not starting

After some advice, went to start ute(zd30di 2004w) last night and it started and ran for less than a minute the shut off, now it just cranks but won't fire. New to diesel, where do i start looking for problems? the battery light is blinking when cranking too.

Welcome to the forum.

It might be that the battery voltage is really low, able to provide enough current to crank the motor but not enough voltage to run the injectors. That, and the battery connections (terminals, plus the connection to engine from batt negative) should be checked.

If the battery is good, just try squeezing the primer (not sure if the ZD30 has a primer bulb or some other mechanism to get fuel into the engine bay). If you've recently changed fuel filter or one of the hoses has perished there's a chance the fuel is draining back to the tank. Don't run the pump dry for too long, the pump relies on the diesel fuel to lubricate it.

yes as Tony said, i would charge up the battery and see how the engine runs then, if all is good you know its time for a new battery or possibly the Alternator is not charging up the battery to the correct voltage level [ over 14 volts ], maybe an aftermarket Alternator is on the cards. but do the charge up first and go from there. also pump up the primmer button on top of the fuel filter until its hard, if it goes soft/ spongy overnight you have a leak in the filter area or fuel hoses from the filter to rail.

Definitely sounds like air is getting into the fuel system overnight and the fuel is draining back to the tank. Check all fuel hoses around the filter and the injector pump for cracks and possible leaks.

Fixed

found a pin hole in the fuel filter, replaced and jump started off a mates car