Starting a diesel Bongo - avoiding smoke / misfire

[mikeonb4c]

I had a minor episode of misfire and smoke with Mango this morning. Last night was very wet and very windy. This morning was clear and cool. Because my son was chatting to me as I put the key in the ignition, I'm not sure how long I waited until I turned the starter motor (possibly light had gone out but only just, possibly not - I know I should wait a little longer than that 1st thing in t'morning just to be sure). Mango misfired very briefly and a puff of white smoke went off down the road. My instinct when she misfired was to put my foot down on the accelerator to encourage her to pick up. Either way, she cleared at once but I dont think pressing the loud pedal helped. Just out of interest, I switched off and started her again with no problems. It occurred to me that new owners in particular, and who are having problems, just may be able to alleviate probs with careful starting procedure. I know this has been discussed before on BF but as usual, finding the thread is proving difficult. So, would I be right in saying:

1) Always wait till the orange coily wire light goes out on the dash goes out
2) Preferably wait another 5-10 secs esp. in cold and/or damp conditions to let glow plugs warm up thoroughly.
3) Do not press the accelerator if engine misfires as it will probably over-fuel the engine and cool / flood the glowplugs. Best bet is to either sit it out or switch off and try again after 30 secs or so with the key in ignition position to supply heat to glowplugs

Can one of the experienced engineers confirm or correct the above. It may just help!

thanks chums

Mike

[Veg_Ian]

Or get yourself an owners manual and follow the pictures for starting up

[grumpo]

Almost exactly right Mike.

The engine should start and run smoothly, if it's a bit lumpy I would
suggest you try some injector cleaner for a couple of tank fills.

A small pedal pressure should iron out the eratic tickover after a few
seconds.

[mikeonb4c]

D'ya know Veg, I got one of those. 'If all else fails, read the instructions' - that my motto

Thanks grumpo - hope newcomers are reading this, may just help a little

[trevd01]

...white smoke (shudder). It's the beginning of the end

[mikeonb4c]

Nah - it was just unburned diesel smoke. Mango is as fit as a fiddle and her needle sits at 11 oclock without fail. Its either me turning the key too soon on a cold damp engine or possibly the first sign of tired plugs. AND YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I ENJOY WORKING ON THE BONGO

[trevd01]

Nah - it was just unburned diesel smoke

http://www.uniteddiesel.co.uk/diesel-engine-smoke.php

[Ozric]

I find that if I leave it too long (5-10 seconds) after the plugs light goes out the Bongo turns a few times to start. Whereas it starts in a split second when I turn it over as soon as the light goes out.

[AndAndDen]

I have asked this question previously.as i get white smoke on start up first thing in the morning,lasts about 20 secs.Is this not down to the colder weather conditions?How many other members have this problem?It starts up first time no probs. Andy

[dobby]

There's also the listen for the click trick, i.e let the glow plug relay click out. It helps with battery life as well as you're not drawing amps for the strater and the glow plugs. The relay clicks out after the light goes out. Normally 30 seconds after switching on

[mikeonb4c]

I usually wait a few secs after the light goes out. She starts quicker than any car I've owned. It was only this morning that was an exception (not quite true, there was a tiny glitch once a few weeks back - gone before I'd noticed it - no smoke).

Blimey, we chew the cud over anything us lot dont we. My wife thinks I'm mad with this Bongo lark. Maybe I am. Maybe something drove me there

....the point is do I care? No, not really

[dp bradford]

When I first got my Freda I simply waited for the glow plug warning lamp to go out and turned the engine over; it always started first time, but almost every time the first 3-5 seconds of engine running was very 'lumpy'. After reading some of the comments here, I now wait a few more seconds (5 ish) and the engine starts without any hesitation and immediately idles smoothly.

[mikeonb4c]

V interesting dp bradford - matches my experience. I'm deveoping a habit of unlocking the Bongo, putting the key in the ignition and turning it on, and then hopping in and shutting the door etc by which time the light has gone out + whatever extra time it happens to get before I reach for the key and turn it. This morning was an exception as I was talking to my son Will and absentmindedly put the key in and (I think) turned it promptly.

[Steve from Carlisle]

I've always been told with coaches to give them enough throttle to prevent rough running at startup. Bobby, the bloke who owns the coaches I drive at the weekend has been in the business 40+ years and insists that giving them enough right foot for the first couple of mins to stop vibration and shaking is the best way to prevent harm. He has one coach that has done 1.4 million kilometers on it's original engine . He has owned it for about 20 years and it still runs well so this advice can't be all that bad. I don't profess to be an experst on the subject but am just passing on advice that seems to work.

Steve

[mikeonb4c]

I wonder if that may have more to do with the damaging vibrations the cold (maybe lumpy) large diesel engine on a coach may put through its mounting system when cold? Not qualified to say but......