D3 V6 petrol: engine dies if pointing downhill with 1/4 tank

[gedaso]

Kinda odd problem. I've seen one or two mentions of similar issues on the disco3 forum, but no solutions. Figured I might find more info here, given the 4L V6 petrol was an Aus special....

If I have around a quarter of a tank of fuel, and am on a moderate downhill slope (either stationary or driving) the engine will die. It will restart quite happily once on the flat, or if more fuel is added to the tank. It has happended a few times now in the past 12 months. Normally I try to avoid letting the tank drop below 1/4 as a result.

It happened this morning while dropping the kids at school. The needle was a bit less than 1/4, but nowhere near empty. I was able to restart the engine and went and filled it up at the service station, where I managed to fit 66 litres of fuel (in a tank which theoretically has an 82 litre capacity).

I've recently had it serviced at a well-respected independent LR workshop. Their only idea was that maybe one of the two fuel senders was faulty, which might confuse the engine's computer into shutting down thinking it was about to run out of petrol. If this was the case, I'm surprised the gauge doesn't show empty. They also indicated they basically needed to replace the tank completely, as at least one of the senders is sealed inside the tank. I've got an Allianz extended warranty, but get a bad feeling they're not going to cover the cost of a replacement tank

Anyone else experienced this, and/or have suggestions of what it could be ? Is there any test that a home handyman with a multimeter can do to check the function of the senders ?

[INDIE2002UK]

Had similar before when low on 1/4 and parking on slope front up it was the front pick up in the tank had to replace tank to fix

[gedaso]

Thanks Indie. So this was a physical problem with the fuel pickup (blocked, fallen off, etc) rather than electrical ??

[INDIE2002UK]

Could not say what went wrong with it as you cannot get access to it with out cutting tank in half the couple of cars were fixed when tank replaced.

[Neil P]

. Figured I might find more info here, given the 4L V6 petrol was an Aus special....

No it wasn't . It's in several countries ........

Do you get the "low fuel" audible warning and yellow light indicator when this is happening ?
The Canbus doesn't switch off the engine on low fuel ....... 1/4 tank isn't low !
Tank fuel volume wouldn't cause debris to occlude any fuel route . If it blocked at 1/4 , it
would block at full . Solids sink , regardless . The fault's on "down-hill" , so the next time it happens,
turn around and drive uphill to reproduce the fault . Get a 10lt can of 98RON and keep it in the vehicle.
Let us know what happens .

[WhiteD3]

I've had the problem in my ex D3 V6 but only when it was very empty. ie it took 80 litres. In my case it was a dodgy fuel sender resulting in the gauge reading high. The fact that you vehicle is only taking 66 litres sounds like it's a physical issue of getting fuel out of the tank at one end.

[djhampson]

I was thinking about this after talking to you yesterday. Does the D3 have a roll-over switch that cuts the fuel pump in an accident? Maybe its misbehaving.

[gedaso]

I've done some reading through the workshop manual on the fuel system. I was thinking it would be an empty tank with a pump - boy was I wrong...

Yes, there are rollover valves to cut off the fuel in an accident (four of them actually). But I can't think of a way that a faulty ROV would affect supply only when pointing downhill with a quarter tank

Based on what I've read, it seems like the "front jet pump" might be faulty. I'll try to do a bit of testing once I use up a bit of fuel.

[jewjewfr]

Hi all,


I have read most of this forum over the last month (since I bought my D3). I have only joined this morning and this is indeed my first post.


Did anyone ever get an answer to this as I have the exact same issue in mine