I'm sorry I don't know the answer to this , but does anyone know if modern diesels have to rely on electrics to keep them running? Just curious as thought I heard something about a piezo spark system to aid cleaner burning or something. Its always nice to know that the problems of petrol ignition systems getting wet don't apply to my old diesel and just wondered if things have moved on with some of the more complex systems today.
More modern diesel systems do rely on electronics, yes. Alot of them have management systems, with air flow meters and electrically operated injectors.
Most modern deisels rely soley on electronics to keep them going. A modern diesel has far more processing power under it's bonnet than a modern petrol. To have things like multi-stage injection timed to within fractions of a degree, takes quite a bit processing, and that's before you take into all the other functions that need to be controlled electronically. Conventional (both mechanical, and electronically controlled) rotary pumps, are now a thing of the past, due to ever tightening emission standards.
Ah well, at least its low voltage stuff and providing its protected sensibly, not as vulnerable to damp and wet as spark plug leads/distributors etc. Anyone remember the old mini's with the distributor just behind the front grill? Miracle any of them survived a bit of rain, but oddly they did, even those without the protective cover fitted.
A few weeks ago I set off in the general direction of Sheffield during a torrential downpour. I quickly realised that the car wasn't 100% (later diagnosed a split vacuum advance diaphragm), but carried on for a while. One of the back lanes I was using was blocked by a puddle right across the road, about 15 yards long, and, as I found, about 8" deep in the middle... "here goes nothing", I thought, and pressed steadily through the puddle, attempting to use the "bow wave technique". As you can guess, the car stalled right in the middle! To add insult to injury, some tw*t in a Clio came through full-speed the other way, throwing so much water over the top of my car that it came through the door seals>:-( I really didn't fancy getting out at that point, no chance of pushing the car out, but if I sat there too long I knew the water would like as not find its way through the floor. So into gear - turn the key - I drove it some 20 yards on the starter motor into a nearby farm gateway. Where luckily it managed to start again. I may be brave, but I'm not completely stupid, so I took the Mini home (via the roundabout route) to swap it for the Previa. By the time I got to the puddle again it had all drained away...
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