406 2.0HDI STILL A NON RUNNER

[womble171]

Hi all, as most of you will know i have been having a nightmare of a time with my 1999 V 406 110hdi.

BRIEF HISTORY: P2030 and P1138 codes which you have all helped me with, unfortunately we still have a non runner. It was narrowed down to a faulty engine loom, fuel pressure regulator or HP pump. Thanks to a friend i now have all three of them components off a working and he also tested my ECU/BSI on his car to see if it was ok which he says it was car but mine still wont start!!!!
There were a load of codes stored in ECU/BSI when i got it back so i cleared them with Planet tried the car again but still no go! I scanned the car again and the only fault that showed up was with the multifunction dispay, +ve feed or something similar??
I did notice that after my ignition had been on for about a minute or so that fuel guage seemed to lose power. I tried running actuator tests on instrument panel but nothing responded. I turned ignition on an off again and my dials worked...for about a minute then dropped out again, once again not responding to any actuator tests...
Non of my original fault codes have returned with the new HP pump and loom on but i am still not getting any bulge of the filter housing when i turn ignition on even though the in tank pump seems to be doing its job???
Could this be electrical from the fuse box to the bsi, especially the way the dials keep dropping out??
Car now in economy mode so battery is back on charge as dont wanna risk jumpleads.

I dont want the car to win but this is looking more and more like a losing battle

[lozz]

Gauges couid be acting weird because of low volts in the Battery,
try it with a fully charged battery,

do you hear a click from the Hp pump when you put ign on?
couid be the hp pump aint getting a feed ? (to the stop solenoid perhaps)

The Fuel filter housing you swaped over is it identicle to the original?

[womble171]

Not checked for the click to be honest.
I was assured that these came from a working car??

I think they were the same, if anything the 2 pipes on the bottom where looped where as mine go to by the thermostat, I think??

Is the filter head not bulging an indication of what the problem might be as if I am not getting pressure to bulge the filter then surely I won't have enough pressure to start the car??
But wouldn't I get a fault code of planet???

[womble171]

Well I had the battery on charge last night so been testing again this morning.
Battery is reading 12.83V and drops down to 10.26 when cranking, although it does seem to crank over quite slow and I am still getting economy mode on dashboard.
My instrument cluster seemed to be acting strange this morning...fuel guage seems to be bouncing and low fuel light flashing? Also my display seems to have gone out? My instrument cluster still seems to drop out after a minute or so as well???

Cam and crank are in sync when turning car over, see screenshot.
I have a ECU/BSI set of another car but i think its a 90bhp, would it start with that if i swapped them over just to see, although my friend who tested mine says my ECU/BSI checks out???
No fault codes showing on ECU but showing on BSI? Also, I cant get into BSI by global test, have to get into it by using test by ecu? Dont know if that is anything but thought i would mention it just in case??? Surely planet would pick something up as before i changed the pump and engine loom it was picking the P0230 code up?
Any help really appreciated....

[Doggy]

Sorry to hear the HP pump didn't sort it.

You've definitely got no measured fuel rail pressure and the lack of filter 'bulge' still points to a lift pump issue.
Maybe the lift pump's OK, but the fuel's all going straight back down the return pipe for some reason?
No idea how to, but could you briefly block the return pipe to prove a point?
Or have you tried for fuel at the pipe going onto the HP pump?

The only normal way to cancel economy mode is to start the engine.

Not finding an ecu or two during a global test isn't unusual, so long as you can find it somehow, it shouldn't matter.

The odd guage behaviour and intermittent engine ecu /bsi comms problem may just be battery related, (my battery's clinging to life by a thread, cold morning starts are frequently accompanied by auto headlights re-enabling/stereo on at high volume/service indictor distance changes / oil level disappears / fuel gauge reads zero briefly / etc. etc).

[womble171]

Thanks Doggy, this really is killin me now!!!
I will try an block the return off tomorrow, maybe puttiing a kinked piece of hose over the return going back to the tank and taping it on will do the trick?
I changed the common rail today and i am definately getting fuel through all four injector outlets. My cousin has a injector pressure pump tester and we tried connecting that straight to the rail to see if we could build any pressure up at the filter but we used about 300ml of diesel and stilll no pressure?? Dont know where the diesel went either????

I just uploaded a clip to youtube of instrument cluster losing power as i dont know if its an electrical fault anywhere as i can run actuator tests on dials up to the point where they drop out, no tests work after that though?
I swapped the filter housing back to my original one as i was getting nowhere with anything else so thought i might as well try.
Surely someone else out there must have had the problem of the filter head not bulging, even if it is an indication of another problem?

http://youtu.be/6rM64uRuCoY
Is there a relay or something anywhere that controls it as i tried it about ten times and it always drops out after 60 seconds?

Do you guys think this is mechanical or is it looking more electrical???

I am happy to pay any of you guys for your time if you can guide me through this or at least point me in the right direction

[Captain Jack]

Huh.. that's weird. Did you check the multi-connector under the carpet? These have a tendency of getting wet, causing these sorts of issues. Not sure if it would prevent the car from starting though...

[madmadmax]

the intermittent fault with the bsi may also be due to low bat voltage, so charge the battery and check the battery then clear the code and see if it comes back and if it dose then get the tool for removing the pins from the plug and rewire the thing.

be for you start rewiring thing do the wiggle test basically wiggle all the electrical plugs and cables whilst trying to start it this may bridge the gap in the wiring and pin it down abit

[womble171]

I think the problem with the display and dials dropping out is down to something loose in the blue connector on the BSI. I gave it a wiggle an my dials an display came back on.

I borrowed some pennies and went an got a new battery, cleared all stored codes and ran planet again and it showed up no fault codes.....moment of truth........and still no start???

I done an actuator test on the pressure reg an it seems a bit lame? Done same test on my brothers car an you could hear the fuel squirting in with what sounded like some force but nothin like that on mine??

What the **** is stopping this car from starting??
Anyone got a compression tester I can borrow.....but then again, it ran for a few secs with easy start. Would it do that if I was not getting compression???!

Brand new battery for sale

[madmadmax]

if it ran with easy start then compression is fine just need to get it fueling, have you checked the immobilizer is disarming when the key is in the ignition pp2000 can tell you it's just finding the right menu

i would recommend getting or making the tool for removing the pins from the blue socket the tool is pricey

http://www.lasertools.co.uk/item.aspx?cat=524&item=3785

p.s. how much for the battery

[steve_earwig]

Cheaper on the bay... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Terminal-Tool ... 484f73a7a0

My dad's good on pulling connectors to bits, I usually mangle them

(Can't add much to help, although it looks to me like the lack of communication thing must be real)

[womble171]

Well guys here is my latest update.....SHE IS NOW RUNNING AGAIN

The new battery I put on was still turning slow so I tried it with a tow start which a friend suggested. Got about 50yrds down the road but nothing. Gave it one last go an she slowly purred into life...bellowing all kinds of smoke out the back end!!!!!! Had her running for about 20 mins now and smoke seems to have cleared up a lot. The fuel filter is bulging again now also. Never did get to the bottom of that one but I am sure it must be related to the non starting??

I dont think my fan is working though as the car is sitting at just over 90, anyone know what temp the fan kicks in or can i check that in planet???

Once again, THANK YOU ALL for helping me out here and putting up with me, i know i have been a complete pain in the arse!!! If anyone wants any beer tokens sending then just give me a shout

I am more than happy to help anyone else where i can like you guys have helped me!!!!

Bottom line on my problem was either the hp pump(not the regulator though as i tried 3 of them) or the engine bay wiring loom.
I am never going to know which one though as i changed them both at the same time

Thanks again Guys,
Neil...(working 406 owner)

[lozz]

Excellent news mate,

Temp shouid sit at 90.

Leave it alone now its running lol,

[womble171]

If it ain't broke then don't fix it!!! Well maybe just tinker a little

It will be nice to see what all them other functions in planet do that need the car running

Can the radiator cooling an be tested with planet? Was a little concerned that the radiator was steaming a bit??

[lozz]

Rad might steam abeit if its not been run in a while,

Seriously leave it alone, lol,
Take it on abit of a run and see how it goes,

You won't hear the rad fan cut in there quiet normaly,
On the 406s I've had I've never heard the fans cut in,

Just keep your eye on the temp,
Good luck,