Member Since: 19 Feb 2013
Location: Warwickshire
Posts: 30
Disco 3 cold weather poor starting
2007 Discovery 3. New to this forum but have had a number of disco's and Series in the past. Whilst I know the answer is already somewhere in these forums I am not very good at getting my search criteria succinct and adequate.
In summary my Disco's starting performance is directly proportional to the outside temperature. Perhaps you can pinpoint what is wrong from the following.
1). 10 deg. C and above. Usually starts on the button.
2). 6 - 10 deg. C. Bit of a grind with few seconds of turning before firing up.
3). 3- 6 deg. C. A long arduous grind with the ever question of will it fire. Usually does after continuous turning.
4). Below 3 Deg. C. Long grind with a single 'fire' and then stop. Leave for a few seconds and then exactly the same. After three or four repeats the single fire turns into 'running' and we are as good as new again. With the inevitable clouds of smoke from unburnt fuel.
Tried the obvious ( I think).
a). Battery fine, quite new. Turns well. Have checked volts and charging etc. Satisfied we can rule this out.
b). Glow plug light ok but does not seem to matter whether you try quick start or wait for plug light.
c). Once early morning start achieved then no problems during the day.
d). No codes yet thrown up.
Seems to me that diesel fuel is thickening with temp. drop. But I thought there was a special heater?
So - I'm stuck. Best thoughts pleased with apology for a repeat of what may already have been answered - somewhere.
Obliged.
28th Dec 2017 11:39 am
mallo
Member Since: 10 Feb 2009
Location: Jersey
Posts: 351
Glow Plugs.......
Just because the light is coming on doesn't necessarily mean they are working.......
Last edited by mallo on 28th Dec 2017 11:43 am. Edited 1 time in total
28th Dec 2017 11:41 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72787
Glow plugs, 'tis the season.
28th Dec 2017 11:41 am
Sloss
Member Since: 18 Aug 2013
Location: Aberdeenish
Posts: 1691
In the meantime use a little ‘diesel start’ and I mean a little.
One person squirts a little while the other turns the key. That saves a lot of stress on start train Stew,
2010 D4 gone but I really loved it
Went back to Merc - C350 AMG
28th Dec 2017 12:58 pm
criky18
Member Since: 19 Feb 2013
Location: Warwickshire
Posts: 30
Many thanks for thoughts so far.
I had excluded glow plugs problem as when very cold, at least the engine fired even though it did not run on first occasions. Took several 'single fire' starts to get it going. Also symptoms identical whether waited for glow plugs or not.
At about £50 I will replace glow plugs as part of a repair package. Are these difficult to replace ?
Bad injector has been suggested by friend. Any thoughts on this and can these still be cleaned rather than replaced (v expensive).
Thank you..........
30th Dec 2017 11:44 am
mallo
Member Since: 10 Feb 2009
Location: Jersey
Posts: 351
Criky18 the problem with renewing the glow plugs is getting the old ones out...... They usually snap off in the head!!!!!
It is doable, if your thinking of doing it I would spray some good quality penetrating oil and use it regularly for a good while before attempting to remove them, the oil and the heat from the engine will all help the oil penetrate and ultimately help you.
Also it has been known that the tips swell and then get stuck in the head too, or fall into the cylinder!!!
It's not a job to rush start with the front ones and work back, some people have had good success with just replacing 4 but if you've got that far and they are coming out I would give them all a go, but it's not the end of world if you only get 4 working.
Once you get the old ones out use an aluminumn based graphite grease to help you next time.
Refit the new ones but note the torque setting it's not much!!!! (hence why then snap).
Good luck
30th Dec 2017 12:08 pm
ruben D3 Decade
Member Since: 26 Sep 2006
Location: ASTURIAS
Posts: 2384
by my own experience....I say that I think the same as your friend, I think there is a failure of injectors, do not complicate trying to extract the glow plugs, not waste time and money in trying to clean them or in testing with equipment what is the balance of injection to know which is wrong without having to disassemble them, better go to a solvent specialist in injection to disassemble and test in a test bench, then replace the one or those that you need and solve the problem, but buying the injectors in a reliable place, there are many and they are 50% cheaper than in official dealership, it is my opinion and this is the only thing that has worked for me. Good lucklost in translation!
30th Dec 2017 12:30 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72787
Yep, new injectors sorted my poor starting out. As said ^^^^^ injector balance will show if that is the case.
30th Dec 2017 12:45 pm
ruben D3 Decade
Member Since: 26 Sep 2006
Location: ASTURIAS
Posts: 2384
in my case they were 2, one dripped and another started doing it too, I bought two new SiemensVDO injectors. and that's where the problem ended. D3 manual with 300,000 km.....the initial symptoms were similar to yours, a bad initial cold start and correct, and instant, start the rest of the day.lost in translation!
30th Dec 2017 12:47 pm
ruben D3 Decade
Member Since: 26 Sep 2006
Location: ASTURIAS
Posts: 2384
already to tell everything here, the price was the following: to dismantle, test and assemble the injectors were € 30 per unit, ie € 180 for all ... and the price per injector were € 210 / unit, that is 420 two. About 600 € all work in an imdependent specialist. The car was perfect again, more than a year ago, 30,000 km and a great trip to Ireland from here since then.lost in translation!
30th Dec 2017 12:59 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72787
Mine were a full set of second hand & low miles injectors from Disco_Mikey. They lasted just under a year before engine died, unfortunately couldn't bring them back.
30th Dec 2017 1:07 pm
mallo
Member Since: 10 Feb 2009
Location: Jersey
Posts: 351
Yes I agree 100% criky18 with the other poster it could be injector problems and need diagnosing properly prior to throwing money at it.
Hence my first post with the glow plug testing link, the problem could be the injectors or the glow plugs without proper testing you could do one and not resolve the issue......
good luck
30th Dec 2017 1:07 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72787
Easiest way to rule injectors in/out is balance figs, piece of cake with a widget that does live values. Plus fault codes may say injectors at max or min trim. What is the mileage on the car?
Without glowplug testing, injector live values and fault codes it's a case of throwing money at the the car in the hope you hit the problem first time. Don't forget it could be a combo of both. Peeps often assume an issue is attributable to just one fault, doesn't always work that way.
30th Dec 2017 1:16 pm
ruben D3 Decade
Member Since: 26 Sep 2006
Location: ASTURIAS
Posts: 2384
DSL, that last premise works more for the specialty of internal medicine than for engine mechanics I'm afraid!! lost in translation!
30th Dec 2017 1:31 pm
criky18
Member Since: 19 Feb 2013
Location: Warwickshire
Posts: 30
Thank you. Some really good stuff there. Vehicle has 120k miles so at that age when things fail. Will sit tight for a few more days then ask garage to check injector balance and discuss removal issues.
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