[Engine] 2003 Berlingo M59 DW8B no start (SOLVED)

[pihlapuro]

Hey Folks, hope all of you had a splendid new years eve and other holidays 

So I just went out and bought myself an no-start 03 Berlingo with the 1.9l DW8 engine as a present for graduating as a mechanic (studied during my dayjob) and I thought it'd be no biggie and have it driving in no time 

So I got the thing as a no-start and i'm starting to run out of ideas!

The thing cranks and 'wants' to start, even the rpm gauge keeps flickering a little bit...

So far I've.

1. Emptied the tank (around 10 litres of water....)
2. New diesel in tank a new filter
3. Cracked all the pipes to see if there's any flow of diesel when cranking (there is a little after 5sec crank, but not as much as I would've expected!)
4. Disconnected EGR pipe as I saw one case where the cat was blocked - didn't help
5. Disconnected the exhaust if everything was totally gunked up, still no help
6. Took off the fuel filter housing, applied some Hylomar sealant to the base to prevent any air leaks from there as well.
7. Fitted a non-return valve between the fuel filter housing and pump
8. Plugged the return hose and connection on fuel filter lid (another case where this seemed to cure problems for some people)
8. Replaced a couple of vacuum hoses between EGR and the vacuum canister
9. Tried BSI reset (the car has central locking but I don't have a key with central locking so I substituted with the lock button) - also don't know how I'd know if it was succesful   

So i'm quite stumped 

Suppose the stop solenoid under that damn armoring on the pump is gone - would there still be a small dribble of diesel on the pipes coming out when cranking or just nothing?

Any suggestions are much appreciated at this point!

[brodfather11]

[/quote]
Suppose the stop solenoid under that damn armoring on the pump is gone - would there still be a small dribble of diesel on the pipes coming out when cranking or just nothing?

If there is a small amount coming out then I would be trying to bleed the system again. The solenoid fails shut (I think)
They can be very hard to bleed especially after draining the whole fuel system.

 You could put a piece of clear tubing into the main pipe and see if there is air coming from the tank.
Remember the pump draws the fuel up through the fuel filter, any small leak will stop it bleeding properly. 
The lid of the fuel filter was/is prone to warping and allow air in. 


 The chip is still in the key ?

[cancunia]

From the description it does some like immobiliser or fuel pump / stop solenoid issues. There's plenty of info elsewhere about that.
Have you tried Easy Start or similar? It may be the valve shims need to be changed, it's quite a common cause for bad starting on the 1.9 apparently.

[notsofast]

Wouldn't all that water in the tank have caused problems/damage?

[pihlapuro]

Thanks for the suggestions!

Still havent tried easy start as Im working alone most of the time dont want to leave that stuff resting in the intake while i run to start, thats a bad recipe on that plastic intake manifold. Might have to grab a mate with me

The shimming has probably been done a couple times on this unit 470K kms on the clock! Gotta give them a check

I gjuess I'll start with clear tubing on the hose from tank - the fuel filter housing does bubble a tad bit too much for my liking when priming without filter present!

If that doesnt help, then it's time to cut that solenoid visible.

[pihlapuro]

Suppose the stop solenoid under that damn armoring on the pump is gone - would there still be a small dribble of diesel on the pipes coming out when cranking or just nothing?

If there is a small amount coming out then I would be trying to bleed the system again. The solenoid fails shut (I think)
They can be very hard to bleed especially after draining the whole fuel system.

 You could put a piece of clear tubing into the main pipe and see if there is air coming from the tank.
Remember the pump draws the fuel up through the fuel filter, any small leak will stop it bleeding properly. 
The lid of the fuel filter was/is prone to warping and allow air in. 


 The chip is still in the key ?
[/quote]

The chip should be in there, guess i'll have to see if I can pry that open!

[brodfather11]

" I gjuess I'll start with clear tubing on the hose from tank - the fuel filter housing does bubble a tad bit too much for my liking when priming without filter present! "

Not sure what you mean , do you prime it without the filter lid on?.  Which is a waste of time for as soon as you stop pumping the fuel will run back into the tank.

Or does it bubble out around the lid ?   , which shows your filter lid is faulty.

Some filter housing has a pump at the base which can let air into the filter bowl without signs of leaking fuel

[pihlapuro]

" I gjuess I'll start with clear tubing on the hose from tank - the fuel filter housing does bubble a tad bit too much for my liking when priming without filter present! "

Not sure what you mean , do you prime it without the filter lid on?.  Which is a waste of time for as soon as you stop pumping the fuel will run back into the tank.

Or does it bubble out around the lid ?   , which shows your filter lid is faulty.

Some filter housing has a pump at the base which can let air into the filter bowl without signs of leaking fuel

- It bubbled up when priming without a lid (I was checking how the new diesel looked after cleaning the tank and primed the bowl full manually couple of times (and sucked the diesel off with a pump from the bowl)

Ofcourse I'll keep the lid on when priming for startup! : Also, no bubbling around the lid when it's on

Sounds like they're quite finiciky on air.... the housing might need to be replaced entirely on my case - looks like the diaphragm seeps some diesel out when priming

[geoff]

A very long time since I last looked at a 1.9d ... but .. I seem to recall a clear plastic pipe ( maybe 6mm dia ) leading to the pump and right by this at the pump was a small bleed screw.

I do recall bleeding my own vehicle at this point following some fuel work so there must be something in the long lost memory .... worth a look at least as it will be a quick, free and possibly a result for you ?

[notsofast]

Nobody else has commented on the 10 litres of water in the fuel tank, so I'm guessing that means it's unremarkable?  (This question is just for my own education, as I've never drained a fuel tank or looked into this topic before, and I'm really surprised that so much water - presumably from condensation - could accumulate).