and then all the dash lights come on as per normal - battery, oil warning light, glowplugs etc. - and you can hear the fuel pump. That's all happening as per normal. The old Land Rover version has been disabled. Anyway, if it were to come back from the dead, it would tend to give an indication via a dash warning light if it was armed and I don't have anything like that.

Thanks for the idea though!
 
Thats all it was mate, just an idea, does the engine spin over or is it just dead as a can of corned beef?
 
Yes, engine cranks freely with the starter.

Still got a few more fuses and relays to try tomorrow, as well as a new fuel filter. Ho hum.
 
Fuel filter housings can corrode and allow air Ingres ! Sufficient to cause same problem you describe smear large amounts of grease over filter head run self bleed and try that and see if that works 👌regards GATSO
 
Fuel filter housings can corrode and allow air Ingres ! Sufficient to cause same problem you describe smear large amounts of grease over filter head run self bleed and try that and see if that works ��regards GATSO

You might have a point there. My filter head housing is already in poor condition. The lugs where it bolts to the chassis have snapped off - it must have happened before I bought it - and someone had mended it with filler. however it crumbled a bit more in the summer and I've got it fixed on with big washers under the bolt heads. I'll be having another look later on today so I'll try a bit of grease.
 
Been out this morning and tried a few things. The inertia switch under the bonnet is fine. If I unplug it the fuel pump doesn't come on, so I know it must be working.

I took the filter head off the side of the chassis and plastered it with grease and fitted a new filter.

I ran the purge sequence a few times and while waiting for it to complete just had a quick look at the dipstick. The oil level has gone up considerably since I last looked a week ago. At first I thought the whole engine was brim full of oil because it was right up to the hilt. A quick wipe showed it to be a couple of cm above the 'full' notch. It gets covered in stuff every time I purge because the fuel must be coming out in the cylinder head and running down the dipstick.

So it looks like I've got an injector seal problem. Classic TD5 fault, as chronicled on Landyzone and elsewhere. So all of you (including the AA men) who proposed a fuelling problem were semi-right. I think it may be forcing its way past one or more of the rubbery rings and into the sump rather than into the injectors, hence the failure to start.

I shan't try and start it now because even if it does catch, it won't do me any good running on a sump full of diesel. I shall order some O rings and copper washers (OEM/genuine, not Britpart) and see if that helps me. I will order a filter head too as I've been meaning to replace that at the next service interval anyway. I might buy myself a thing for pulling the injectors out too. I know some of you succeed with a bit of metal bent into an L shape, but it is an excuse to buy a new tool. The only problem is that as a result of Christmas it'll take my stuff some time to arrive and I was hoping to get out on the hills over the holiday period.

Many thanks to all of you who've made suggestions. I'll put some pictures up of me doing an injector washer change in a few days when they arrive.
 
Interesting, let me know where you get the OEM seals from as I will get some spares for the trip to Morocco im doing in March.
 
I sold my TD5 18 months ago and I remember that there is a fuel cut-off switch, in case of an accident, on the Bulk head above the Clutch Master Cylinder. If the connector to this comes loose - everything stops. Could be worth a look. Mac
 
I sold my TD5 18 months ago and I remember that there is a fuel cut-off switch, in case of an accident, on the Bulk head above the Clutch Master Cylinder. If the connector to this comes loose - everything stops. Could be worth a look. Mac

Hi Mac.
It is much better,if you go to the introduce yourself section,before posting on the forum.Otherwise the natives tend to get restless.:D
 
I sold my TD5 18 months ago and I remember that there is a fuel cut-off switch, in case of an accident, on the Bulk head above the Clutch Master Cylinder. If the connector to this comes loose - everything stops. Could be worth a look. Mac

Yes, we've looked at that, as per post 14 above. Thanks for the idea and welcome anyway.

I've just been bending the plastic and have bought an injector removal tool from Dingocroft. I expect to have a TD5 for some time so might as well get the right tools for it. I've ordered OEM/genuine injector seals and washers from LR Direct. I haven't ordered a filter head yet as various part numbers are available, some of which have specific date ranges. So I want some assurance from the vendor that my 2006 MY will be happy with it before I buy. I will phone around tomorrow.

I'll toddle along to Maplins now. I realised yesterday testing electrics that I could do with a few more long lengths of wire with crocodile clips on. Plus the pet shop is nearby and I can get the cat some more catnip.
 
Yes, we've looked at that, as per post 14 above. Thanks for the idea and welcome anyway.

I've just been bending the plastic and have bought an injector removal tool from Dingocroft. I expect to have a TD5 for some time so might as well get the right tools for it. I've ordered OEM/genuine injector seals and washers from LR Direct. I haven't ordered a filter head yet as various part numbers are available, some of which have specific date ranges. So I want some assurance from the vendor that my 2006 MY will be happy with it before I buy. I will phone around tomorrow.

I'll toddle along to Maplins now. I realised yesterday testing electrics that I could do with a few more long lengths of wire with crocodile clips on. Plus the pet shop is nearby and I can get the cat some more catnip.

;)
been reading through this fred coz I have an engineering brain in a oap`s body....oh well, but this
"" I realised yesterday testing electrics that I could do with a few more long lengths of wire with crocodile clips on.""
always carry them and have done for years, one is coiled and attached to my disco1`s header tank bracket for quick access use..
1 "tool" = many uses when you get stuck.

good luck on finding the cause, better luck if its just injectors leaking..
prior to extracting the injectors, maybe try some anti seize spray around them, even good old WD40 would help....
 
;)
been reading through this fred coz I have an engineering brain in a oap`s body....oh well, but this
"" I realised yesterday testing electrics that I could do with a few more long lengths of wire with crocodile clips on.""
always carry them and have done for years, one is coiled and attached to my disco1`s header tank bracket for quick access use..
1 "tool" = many uses when you get stuck.

good luck on finding the cause, better luck if its just injectors leaking..
prior to extracting the injectors, maybe try some anti seize spray around them, even good old WD40 would help....

Yes, I probably should have more electrical stuff in the car with me. I have a multimeter and a little screwdriver that lights up when it detects a voltage, and spare bulbs (even though most of my lights are now LEDs). I tend to think if you take a tool for something then it won't break in the first place. For example my spare fan belt and viscous fan spanners have ensured that the one on the engine has remained in pristine condition. I also realised to my horror yesterday that the spare relays that I thought were in the cubby box were in fact in the electrical bits box in the dining room and had been for several months.
 
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