Engine takes ages to warm up!

My TD4 engine seems to take forever to warm up, even though I should have a fuel burning heater. The other day, I drove nearly 15 miles and the engine hadn't even warmed up to operating temperature! It also cools down very quickly.

Of course, I expect it to take a bit longer in this cold weather, but not quite that long!

My father told me that you can get an insulation cover to put in front of the radiator in order to restrict the amount of airflow. Is it worth buying one of these?

Rich

Are you sure the FBH is working?

rubythursday said:

Are you sure the FBH is working?

Click to expand...

How do I check?

Yer thermostat is fooked. . . . . . .

RichM said:

How do I check?

Click to expand...

On a cold morning/day/evening, when the ambient temp has dropped below 5deg C -

- upon starting your engine - you'll hear a ghostly roar from under the front left bumper.
This wll sound like a small jet engine and will be acccompanied by exhaust smoke under said area.

It usually freaks out those who know nothing about them and causes a rush of panic posts on this forum around late Autumn.
You can almost predict the day these posts will start.


If you don't get this, then either it's not working - or you haven't got one.
- to check - get under the bumper where it meets the front wheelarch and have a good look for a small exhaust pipe coming straight down through the trim.


The TD4 is a cooler running engine - which is why these were an option.
Despite what the gauge says about the engine - is the cabin getting warm air after a few minutes?

...and... on the TD4, the Thermostat is a reet bugger to get at.


oh - and don't go using 1950's technology of blocking off Rad air input - there's an awfull lot of stuff that relies on that airflow

Hi guys new to this site but already picking up some good points.

I bought my wife a 04 se td4 auto on Saturday just gone and i have to say she took a right long time to warm, about 30 mins but did get warm in the end.

fleetboyp said:

I bought my wife a 04 se td4 auto on Saturday just gone and i have to say she took a right long time to warm, about 30 mins but did get warm in the end.

Click to expand...

You need to be better with foreplay...

fleetboyp said:

Hi guys new to this site but already picking up some good points.

I bought my wife a 04 se td4 auto on Saturday just gone and i have to say she took a right long time to warm, about 30 mins but did get warm in the end.

Click to expand...

Yer thermostat is fooked. . . . . . .
__________________

Ok, so I checked the FBH. Is the exhaust for it facing down on the N/S, just behind the bumper? I put my hand over it and there was nothing coming out. I couldn't hear any unique noises either. My finger didn't get dirty when I inserted it into the hole either. (cue the jokes)

It's currently 0°C here, so I assume that the temperature is low enough to activate the FBH if there wasn't a problem.

So is the problem likely to be the FBH or the thermostat?

do to the fusebox under the bonnet and with the ignition on pull no 5 fuse for a few seconds then replace this should reset the ecu then start the car and see if anything starts up this is what i done with mine and has worked ever since don't panic if you see a lot of smoke

From what I've said though, is that enough to assume that it's not working?

try the ecu reset first if it doesn't start up within a couple of minutes of starting the engine then it could be the temp sensor behind the front bumper

adey1 said:

try the ecu reset first if it doesn't start up within a couple of minutes of starting the engine then it could be the temp sensor behind the front bumper

Click to expand...

I just removed the fuse while the ignition was on, reinserted it and then started the engine. Didn't seem to make any difference.

EDIT:

Will this help me diagnose the fault?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ELM-327-CAR-D...s_Equipment&hash=item27b0283a27#ht_5729wt_905

i would say probably not i had to do mine a couple of times loke i said could be the temp sensor or electrical problem without stripping the front bumper out and testing it hars to say there are quite alot of threads on here about them

adey1 said:

i would say probably not i had to do mine a couple of times loke i said could be the temp sensor or electrical problem without stripping the front bumper out and testing it hars to say there are quite alot of threads on here about them

Click to expand...

Do you know the part number for the temp sensor?

Cheers

The sensor is JWL000020
I did it on mine but you have to remove the front bumper. I managed just to release just the offside and pull it forward enough to get my hand in and replace the sensor.

rubythursday said:

The sensor is JWL000020
I did it on mine but you have to remove the front bumper. I managed just to release just the offside and pull it forward enough to get my hand in and replace the sensor.

Click to expand...

Thanks

Is it definitely likely to be the sensor though? My father reckons it's the thermostat and that has already been suggested once in this thread. I know fault diagnosis often involves trial and error, but I'm just trying to get as much info as possible.

Cheers

Mine used to take half an hour before the heater blew anything like warm, changed the sensor, now only 10 mins before blowing hot. If you don't want to spend £20 on a sensor just extend the wires and put a switch on it then you can control it manually.

a td4 thermostat is about £42 from mainstealers then around 5 1/2 hour job to change, i looked into that route first and decided against it they are a right swine to change the thermostat when the truck gets warm does it stay warm around the middle of the temp gauge

adey1 said:

when the truck gets warm does it stay warm around the middle of the temp gauge

Click to expand...

Mine does stay warm once it reaches operating temperature. (middle of the temp gauge) However, once the engine has been turned off, it goes back to cold quite quickly. (within 45 mins)

I just did a test in my car. I sat in my car (stationary) for just over 10 minutes with the engine running and heating/blowers on full. The outside temperature was -2°C. After 10 minutes and some strange looks from the neighbours, warm air was starting to blow out.

I then turned the engine off and checked the FBH exhaust. I didn't see any smoke and I didn't hear anything either. Tbh I'm not sure what to expect.