Cutting Out & White Smoke

[mikexgough]

Will the a/c still have this effect in low temps Dandy? I seem to recall that the A/C doesn't actually function below 5 degrees of so?

Sorry to hijack the thread....... I asked the same question last year, Rhod......... Turns out mine needed a recharge and now works down to -1c then stops working........

[mikexgough]

Could do - its the same solenoid which is activated by the a/c switch - do the revs stabalise when the a/c is switched on? (assuming it's charged) you can tell by feeling the throttle pedal drop a few mm

Will the a/c still have this effect in low temps Dandy? I seem to recall that the A/C doesn't actually function below 5 degrees of so?

My Bongo has had pretty much the same symptoms since I got it, but only occasionally & only ever in winter. It's definitely cold weather related & there's no associated coolant loss. It'll only do it once when first started & after that it's fine all day, or longer. When I reported it on the forum, the consensus seemed to be leaking fuel pump seals, but there's no sign of leaking diesel, so I haven't got around to changing them yet. I'm not quite sure why leaking seals would only cause problems in cold weather - any more informed thoughts on that one?

The "leaking" seals could be there because of shrinkage of the seals when cold, enough to allow air to get in but no diesel to get out......shoot me down if you think I'm talking bo***cks....

[bigdaddycain]

The symptoms described here sound exactly like DBO's brother was experiencing with his bongo... Fuel pump was fubared on his.

[Rhod]

Will the a/c still have this effect in low temps Dandy? I seem to recall that the A/C doesn't actually function below 5 degrees of so?

Sorry to hijack the thread....... I asked the same question last year, Rhod......... Turns out mine needed a recharge and now works down to -1c then stops working........

Guess mine needs a re-charge then.... Good info Mike

[Rhod]

Could do - its the same solenoid which is activated by the a/c switch - do the revs stabalise when the a/c is switched on? (assuming it's charged) you can tell by feeling the throttle pedal drop a few mm

Will the a/c still have this effect in low temps Dandy? I seem to recall that the A/C doesn't actually function below 5 degrees of so?

My Bongo has had pretty much the same symptoms since I got it, but only occasionally & only ever in winter. It's definitely cold weather related & there's no associated coolant loss. It'll only do it once when first started & after that it's fine all day, or longer. When I reported it on the forum, the consensus seemed to be leaking fuel pump seals, but there's no sign of leaking diesel, so I haven't got around to changing them yet. I'm not quite sure why leaking seals would only cause problems in cold weather - any more informed thoughts on that one?

The "leaking" seals could be there because of shrinkage of the seals when cold, enough to allow air to get in but no diesel to get out......shoot me down if you think I'm talking bo***cks....

I was thinking along the same lines Mike. replacement seals are on my to-do list. But only once the weather warms up a bit - and before the midge season starts

[Rhod]

The symptoms described here sound exactly like DBO's brother was experiencing with his bongo... Fuel pump was fubared on his.

It's the way that you always manage to cheer me up that I love BDC

[scribe1974]

I had the seals changed in case it was pump related but I'm reluctant to have the pump it's self changed with out knowing for sure that that's the problem.

I didn't think there was anything wrong with the glow plugs when i had them changed as it starts first time but i wanted to rule them out.

Is there a definitive way of checking if the glow plug relay is working? I can't hear any clicking. Likewise for the idle solenoid?

I put a bottle of engine cleaner/injector cleaner in today to see if that helps.

[dandywarhol]

Lift the driver's side engine cover, put a test lamp onto the glowplug rail and earth and watch - the testlamp/voltmeter should stay on after the glowplug light on the dash has gone out. If the engine isn't started, the testlight will go out after 15 seconds - with the engine running it can be several minutes in this weather.

When you switch on the "ignition" you should see the throttle linkage move on the pump - this raises the idle speed.

[BongoMTBer]

In addition to the regual oring seals that fail, there is another seal that fails on these pumps. The 'nose' or 'shaft' seal at the front where it mates with the engine. This lets in air and causes starting and idling issues. Naturally, the pump would need removing for this but IMHO your symptoms point to this.

Also, in this cold weather, my steam experiences are the same as yours. I don't think they are abnormal.

[scribe1974]

Well I put a bottle of Halfords most expensive engine/injector cleaner in the tank last week and this did seem to have an effect on reducing the white smoke/steam and possibly improved the running but no effect on the cutting out.

After using up the tank with the cleaner in I filled up at Morrisons and I had no problems for several days, it then occurred to me that for the two months I've been having problems I'd been using BP petrol as I'd been travelling to work a different route. This may be a coincidence though as there was a rise in the weather temp over this period. The problems then returned though so I fitted a new Glow Plug relay which had no effect at all.

I've now filled her up to the brim again as I think I have fewer problems when I've got a full tank of diesel.

[missfixit70]

Did you let the tank run really low at any point before this started? may be worth blowing back throught the fuel line with some compressed air to check the fuel pick up is clear, not with a full tank though, & make sure the fuel cap is off, you could check this by running from a 5 litre can of clean fuel with length of fuel pipe to the fuel filter replacing the fuel inlet. May well be something more complex, but if a full tank seems to make a difference....

[susan]

i have been getting the same problem,it drops its revs then cuts out,not had this before so would be happy to hear from anyone who has solved this problem.

[missfixit70]

Have you tried all the measures listed by scribe at the beginning of the thread? Fuel & air filters & banjo filter are the easiest ones to check/clean/replace.

[susan]

yes all the above,but i havent had any smoke,but i have had a new rad fitted, would that of made a diffrence,its after the new one was put in this has started to happen.

[Rhod]

Minus 15C at the weekend, but the Bongo started immediately & idled away with no problems. Although the problem only ever occurs in cold weather, with my engine, it's certainly not consistent