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In need of assistance... Disco starts then stalls immediately

I did a search but come up with the issue we're having.

1995 Discovery 1 with the 3.9 petrol V8. Recently (a month ago) had all the coolant hoses replaced. Recently (6 weeks ago) replaced the battery. Replaced all the ignition wires 2 years ago. 17X,XXX miles, AT. Oil is full and clean.

She ran fine this morning on the trip to breakfast and back. Then my wife got stuck shopping this afternoon. It cranks over and starts great, just like normal, then it cuts out sputtering to death within

5-10 seconds every time. Sputters as if it's running out of fuel. 3/4 tank of fuel right now.

The only prior symptoms I've felt is last weekend leaving a local pub, I was putting my foot down to accelerate out of the parking lot and she hiccuped, like she wanted to stall, IE the power cut out for a split second, then it was back and everything was fine.

My first thought is fuel filter, but can it really clog up badly enough to stop a pressurized fuel rail system completely? Fuel pump? If the fuel pump itself were dead, she wouldn't start at all, right? What about the ignition coil? That would prevent it from starting as well, right?

Thanks for any help. I hope to god this is something simple...this car is starting to nickel and dime us.

Reply to
Anthony
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Fuel pump on its last legs? Last week it was delivering enough for normal driving, but not for sudden acceleration. This week it delivers enough pressure to start but then dies away. Next week it won't work at all.

Kind of thing.

I think it's the type that's in the tank, so getting at it will be a bit of a pig, but no great drama to replace.

Reply to
Rich B

Also try fuel pump relay - it operates for a few seconds as the ignition is switched on but then doesn't operate again until the engine runs. Worth a try? Badger.

Reply to
Badger

Will it even idle after starting?

Fuel pressure regulator? Try restricting the return hose from the regulator back to the tank to see if that makes any difference.

You've mentioned that the engine dies gradually over several seconds rather than cutting out suddenly suggesting a fuelling issue rather than ignition/electrical. There where several things about the previous system that produced similar symptoms to yours but they all were all the result of the electrical supply to the pump/coil being cut and the engine died pretty quickly. Some of them were linked to stopping cranking the engine. I didn't think that your system had the components/circuit design that caused those kind of problems but Badger has just suggested one.

Reply to
Dougal

Is this basically the same feature that was provided by the switch in the old flap-valve air flow meter? What provides the engine running signal here - the air flow meter again (but probably not a mechanical switch) or something else?

Reply to
Dougal

Thanks for the suggestions so far. It will idle for a few seconds before it dies again, so I don't think it could be a spark issue. How can I check the MAF hotwire?

Reply to
Anthony

On or around Sat, 24 Nov 2007 22:29:29 -0000, "Rich B" enlightened us thusly:

yeah, I had one do that. Fuel pump was running, but slowly. It's not that bad to get to, there's a plate to remove in the floor.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

Sounds like fuel pump management. Not quite sure of your EFI system but most only run with the correct signal from the engine. In other words if the engine stalls etc they stop to prevent flooding with a faulty injector. There is a separate feed to force the pump to run when cranking and sometimes for a short time when the ignition is first switched on. Once the engine starts, the control signal comes from it and it runs continuously. I'd first look at the fuel pump relay and the circuits feeding it.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Basically the same, but the flappper is activated whilst cranking by the red/white output from the ignition switch bypassing the pump relay initially, whereas the hotwire provides an initial "prime" then a "run" signal via the ecu. I think the hotwire uses the ignition pulse input as it's run signal but I may be wrong...... Badger.

Reply to
Badger

Thanks, Badger.

Reply to
Dougal

Any clues on checking the fuel pump relays and circuits?

Reply to
Anthony

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