406 HDI Diesel fuel cut off solenoid

[Meldrew]

My '99 1.9 HDI will crank over but not start, and no fuel is getting to injectors.
There must be a fuel on / off solenoid somewhere that starts and stops the engine by switching fuel on or off to fuel hp pump. which could have failed in the off position.

Anyone had this problem, or know where the solenoid is situated as I am desperate to fix it as I work 45 miles away and need it badly,

[puggy]

lift pump in the fuel tank ????

[steve_earwig]

1.9HDi? Bit of an identity crisis

[Meldrew]

Sorry its a 2.0l HDI, probably cheaper to scrap it if i cannot find out where the fuel solenoid is.

what stops a diesel engine when the key is turned off?

[Doggy]

Hi Meldrew

HDi's are common rail diesel engines - there is no cut off solenoid. The injectors are electronic, so to stop the engine the ecu just stops triggering them.

When you say no fuel is reaching the injectors, have you undone a pipe? This is potentially dangerous - the injection pressure is up to 1350 Bar, or about 100 times as much as a mechanical injection diesel!

The most common fault of this kind is the in-tank lift pump failing - this supplies fuel at low pressure to the engine driven HP pump via the filter. You should hear the pump run for 4-5 seconds when you turn the ignition on. If it's not working, sometimes bashing the tank will get it going again short term.

[Meldrew]

Thanks Dogslife, I think you have cracked it, I have taken the fuel pipes off the fuel filter ,
turned on the ignition, no fuel is being pumped out.
Then I took the rubber cover off from over the tank lift pump, tried again but no noise from the pump.
I then pulled the electrical connector off the pump and checked the two thicker grey and yellow wires with a voltmeter, shows 12v for about 10seconds then drops down to 4v, very confusing.
The other two finer orange and mauve wires to the unit I beleive are for the fuel gauge, but the mauve one shows a constant 12v with ignition on or off, but gauge works fine.
I am thinking of running a live 12v feed direct from the battery to see if the pump runs, and to eliminate the possibility of a poor feed to the pump.
Can anyone throw any light on the above or suggest any other procedure?

[Doggy]

No, that sounds about right. The pump should run briefly, then stop.

No harm using a permanent feed to prove a point, but usually it's the pump. Found one on GSF recently for £65 ish + VAT - that's about as good as it gets, I'm afraid.

[pfusi1]

You're having the exact same trouble as I'm having. I'm almost certain mine's the pump.

I also came across the pump at gsf which is a cracking price. I'm going to swap the pump over and fuel filter over (sorry, not changing the whole housing, just the element).

Think I might change the oil while I'm at it, I always feel much happier with nice clean oil and a new filter. Got some proper peugeot oil filters off ebay, 2 for £4, delivered - best bargain ever!

Then its on to the exciting world of belts and pulleys.

[Meldrew]

Before I checked wiring to pump I turned ignition on and tapped the pump with a hammer, after 4 sharp taps away it went , and the car started.

I then removed the pump from the tank, struggled a bit undoing the ring as it was very tight, and rang around breakers and got a pump off a 52,000 mile car with a guarantee, and everything is now back to normal.

Thanks for the advice given, its appreciated.