Bongo REALLY hard to start when left

[Lloydy]

Hi all and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I need some help with my Bongo starting problem.

Elmo has developed a problem starting when left for more than about 5 hours. As it started around the cold weather and so logic would link the two but after close observation i am not so sure the cold is the only cause.

To give you some idea of how hard it is to start.... If you have ever changed your fuel filter and had to stand there with the van turning over waiting for the fuel to pass through... Well, double that! Followed by a thick cloud of smoke?!

The weird thing is once it has been started the problem goes away. So, if you get it started on a morning and then cut it off straight away it will start on the button 1st time!!??!!

Apart from this the van seems to drive fine.

Its really upsetting because Elmo is booked in later this month for a body work overhall and i am havning to consider cancelling this to pay for the repair of the starting problem.

Any ideas guys and girls?

Kind regards,

Lloydy

[missfixit70]

Are you waiting for the glow plug light to go out? try turning it off & back on again to give it a bit longer to heat the glow plugs, some people leave it for 5 or 10 seconds after the glow plug light goes out, try both, but it sounds like the glow plugs are on their way out IMO.

[Lloydy]

Hi Kirsty, thanks for the quick reply!

The plugs were fitted about 1 year ago and they 'appear' fine.

I have tried leaving the glow plugs on for longer and even doing it 2 / 3 times in a row prior to starting. no change.

How do i check the plugs?

Although my mechanical skills are poor (but improving) i would guess that the fuel pump is leaking fuel? Would that make any snese to you? I am aware that there is a small leak from the 'dome' area of the pump. this has been the case from day 1 with Elmo.

Lloydy

[Steve L]

It does sound like the glowplugs. Mine lasted about 12 months before lumpy starts began again. I have now replaced them with NGK ones which others on this site say last longer. To my knowledge there is no way to test the glowplugs other than by taking them out, and if you are going to the trouble to take them out it makes sense just to put some new ones in.

[missfixit70]

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... ug#p258867 this may help, gives a way of testing the glow plugs too.

[moonshine]

It does sound like the glowplugs. Mine lasted about 12 months before lumpy starts began again. I have now replaced them with NGK ones which others on this site say last longer. To my knowledge there is no way to test the glowplugs other than by taking them out, and if you are going to the trouble to take them out it makes sense just to put some new ones in.

I would have expected glow plugs to last a lot longer than a year. Mine haven't been replaced since buying our Bongo 3 years ago, and it starts first time every time whatever the weather. The ones in my boat engine are quite likely the originals, and the engines were built in 1964! I certainly haven't changed them in the last 9 years, and they looked old then.

If the glow plugs are ok, then maybe the relay is not working. The only real way to check is to put a voltmeter or test lamp on one of the glow plugs, then turn on the ignition.

[trevd01]

I have posted this before, but I have never ever had to replace a glow plug on any diesel vehicle I have owned since 1984. And that's dozens, from old Landies to expensive German cars. And it includes our Bongo, which we have had for three years, which looks like it is running on the ones fitted in the factory in 1999.

Are the glowplugs that don't last unknown brands or well known ones like Bosch, Beru, NGK and Lucas? These brands are the ones manufacturers fit, for good reason, I suspect.

[missfixit70]

A lot of people on here have had cheap replacement glowplugs go after a very short time if you look back through old posts, NGK seems to be the way to go.

[KennethB]

Hi Kirsty, thanks for the quick reply!

The plugs were fitted about 1 year ago and they 'appear' fine.

I have tried leaving the glow plugs on for longer and even doing it 2 / 3 times in a row prior to starting. no change.

How do i check the plugs?

Although my mechanical skills are poor (but improving) i would guess that the fuel pump is leaking fuel? Would that make any snese to you? I am aware that there is a small leak from the 'dome' area of the pump. this has been the case from day 1 with Elmo.

Lloydy

I have the same problem at the moment! I have a leak from the fuel pump and starting the engine from cold take ages. when you get it started have a look under the bongo were the sump plug is if you have fuel on the floor I would think you are having the same problem as me, does your bongo feel like it is going to stall when cold and at a stand still?

I have put a post up "Another leak this time diesel" and people have been pointing me in the direction of the fuel pump seals may have gone.

Hope this helps I am new to all this and learning my way round the bongo.

[Lloydy]

Thanks for all your replies guys.

I will replace the heat plugs anyway with some NGK's and fix the leak in the pump.... Fingers crossed that solves the problem!

Thanks again!

Lloydy

[dandywarhol]

Worth a read..................

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... ow#p247552

...and here's a pic of whats left of the dodgy Chinese copy to avoid (on the left)

[bigdaddycain]

I don't fancy either of those plugs to be honest... I don't see how the blu-tack at the base of the plug is a good thing really...

[mick]

It definitely sounds glowplug related. Before changing them, try seeing if 12v is reaching the glowplug bar. simply connect a 12v lamp from glowplug rail to earth, and turn on ignition. the lamp should light, and probably extinguish some seconds later. If no light, suspect the relay or the elusive fusewire .... looks like a piece of wire (both hidden behind the battery)