Hard to start on cold mornings 300 Tdi

[BigT]

OK guys any views on this?
glow plugs OK
battery OK
starter OK
fuel as good as you can get from anywhere
went to LR dealer said was hard to start on cold mornings , had to glow twice. they said no need to glow here ( Alice Springs) as it doesnt get cold enough to warrant doing it. well mine takes at least two glows to start it first thing but after that no problems at all for the rest of the day.
maybe it's like me just likes warm climates. :? :?:

[LandyAndy]

Hi
Does the 300TDI have a heating element inside the injector pump to heat the diesel fuel????,if so could be cactus.Most japper diesels do and it causes hard starting when faulty.
Andrew

[Bushie]

Originally posted by BigT
OK guys any views on this?
glow plugs OK
battery OK
starter OK
fuel as good as you can get from anywhere
went to LR dealer said was hard to start on cold mornings , had to glow twice. they said no need to glow here ( Alice Springs) as it doesnt get cold enough to warrant doing it. well mine takes at least two glows to start it first thing but after that no problems at all for the rest of the day.
maybe it's like me just likes warm climates. :? :?:

Does it start straight after the two glows, or do you have to crank it over for a while. Thinking along the lines of fuel leakdown while its sitting overnight.

Bushie

[Hellspawn]

The 300s electronic injection ? Might be the temp sender for the computer.

[rick130]

I'm with Bushie, sounds more like a fuel supply problem.
I've never had a problem with mine starting at -7*C here, and my Stepfather never had a problem with his 300Tdi 110 there in The Alice. (has a Td5 now)
Suttons up there are pretty good, maybe book it in to get checked ?

Helspawn, no bloody electronics on Oz spec 300Tdi's. :wink:

Just had a thought (yeah, it hurt), I wonder if there is a problem with the fuel cut of solenoid either sticking when energised (either crap or wear) or a crook connection ?
I've had a problem twice in the 3.5 years I've had mine with corrosion on the spade causing,

a. intermittant cutting out when running.
b. sticking me up when trying to start.

[shaunp]

I reckon they may be wrong and it needs plugs. Letting it glow twice makes no differance to anything else in the engine but it makes makes it start, It's the plugs.

[camel_landy]

The 300TDi will start quite happily without glow plugs.....

The main things that tend to cause poor starting is timing or not enough grunt from the battery. My money would be on the latter (unless you've just changed the belt).... Infact, I'd go as far as to say that it would probably be a crap earth that's causing it.

Just as a test, use a set of jump leads and connect the -ve from the battery to one of the starter motor bolts.

Mark.

PS - It's a mechanical fuel pump....

[camel_landy]

Originally posted by shaunp
I reckon they may be wrong and it needs plugs. Letting it glow twice makes no differance to anything else in the engine but it makes makes it start, It's the plugs.

You're missing one thing... The battery. The act of using the glow plugs is making the battery deliver power. Delivering power causes the battery to heat up. When the battery has warmed up, it becomes capable of delivering power more efficiently.

It's a little tip from colder climates....

If it's REALLY cold, you can help the battery crank the engine better by sticking the main beam on for 30 sec before cranking the engine (one of the tips I was taught when in Canada one winter).

Mark.

[LRHybrid100]

Originally posted by camel_landy
The 300TDi will start quite happily without glow plugs.....



Yep - can confirm, even though currently only checked at 7c in the morning.

Living in Sydney, cannot see the use of the glow plugs - but will keep the feeder wire for trips to the High Country and manually hit the glow plugs with current for a couple of seconds.

LRH

[LRHybrid100]

the new VW Golf TDI doesn't even have glow plugs

LRH

[langy]

Howdy: I missed what sort of 300tdi you had ( Disco or def). In addition to all the other useful tips the other have given, this was somthing I had a prob with in my tdi disco. It was hard to start in the morning, and was OK the rest of the day. It was summer, and in metro Sydney, the temp was fairly constant. I checked all that you did, and further cleaned the sedimeter, changed fuel filter and looked for leaks in the line. It wasn't till I did a close up check of the line that I found a spot in the fuel line that was worn. When I pulled the line out, rubbing against a chassis mount had worn the pipe away sufficiently to cause a hairline crack. This crack was enough to let air in, and cause fuel to leak back into the tank overnight, but didn't let fuel out, and given that the fuel lift pump was after the crack, no other indication of a problem. In my disco ( My95 -240k) the location was at the drivers side body mount, where the fuel line exits from along the chassis rail, and bends, heading up to the lift pump. It's easist if you run your fingers along the line to feel for irregular bits, as it's a bit hard to see properly.

Good luck

Langy

[BigT]

Thanks guys
will have a crack at some of those suggestions.
the first thing i'll check is the fuel line as just had to replace both P/Steer hoses cause rubbed thru at brackets under radiator/ I/cooler.
it starts straight away after 2 glows, the G/plugs were replaced 2 years ago by dealer (after market from brit parts Perth)

[Reads90]

I agree with Mark on this one, and say it is your battery. they need alot of ump to start a TDi and if the battery is not A1 then it will have problems starting a TDi.
I had a problem a couple of years ago when i bought a battery and then had problems starting the truck so changed loads of bits , untill i went back to the battery and found it was a dund.
And i think we have colder starts than you style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif and i have never used the heater plugs to start my 200 or 300 , even in the dead of winter

The only other problem is if you have a leak in the diesel pipe work which is letting all the feul fail back into the tank and then you are having to reblead the system every time you start the engine. As the TDi as self bleading engines

[Mattplat]

I realise I'm digging up a grave here, but I read this thread when google found it for me...

My hard starting issues on a 98 300tdi D1 were absolutely solved by replacing the glow plugs. I did the battery and lift pump first as I read on a few threads that was reccomended, but for me glow plugs was the winner.

Anecdotal I know, but if someone else finds this thread, my opinion is glow plugs are required to be in good order for easy starting. I'm in SEQ.. nowhere rediculously cold.

[d2dave]

When I fitted a second hand 300 tdi to my disco I did not even bother connecting glow plugs.

I find on very cold mornings with my old battery being a bit sluggish, it won't go.

I connect jumper leads to my aux battery and if fires straight away.

[Rick1970]

When I fitted a second hand 300 tdi to my disco I did not even bother connecting glow plugs.

I find on very cold mornings with my old battery being a bit sluggish, it won't go.

I connect jumper leads to my aux battery and if fires straight away.

Yep, never had to actually properly glow mine (200tdi) to start, even on cold mornings. Usually outside, not under cover and sub zero..-3's and 4's common. Just turn key past glow and it starts. Always make sure start battery is good tho.