P38A 2.5DSE reluctant to start when engine warmed up.

I'd hazard a guess at air in the system - that is to say, air being sucked into the diesel system. This can be difficult to spot but I guess Austin will be along with some ideas soon...

TonyB

I'd get the battery checked out first. Automotive batteries really don't like being flattened. Doesn't help with the long standing starting from warm issue though.

TonyB,

do you mean 'air in the diesel system' to mean that at the point of injection, there could be air mixed with the jet of fuel ? Forgive me if the answer is blindingly obvious but I am virtually clueless about diesel motors. If I'm wrong in thinking that the fuel is mixed with the air inside the cylinder, as opposed to a petrol engine (carbuerettor sort) where an inlet manifold does the job, I'm sure someone will correct me. I don't intend trying to fix it myself BTW, dumb I might be, stupid I ain't. One of my sons is a diesel fitter but I'd like to be able to give him a clue before he breaks the whole thing down into a box of washers 'n bolts.

Thanks for your input and I eagerley await some words of wisdom from Mr Shackles.

Pete Smith.

I will get the battery checked out. This problem did exist to a lesser extent prior to my laying up the vehicle when I was using it daily for work. My job takes me to several customers round and about each day and if i'm not on site long enough for the engine to cool sufficiently for the glowplugs to come into play, it was sometimes touch and go whether it would start. The problem seemed to be worse the hotter the engine was. After an hours drive down the M4 for instance, 10 minutes away from the vehicle and it would sometimes be quite difficult to get going.

Thnx for your comments.

Well, sort of, yes but what you'll actually get is a jet of air with no fuel at all. The injectors inject a very tiny amount of fuel and it doesn't take much air to stop the system working. If your son is a diesel fitter he'll know all about this sort of thing and should be able to find the fault and fix it easily.

Forgive me if the

It's not mixed in the same way that a carburettor does it in a petrol engine. In a diesel the piston comes up and compresses the air first. ( In a petrol engine the air/fuel is already mixed and is in the cylinder on the upstroke.) When the piston in the diesel is at ( or almost at ) the top of it's stroke, the fuel is injected in a fine spray, igniting due to the pressure of the air in the cylinder. The compression causes heating too but I'm not sure if this is the main reason for the ignition or simply the pressure.

I don't

Well, you may be able to fix it if I'm right. Have a look at all the diesel pipes from the pump to the cylinder with the engine off. If they are grubby clean 'em all off with rag or tissue. Run the engine a few times then switch off and look again. You are looking for a diesel leak, it may be very tiny but if you can find one that'll be where the air is getting in.

It could also be at the diesel filter and it would be worth checking that there's no obvious leak there either.

Yeah, he'll probably say it's a dodgy fuel solenoid and make me look like a right idiot. Good luck TonyB

Thanks for that TonyB. I'll certainly check the fuel pipework for leaks, 'though mine has been a very 'dry' engine. No leak stains on the drive. The only very slight leak I do know I have is from one of the hoses going to/from the oil cooler down the right hand side of the engine (looking at the front). It's just a very slow weep at the moment, not even enough to cause oil patches on the drive. I guess I'll have to change that 'cause if its going to blow, it'll do it accordong to the law of sod, at the worst possible time.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.