Pickup wont start

chrischris · Post by **chrischris** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 2:18 am

I went to leave my girlfriends house tonight at about 11:00pm. Rolled my truck down her driveway hill and waited for the glow plugs to warm up, only to get nothing but a spinning engine. The starter works fine, it just doesn't fire up.

At first I thought it could be clogged fuel filter. I had run one tank of B20 a few months ago and my last tank was B99. I had an extra filter and replaced it but got not new results.

I had a glow plug problem a the begining of winter and replaced all of them with Duraterms. The outside temperature was 57 F here in Seattle.

Could my fairly new Duraterms be shot and be the problem?

Post by **Fatmobile** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 2:24 am

I don't think they would all go at once and if a couple were still working it probably would have started eventually.
Could be the glow plug fuse or relay,... or the stop solenoid if it's a fuel issue.
Check for air in the fuel lines.
A vacuum gauge on the fuel lines will let you know if there is a fuel line restriction and an extra light can be used to tell you if the glow plugs are actually getting power.

chrischris · Post by **chrischris** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 4:07 am

Yeah, I suppose that sounds right. There was not any smoke at all coming out of the exhaust and it is very unlikely that all of the GPs went on at the same time.

I don't know much about the solenoid on the injection pump. The Bentley manual shows the probable cause of no voltage at the stop solenoid on the injection pump as a possible problem to the engine no starting, however I can't seem to find any more information about this in the book! Any clues? Thanks

VWCaddy · Post by **VWCaddy** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 8:44 am

Test the stop solenoid voltage as well as voltage a the actual glow plug bus. Just because the dash LED comes on and goes off means nothing about the plugs themseleves. Might have a blown glow plug fusible link. I hooked my add-on voltmeter to the stop solenoid power wire, so that way I get an automatic indication that it is getting power. Likewise I wired a pair of LED windshield washer nozzles to the glow plug fuse, one to each side. That way those LEDs light up with the plugs and I can see if/when they are getting power.

chrischris · Post by **chrischris** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 12:06 pm

Guys, the Bentley tells me to see "ENGINE SYSTEMS" for troubleshooting the stop solenoid, however I have combed the entire manual and can't find any info. I really have no idea what the stop solenoid does or where it is located. Could someone point me in the right direction? Thanks, -Chris

VWCaddy · Post by **VWCaddy** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 12:12 pm

It is on the injector pump and shuts off the fuel flow when you turn off the key:
http://www.cs.rochester.edu/u/jag/vw/en ... jpump.html

Hint: Only thing with a wire going to it on the pump (aside from the throttle switches, if present, that operate the upshift light).

chrischris · Post by **chrischris** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 12:26 pm

Ok, this has got to be the problem. I will gather up some tools and head over to check it out.

82vdub · Post by **82vdub** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 12:57 pm

Typically, the engine will crank over quicker if no fuel is getting to the engine. Easy to check for fuel coming out of the IP is to loosen an injector line, crank the engine for 2 seconds see if fuel is leaking around the loose fitting. If no fuel, then you're not getting fuel out of the IP. Then check to see if you are getting fuel at the inlet of the IP (I have an aux pusher pump installed on my car so this is really easy to tell). If you have fuel there, most likely it's the stop solenoid. It's a simple fix to replace the fuel solenoid if that's the issue.

chrischris · Post by **chrischris** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 7:42 pm

Problem solved: air in lines. The previous owner installed a Racor fuel water seperator and one of the lines was loose and leaking.

However, on the far right injector there was a small black rub thing that sticks up. While I was removing the injector hose I must have ripped the rubber thing and now I have a fuel leak!

What a day... Anyone have any suggestions?

tawney · Post by **tawney** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 9:36 pm

on the far right injector there was a small black rub thing that sticks up

That's just a plug; you could substitute a small piece of fuel hose with a plug in the end to keep it from leaking.

Steve

chrischris · Post by **chrischris** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 10:22 pm

I see. Where exactly can I find a fuel hose with a plug? I am having a hard time coming up with something that I can use around the house. Would a hardware or auto supply store be able to sell me what I need? Is the car safe to drive when it is leaking?

82vdub · Post by **82vdub** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 11:45 pm

A piece of vacuum tubing with a screw of some sort in the end will get you by in the short term. You may need to find the braided coated fuel/vacuum line as it's more rated for high pressure and cap the end some how, or one of the factory caps. It's just a blank capped line that tawney mentioned.

chrischris · Post by **chrischris** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 1:52 am

Can anyone suggest a place to find a original factory cap?

The cap basically broke in half. I took the top half and drilled out a section in the middle and a quick test showed that it seems to be working. I would still like to find a new cap, as my great fuel economy might not mean much when I am leaking fuel.

Post by **Fatmobile** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 2:58 am

You could put a small T in the line going to the next injector and run the end barb to that.

libbybapa · Post by **libbybapa** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 10:35 am

Where can you find a tee that small that isn't plastic?

Andrew

Former VWDieselParts.com Forum

Pickup wont start

Pickup wont start

won't run

plug