D40 won't start - progressively worse

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Solverprob

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Hi
Posted some time ago. Haven't been able to solve the problem. D40 became progressively harder to start over time.

Lot's of winding it would start. Took longer and longer.

Enough smoke to see from orbit.

Previously - once started- would start normally straight away. Be Ok - then after 4 hours would not start again. Thought it might be fuel problem. Tank out all lines checked etc. New fuel filter. New glow plugs. New boost control solenoid- new MAF. Intercooler clean.

Now it will not start at all from winding. Occasional attempt but no go.

Can roll start as long as the speed is high (used to be slow) and use 2nd gear with wheel lock-up.

Once running it will run beautifully at 2,000 revs all day (no load).

Shut down - it will not start without high speed roll start.

Eliminated fuel and glow plugs because hot and no time to lose fuel.

Now at idle it seems to "miss". This was not occurring before. Unplug turbo diaphragm suction line and seems to run better at idle.

Drive it and it hurls out smoke (loss of power etc) until 2,500 rpm - then it seems OK.

I had hoped the progressively worsening problem would reveal some catastrophic failure - but no.

Did have ERG blanked off. Have removed that. No difference.
Could this be injectors? Computer? Throttle position sensor? Very reluctant to invest in new injectors as I have found most other problems are quite simple - albeit hard to find.

This has driven me nuts.
 
I found your last post (here).

If the smoke is black it's too much fuel for the amount of air and the fuel isn't being completely combusted. This could be an injector leaking or dirty but more likely an air problem.

If the smoke is white it's way, way too much fuel and most of it isn't being combusted at all. This is usually an injector issue.

A good first step would be to try an injector cleaner - it can't hurt. It would be good to know what kind of rail pressure you're seeing at idle - should be around 4,400psi (mine is).

I suspect the turbocharger is probably fine if the car goes ok once it's started. I've had my turbo fail and it's bloody obvious in both just how poor the acceleration is and how much black smoke blows from the exhaust - and with a blown turbo, my car started just fine (siezed shaft, it was never going to recover).

There's a chance that the battery might be delivering enough current to turn the engine over, but not enough voltage to get the ECU going. There are a couple of ways to find out - swap out the battery for a good one, or pop a glow plug out after cranking it. If the glow plug is damp, the injectors are opening a normal amount and probably being controlled fine by the ECU (so go back to looking at air issues). If the glow plug is soaked, it's possible that the injectors are stuck open, or are holding open longer than necessary (possibly not getting correct commands from ECU = poor ECU power/earth connection or poor battery condition). Injector cleaner may still be suitable. A Diesel Purge (Liqui Moly - available from SCA here) is highly recommended. My cleaner of choice (because it works) is this one, but you might need the stronger hit of the purge.

Do you have a snorkel?
 
Definitely sounds like an overfuelling issue when off boost. It could be a failing boost sensor telling the ecu that the turbo is boosting when it isn't, resulting in too much fuel being injected when off boost. You really need some sort of scan tool to check what the sensors are seeing. The problem with modern technology is the technology. It isn't just a turbo and a fuel injector pump anymore, the more complex the engines are, the more complex thr problems are...
 
Too high a return voltage from the boost sensor? That's possible. Wait ... what if the sensor is presenting a short? The sensor returns about 2.1V at idle (no boost) and should return 5V at 36psi (obviously outside the range of the 2056V).

You'd think the CEL would come on though, with P0237 or P0238 issued (boost sensor low or high).
 
Progressively hard starting

Thank you guys for your thoughts.

I did buy a new boost control solenoid when I had no power and black smoke while driving. It did not affect starting which was fine. The solenoid made no difference and it turned out to be cracked vacuum lines to the booster solenoid. The hardest to find was the one under the inlet manifold.

I changed the battery for a very good one - same result.
Despite the battery every time I tried to start it I got thick black smoke. The last time it almost started on the key I noticed distinct white smoke at the end.

I suspect the glow plugs "turned off" after 30secs- in accordance with the Nissan manual and the click from the relay. Hence the clear white smoke mixed with the black after lots of cranking.

I have also recently noticed the distinct smell of mothballs (from exhaust) when I get it started and let it idle. Not something I have ever noticed before.

Currently it is running perfectly fine at 2,500 RPM with a tube of Moli Conditioner that Old Tony recommended. I couldn't get the "Diesel Purge".

I was leaning towards battery - now I suspect earth- if that can cause the problem. I did notice my taillights "pulsing" a while ago and thought it was an earthing problem.

It is a mine-spec ute and has an "auto-on" light system. When I pull the fuse to stop that - the front lights work but not the taillights. Thought it was just a wiring cock-up by whoever did it.

The pulsing makes me suspect an earth to the taillights.

What is the best way to earth the ECU?

Hopefully it is an open injector and the Conditioner will fix it.

Another thing I noticed lately (after it would not start on key) is a kind of "kick back" while trying to start it on the key.

I can only relate it to a petrol motor when the distributor timing is out. "Wind" "wind" wind" and the occasional "kick" which is not a "fire" but more like a protest which stops forward movement.

To me it suggests timing- which hasn't been changed- or possibly "flooding" which would lead to injectors.

If one injector went, or stayed open - would the car start? I am a little less inclined to think 2 or more have failed progressively in a short time.

I haven't driven the car at all since my first post- other than roll start it and let it run for 30 min.
 
I think a lot of the diesel cleaners have naphtha in them which might explain the mothball smell if you have noticed it since you added it. Cant help with the rest, the other guys are much more likely to be of service
 
The headlights are easy to bypass. Put a relay in the low beam wire, connected like this: low beam input to pins 85 and 30. Pin 87 to headlight low beam. Pin 86 to a wire that runs into the cabin to a switch. Other side of the switch is earthed. Unless the switch is on, the relay won't be earthed and won't turn on allowing headlight power to flow.

Agree with the smell. Naptha is a solvent which is common in injector cleaners. It's also one of the more effective ingredients and won't do any harm to the combustion process (it will give an effective increase to the octane rating of the fuel which is good in a petrol car and "who gives a flying fox" in a diesel).

Timing is important and is governed by the CAS (crank angle sensor) in some cars and the CPS (camshaft position sensor) in others. D40s rely on the CAS and actually check it against the CPS. A fault here will not light the CEL but will store either P0652 or P0653 (CAS-CPS Correlation Fault). Possible causes are faulty CAS/CPS sensors and the timing chain.

I would not suspect the timing if the engine runs well at speed. Given the smoke, it still sounds like a case of "too much fuel for the amount of air". At 2500rpm the turbocharger should be belting along - and is obviously providing enough air to satisfy the amount of fuel getting into the engine.

It may be necessary to pull the injectors and give them a clean if the injector cleaner doesn't help. This would also allow visual inspection of the injectors to determine if any require replacement. If a complete examination of the air path reveals no problems then this is where I'd go.

I would make the air path inspection a priority at this point. Examine the snorkel (if fitted) and importantly the in-guard entry of the air path. Inspect the baffles in the air filter (remove them if you wish, it makes a little more noise but the baffles aren't vital). Inspect the intake manifold (inspection camera required) - many of our diesels that have had unblocked EGR and no catch can fitted will have masses of black gunk lying in the intake. Physical removal of the majority of the gunk is necessary.
 
I can tell you that when my D40 would not start in the morning and had LONG crank times, it turned out to be the PUMP.

You can look at the usual suspects though:
1. Fuel filter leaking / fuel line draining back
2. Suction Control Valve requires cleaning / End of life, needs replacing
3. Fuel line nicked and sucking air - causing pump to cavitate and lose pressure
4. Fuel pump is worn and needs to be WARM to create the seal required to operate. Cold pump has out of spec clearances and won't build up enough pressure.
 
Thanks Black Outlaw- I was starting to suspect the pump.
All this time I have had no error codes.

Decided to put all the "original" parts back- ie MAF, boost control solenoid, fuel filter, suction control valve.

After that, the car started easier (low speed roll start- not high speed wheel lock up). Almost started on key. Maybe not pump?

The engine management light came on for the first time. Now I get a code that I have not seen before and does not seem to be in the manual- Code= 2621.

Some suggest this is the crankshaft position sensor?

Oddly enough I was leaning towards injectors.

The car is idling roughly- something it did not do even when it was previously hard to start.

Being a petrol man- I disconnected each injector one by one to see if one was "missing". None were.
After disconnecting number 3 twice the car suddenly idled beautifully.
Seemed fixed. It was in "safe mode". Tried to drive- no power - no acceleration.

Before when it was hard to start - once running it had full boost and power- and could be started by key straight away up to 4 hours later.

Now - it idles rough- has no turbo power- and blows lots of smoke under load (trying to drive).

Still runs for hours on end at 2,500 RPM with no smoke, no noise and no apparent problem. I have had it running for half a tank of fuel with the Moli-conditioner running through.
 
No power and black smoke = No boost. Which means your Boost Solenoid is dicked - or plumbed in wrong. Check all your vacuum hoses are connected as they should be.

Idle = Suction Control Valve. Mine used to rock and "hunt" at idle. Changed out the SCV and it was smooth and steady.

Unplug the Crankshaft Sensor and remove it. You may find it's got gunk on it, in which case remove and replace.
 
Further update- Everything I unplug throws an error code incl crankshaft sensor.

New boost control solenoid and SC Valve.

Bought another identical ute that starts perfectly but won't run (went into water and stuffed turbo and now has DPF light on so limp mode). Missus NOT happy.

The other day after 4 hours running with injector cleaner as per advice running beautifully at 2500RPM - shut down- immediate restart- would not fire.

Found the purple wire to the butterfly valve broken and fixed it. Suspect it broke after taking the hose off many times.

Asked the missus to turn the key while I held the butterfly valve open (old Tony advice on "under-airing") and the car started perfectly 5 times in a row. For some reason I suspected "earth" or "valve not returning fully". I could move it upward by 2mm or so.

Tried next day - no go. Roll start and warm up. Recruited the missus for same trick -but no go. Kind of wanted to start with finger on the butterfly valve.

Swapped out butterfly valve with the other ute. Still no go-BUT new error codes.

Error codes now 0638 and 2119. Previous was 2621.

None of these are listed but they seem to be generic.

0638 suggests throttle actuator control (butterfly) control range.

2119 suggests Throttle Actuator Control Throttle Body Range/Performance

2621 previous suggested TPS (only the above 2 showed up when throttle actuator was replaced)

I know the replacement is good.

Strange that the replacement threw up codes that aren't listed. None of the above codes are listed.

At best I have eliminated the Throttle Control Body?

Earth Problem?
 

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