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Diesel mystery

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Trevor Triumph

Jedi Knight
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My wife was driving her Austin taxi home from the Saturday cruise-in. At the end of our drive the car stopped. Lights still work, starter still turns over the engine- fan moves, fuels squirts out when the line to the injectors were loosened. I wonder why it won't run? T.T.
 
Was there some sort of prefire when you shut down? Maybe there's a hole in the intake manifold or intake gasket?
 
Fuel squirting out the injector pipes doesn't necessairly mean there isn't air in the fuel system. A slight air leak in the fuel supply could cause that.
Otherwise low compression can prevent it from running, like a cam timing problem.
 
Thanks, I'll ask Paul the mechanic about that. We put the car on the trailer, hauled it ti the shop,and when Paul turned the key the car started, no problem. This has happened previously- the car quits, take it to the shop and the car behaves properly. Maybe the car is reminding us to drive it more often- engaging in attention getting behavior. Sometimes I think if the car were a kid we would be dealing with Childrens' Protective Service. T.T.
 
I suspect fuel supply, i.e. pump is malfunctioning or air is entering the system. Might want to look upstream and see if any of the hoses are drying and cracking and sucking air.
 
my money is on a bad relay. I've seen relays do exactly what you're saying, they get hot, shut down, and by the time you have it hauled to a shop, it's cooled and jiggled enough to work again.
Did it still have spark? You never mentioned that. It must have Air, fuel , and spark.
 
Might have compression and fuel, but it's a diesel.. So may need glowplug 'lectricity, but shouldn't have to concern himself with "spark".
 
We went to the shop yesterday to drive Hiram, the taxi, home. Drove about eight miles and it stopped again. The temp registered about 175 degrees- about right for the car. Hauled it back to the shop, noticed again the fuel squirts out at the injectors, but also noticed air in the return lines. I left Hiram with Paul again- I won't have time to work on it for two weeks and we want to drive it just before Christmas when the grandchildren are visiting. Wouldn't you know, we were thinking how nice it is to have all the Brit cars running. Oh well, maybe someday...
T.T.
 
RonMacPherson said:
Might have compression and fuel, but it's a diesel.. So may need glowplug 'lectricity, but shouldn't have to concern himself with "spark".
Click to expand...

Clears up th' mystery as to why I ain't had to change th' plugs in Diesela I guess... :smirk: :wink:
 
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