Engine not starting!

[rusty69]

11 minutes ago, YSA said:

I cant remember what the injectors are!

 

[YSA]

1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Did you fill up with fuel after the service ?

 

You can 'inherit'' diesel bug from a dirty suppliers tank.

 

Can you dip your tank with a stick ? The pick up pipe (supply from the tank to the engine) is usually several inched off the bottom of the tank so as to avoid picking up water, gunge and rust, so you could have 4-6" in the tank but it is not reaching the bottom of the pipe. ?

 

So when did it last run well ?

When did it become unable to start ?

 

 

 

Yes - but you need to locate the injectors and bleed it there - if there is fuel squirting out then fuel is getting to the engine.

 

 

Do you gave any way of recharing your starter battery ? (shore line or generator)

Or, do you have any jump-leads that you can use to connect your domestic batteries to the starter battery ?

 

You will fairly quickly flatten your starter battery by keep trying to turn it over so you do need to retain enough charge in it (or be able to recahrge) to start the engine once you have solved the problem.

 

 

I filled up with fuel before the service. It was last running fine Sunday evening, no problems to start at all. I couldn't get it to start yesterday afternoon - it was doing what was happening in the video.

 

Noted about the starter battery, I won't keep trying to turn it on! I don't have any way to charge it, but might be able to make a post in the london facebook group to see if anyone near me can help. 

 

What do the injectors look like? 

[Alan de Enfield]

18 minutes ago, YSA said:

cant remember what the injectors are!

and doing a google image search isn't helping

 

Look at the picture of my engine - centre of picture there are 6 metal pipes comping out of a 'square' metal 'box' (you will not have 6) these pipes then screw into the side of the engine.

 

Where they are all in a line have a look at where they screw into the 'square box' each pipe has a nut - this is the nut you need to loosen to bleed the system.

 

 

 

Edited December 13, 2022 by Alan de Enfield

[YSA]

6 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

 

amazing, thank you!

do i have to loosen all the nuts, or just one?

 

i'm going to try and find someone who can charge my starter battery before i give it a go!

10 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

 

 

so these are the nuts i need to loosen? do i do all of them?

[David Mack]

37 minutes ago, YSA said:

ah, I can't attach videos! 😞

For future reference, you can upload your video to Youtube, then paste the 'Share' link from Youtube here, and your video will miraculously appear in your post.

[Alan de Enfield]

Above your 3 red circles, there is the fuel filter (the circular thing with arrows on it).

 

The 1st part to bleed is the botton (left facing) arrow. If there is fuel coming out of that then fuel is getting into, thru, and out of the filter - showing the filter is not blocked.

 

Loosen that nut a couple of turns and turn the engine over whilst watching to see it fuel comes out (the engine will not start).

 

If there is no fuel coming out then the problem is either the filter - or before the filter.

 

 

If fuel is coming out, tighten it back up & the next area to bleed is just to the left of the bottom red circle - these are the 3 'nuts I was refering to in my picture.

 

(Your 3 Red circles are where the excess fuel flows back into the filter to be re-circulated).

Edited December 13, 2022 by Alan de Enfield

[David Mack]

3 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

If fuel is coming out, tighten it back up & the next area to bleed is just to the left of the bottom red circle - these are the 3 'nuts I was refering to in my picture.

And ignore the pipes on the top - they just carry excess fuel back to the fuel tank. It is the nuts on the side of the injector that you should loosen.

 

With the nuts loosened turn the engine over on the starter (with the stop/run control set to run). If you see just fuel leaking out tighten the nuts and the engine should start. If you see fuel and bubbles coming out continue turning the engine over until there are no more bubbles.

[YSA]

so this is the nut im loosening?

[Alan de Enfield]

11 minutes ago, YSA said:

so this is the nut im loosening?

 

No, loosen the one on the opposite side (left hand side) that has the pipe going from it to the injector pump.

[YSA]

ok great, thanks! I get my left and right confused 🙈

 

would be a good idea to get my starter battery charged before i try this?

[dmr]

I don't think you should be bleeding the injector lines yet, thats the last thing to do, there are other things to eliminate first, and the injector lines will often sort themselves out anyway.

The nut on the filter that you have circled is the first place to check, or maybe the one opposite with the pipe coming out (again with the out facing arrow). The one you have circled is fine but just might be very tight.

If you have an electric lift pumop then expect a good squirt of fuel to be coming out.  You could post us a little video if you wish.  Surround the area with paper towels to catch any mess. A couple of rolls of heavy duty paper kitchen roll (Regina Blitz) is a good thing to have for engine work.

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, YSA said:

ok great, thanks! I get my left and right confused 🙈

 

would be a good idea to get my starter battery charged before i try this?

 

From the sound on your video you'll be ok for a few more 'tries' yet.

Once you've got the nut on the fuel filter loosened it should only take a few seconds of turning the engine over to see if fuel is or isn't coming out.

[dmr]

1 minute ago, YSA said:

ok great, thanks! I get my left and right confused 🙈

 

would be a good idea to get my starter battery charged before i try this?

 

Do you have an electric or mechanical lift pump???? If its electric then turning the key to its first (or maybe second) click but NOT cranking the engine should be enough and not drain the battery too much.   If its a mechanical pump and you have to crank the engine then a battery charge might be wise.   Note that some mechanical pumps have a lever that you can pump to get the fuel moving without cranking the engine.  If you have this then let us know for more help, but I think Biz said its an electric pump? and he is usually correct.

[YSA]

5 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

From the sound on your video you'll be ok for a few more 'tries' yet.

Once you've got the nut on the fuel filter loosened it should only take a few seconds of turning the engine over to see if fuel is or isn't coming out.

 

ok, thank you so much for your help! 

 

all of my devices are running out of battery and i dont want to charge on the boat just in case i cant get this sorted for a bit, so im going to head out and find somewhere to charge everything up and then come back and give it a go!

 

 

[bizzard]

They normally have an electric fuel pump, should hear it whining when ignition turned on, just turned on, not to the start position. With it just turned on for a minute or two it should self bleed the system and then try to start it.

[rusty69]

1 hour ago, YSA said:

I did notice a sight diesel smeall when i went into the engine room just now and the fuel filter seems to be leaking fuel slightly, i take it that's probably not a great sign? 

Probably not. It may be pulling in air.

[Bee]

I'm a bit worried!, Is this thing actually turning over?. I am a bit concerned that the engine is slowly being taken apart and those injector nuts are easy to crossthread when trying to put them back. My advice is to give a chocolate biscuit to anther boater and ask him / her to take a very quick listen to it. 

[Tony Brooks]

Some points. Alan's photo of the red engine looks like a Ford to so although how to find the injector pipes and injectors part is fine. YSA's injectors will look nothing like the red engine.

 

Fuel is unlikely to spurt out of the injector pipes, it makes it sound like a highish flow. It should spit or drip, but not spurt.

 

I would not try to bleed the filter from either position referred to. I would slacken by a few turns, the highest connection which is the long hexagon banjo bolt that secures the leak off pipe and return hose to the top of the filter.  If it is an electric lift pump fuel should flow freely from there when the ignition is turned to the position that allows the gauges & warning lamps to work.  If it is a mechanical pump then hopefully it will have a priming lever, so using that should cause fuel to flow form the above bold. If there is a lot of slack on the lever turn the engine over one complete turn.

 

I think that there may be a small bleed screw set in the larger hexagon banjo bolt on the fuel feed into the injection pump. If this is loosened and the procedure above is followed fuel should flow. Incidentally I am have a feeling this marinisation may not be self bleeding, there does not seem to be a return pipe on the injector pump to vent any air.

 

 

[Alan de Enfield]

3 minutes ago, Bee said:

I'm a bit worried!, Is this thing actually turning over?. I am a bit concerned that the engine is slowly being taken apart and those injector nuts are easy to crossthread when trying to put them back. My advice is to give a chocolate biscuit to anther boater and ask him / her to take a very quick listen to it. 

 

Yes - the video shows it turning over like a 'good un', it even made one attempt to fire.

[Tony Brooks]

11 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Probably not. It may be pulling in air.

 

I agree, quiet possibly a misfitted sea;ling ring or two

I think the lift pump is electric and mounted vertically beside the fuel filter. if this is the case then the cap that needs removing to access that little filter is at the bottom.

[Bee]

Ah,  I'm using an ancient laptop that has not downloaded the video.

[Scholar Gypsy]

My Mitsubishi is self bleeding, ie I just need to bleed

• at the top of the main filter, which is after the lift pump and
• on the banjo joint at the inlet to the high pressure pump.

I never need to touch the pipes (four in my case) from the high pressure pump to the injectors.

[Tony Brooks]

Just now, Scholar Gypsy said:

My Mitsubishi is self bleeding, ie I just need to bleed

• at the top of the main filter, which is after the lift pump and
• on the banjo joint at the inlet to the high pressure pump.

I never need to touch the pipes (four in my case) from the high pressure pump to the injectors.

 

I suspect that if you look at the return pipe to the tank there will be a connection to the injector pump  input union (as you say) so it can purge air from the filter and injector pump. There is no sign of that on the OP's engine.

[rusty69]

21 minutes ago, Bee said:

I'm a bit worried!, Is this thing actually turning over?. I am a bit concerned that the engine is slowly being taken apart and those injector nuts are easy to crossthread when trying to put them back. My advice is to give a chocolate biscuit to anther boater and ask him / her to take a very quick listen to it. 

 

As there appears to be a fuel leak, which is possibly pulling in air, and a paid for service was recently undertaken, then if this service included a fuel filter change, I would be inclined to get them back out FOC to investigate. It looks to me a likely culprit, and though nipping up the offending connection could be easily done, it is also easy to over tighten these things and make the situation worse.

 

There is a lot of information in this thread, and will probably be even more when the OP returns with charged gadgets and starter battery  Perhaps time to take stock of the existing comments without adding further comments, however useful they may be.

 

Oh, damn, I just added a further comment.

Edited December 13, 2022 by rusty69
Battery, not motor

[Alan de Enfield]

11 minutes ago, Bee said:

Ah,  I'm using an ancient laptop that has not downloaded the video.

 

Its not on the forum - the forum will not accept the video format.

She sent it to me and I played it. I reported the outcome in post number ????

 

Edit : Near the bottom of page 1.

Edited December 13, 2022 by Alan de Enfield