manichauhan
Member Since: 24 Oct 2010
Location: London
Posts: 56
 
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| Cold Starting problems ??? Try a hair dryer !!....... |
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I had a problem a few days ago trying to start my 55 D3 on a sub-zero cold morning. It failed to start for the next two days, even though the outside temperatures had gone up above zero.
The engine cranked, but failed to fire up even with several attempts at turning the ignition key for up to 10 secs repeatedly. All I was getting was smoke coming out of the exhaust which indicated unburnt fuel. Battery was fine, fuses were ok and glowplug relays were also fine. No other indications as to what the problem could be.
Fearing the worst, I called out the Green Flag engineer who tried unsuccessful to start the car. Out of desperation, I told him about the advice I had picked up from one of the forum members who suggested spraying some 'back to black' into the air inlet pipe after unscrewing and removing the air filter housing cover. The GF engineer sprayed some solvent into the inlet pipe. It didn't get the car going, but I noted that a couple of times when I turned the ignition key, the engine sounded different, like it wanted to start but it couldn't.
This got me thinking overnight and suspected that perhaps the engine wasn't detecting or getting any air, which prevented it from firing up, hence the unburnt fuel. I decided to try one more thing before the Green Flag Recovery truck took the car away to my regular local Land Rover Specialist.
The next morning, the car still wouldn't start. I opened up the air filter housing again and used my partner's hair dryer to blow hot air into the air inlet pipe. The car fired up straight away !!!
I have had no further problems with starting or running the car over the past few days. It's almost like the car had a 'cold', perhaps a lock of stagnant cold air, which prevented the free flow of air into the compression chamber. Admittedly, the outside temperature hasn't drop to sub zero again since the problem was fixed. Perhaps the incident was symptomatic of a future problem. I am monitoring the car's behaviour and will report any further developments.
Mani
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 16th Dec 2012 7:38 pm |
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DSL
Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72905
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MAF sensor playing up?
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| 16th Dec 2012 7:48 pm |
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manichauhan
Member Since: 24 Oct 2010
Location: London
Posts: 56
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Possibly....
The car's starts and runs fine now. I am waiting for temperatures to drop to sub zero again to see if it recurs.
Don't know if this would make any difference, but on the morning I first started experiencing the problem, I accidently tried to start the car before the orange glowplug light had gone off. Also, the automatic heater blower function was on while I tried to start the car, which perhaps caused a power drain and messed up the sensor.
It remains a mystery until I can get it to occur again.
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| 16th Dec 2012 7:54 pm |
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DeeJay
Member Since: 07 Jan 2011
Location: Devon
Posts: 265
  
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Are you sure the glow plugs are ok  How did you check them 
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| 16th Dec 2012 8:18 pm |
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manichauhan
Member Since: 24 Oct 2010
Location: London
Posts: 56
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I dont know if the glowplugs are ok, although the GF engineer did say that (contrary to my belief), the glowplugs in diesel engines don't actually ignite the fuel. they only warm up the compression chamber. The ignition happens due to air compression. Is this true ??
I only checked the relays in the engine compartment fusebox and they were fine.
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| 16th Dec 2012 8:25 pm |
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DeeJay
Member Since: 07 Jan 2011
Location: Devon
Posts: 265
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That's right they preheat the air in the combustion chamber to aid the compression ignition but do assist to some degree the initial burn when first cranking the engine due to their residual heat. I would suggest you get them checked out as it is one of the most common start problems and logically shows up more the colder it gets. Also diesels like to crank over fast to get started so a good battery is important, the high compression ratio of a diesel will really punish a weak or undercharged battery especially a big V6. 
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| 16th Dec 2012 10:11 pm |
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manichauhan
Member Since: 24 Oct 2010
Location: London
Posts: 56
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Thanks for the insight, Deejay.
Will get the local LR Specialist to check them out. 
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| 16th Dec 2012 10:35 pm |
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