Car won't drive under load.

[Norrie]

Hi Guys, Just signed up a couple of days ago, and got my first problem ...I'm not really clued up on diesels, as this is my first diesel car...having only had two diesel 4x4's before this...all my cars till now have been petrol...

My 2002 HDi 90, had to have a new fuel sender unit fitted,for reasons I'll explain further in this post.... did that this evening..now, for the last few days, it's been running smoothly enough, , BUT, not running at full power, it would start fine, and take me up the motorway to work no problems, just didnt like accelerating...so changed the fuel filter....it was an original Peugeot one, and was pretty dirty. so, replaced it, and immediatley the car wouldnt start,..fuel wasnt getting to the injectors, .thats when we diagnosed the sender unit in the tank being U/S....so, tonight,after fitting the "new" unit, we had to tow it to get it to fire up, which it did, BUT, it ticks over fine, but revs have to be built up slowly by means of "tickling" the throttle.... it wont pull the skin off a rice pudding ...it'll rev to 3000 rpm, but once you let the clutch out, it drops to wayy under 1000 RPM , and to get it to move on even the slightest incline, I need to slip the clutch...it's def off the road for now..

Any thoughts etc??

Thanks in advance guys...

[gumby6371]

Hi mate, sounds like a priming issue to me, is it a siemens or bosch pump? The siemens pump has a priming bulb I believe.

On my old XUD when you primed it you needed to exhaust the air by cracking the union into the pump but not sure of the procedure for the HDI 90.
I'm sure someone with more HDI experience will be along soon.

[madmadmax]

when changing the fuel filter you need to prime the system by turning the ignition to accessory(the notch before start) and whiting till the air bag and abs light go out 3-5 time this bleeds the air out of the system. these are instructions for bleeding the bosh system which you have done by towing it and also never open the injector pipes and there's 10,000 +bar in there that kind of presser will kill

is the engine light on?

is there any smoke if so what color is it

it could just be in need of a service air filter and such

Siemens system have an air sensor in the top of the fuel filter which restricts engine speed

[Doggy]

Tow starting it's not a good idea - if there isn't enough fuel to lubricate the HP pump, you may wreck it and get debris in your injectors.

[Norrie]

Hiya, Thanks for the replies ...

In answer....Theres no lights on the dash, and no smoke at all...

The car has a priming bulb but not sure what system it is, the sender unit is a VDO....if that helps..

It was serviced about 4-5000 miles ago, tho, I think it was only the air and oil filters that were done at the time, ( wasnt me that did that)

How would I check the air sensor...??? Or should I just change it anyway?? if indeed I can. The car aint at the house,its in the garage at my mates farm...


Thanks again guys..

[rwb]

If it has a priming bulb then it's a Siemens system, and there's no low pressure pump in the tank.

That sounds a lot like limp mode, although if so then the EML should be on. Will it rev over 3000rpm?

Any chance you can get PeugeotPlanet on it?

[Doggy]

Norrie, if you add your location someone nearby may be able to help.

Oh, a belated welcome aboard BTW.

[mjb]

Sounds to me like you mis-diagnosed the pump (it just needed priming after you changed the filter, or you could have blocked something or missed the seal when re-assembling the filter housing) and replaced it with something which ain't working right

I'm no expert on diesels though, so take that with a pinch of salt

[jasper5]

If the problem came about after the sender unit was replaced then go back and check everything is alright in there....it's no good looking elsewhere if the problem started after replacing the sender.

If, however, the problem started after the fuel filter was replaced then take off the housing and check that everything is alright in there, especially the sealing of the lid.
Was the filter the correct one? ie, 2 small holes, one each end of the filter?

To bleed the fuel system on a 406 with a primer bulb take off the filter outlet pipe and place your finger over the end and pump the primer bulb letting air out but not back in until diesel floods out when you pump the primer....it's so much easier to bleed these with the car pointing downhill so the diesel flows easily towards the filter.

[madmadmax]

last time i had an air in the filter on a Siemens it would not go above tick over, to fix it i got the fuel tank above the engine i live in a hilly area

when you see the air clear it will smoke white out of the exhaust which will clear once all the air is out

[Norrie]

Hiya, I couldnt get up to the car tonight, had to work on a bit...

Thanks again for the replies, I really do appreciate it.. The car starts and runs, well, it ticks over, but it wont go over 3000 revs..even getting to the 3K revs is hard work. So, I'm not sure about it being in Limp Mode, as it wouldn't limp anywhere..

Their really wasnt a problem, tho, as I say it did run underpowered for a couple of days prior to this problem, thats why I was advised to change the fuel filter, and after changing it, and filling the bowl it wouldnt start. so, checked there was diesel coming from the tank, there was none...so.. I went to the sender unit, there were no noises or "clicking from the unit, so assumed it was U/S, and got another ( 2nd hand) fitted that, and I assume it's fitted properly, took long enough to get the ring onto the thread tho...it still wouldnt start, so, we tow started it, it fired up after about 100yds...THEN the low power started, like I said, it wouldnt pull its own weight on even the slightest uphill incline..

The filter has two little holes either end, and seemed to fit the housing fine..

Can someone tell me what Peugeot Planet is please ??

I'll be back at the car tomorrow after work.. Will try the things you chaps have suggested..

Thanks again, I really do appreciate this...

BTW, I'm in Falkirk, Central Scotland..

[GingerMagic]

Hi Peugeot Planet, or PP2000 is the diagnostic program that reads faults, clears faults and tells you whats going on with the car, via a laptop.

Fuel problem aside, have you taken up the slack in the throttle cable. There is a pin holding the cable in place against the throttle housing - if you gently pull the cable towards the windscreen it may be a bit slack. just slide the pin out and put it back in as close to throttle body as poss when cable is tightened.

[Norrie]

Hiya, A wee update on the car...the brother of the guy where the car is parked up, has a ( as i just found out ) owns a diesel injection engineers facility, so, he came to look at the car, and told me, I wasted my time changing the sender unit, as they hardly ever go wrong...and, that it could take ages to find the problem..seemingly it had started before I changed the filter, with the lower power etc... and on doing the change, i just exasperated the problem.....so, its being towed to his unit in Cumbernauld to go on the computer...then he'll advise from there...

Hopefully that's the problem going to be solved tomorrow...


THANKYOU all so much for the help and advice you all gave...it's really so much appreciated...particularly with me being a brand new member...

[madmadmax]

i will put money on it being a little bit of air right at the top of the filter but hay ho. if you tow it there with the engine running it may just clear its self

[Norrie]

Hi Guys, Final update on the problem, which is now sorted...took it to the "engineers" as i was told to, it wasnt open, BUT, I drove it there, and it seemed to clear somewhat....so, took it to the local garage, he stuck in on the computer, it was the MAF? Filter....got a new one fitted, and it runs better than ever it has...
While it was in, I had new discs, pads and wheel bearings fitted....as the MOT was due, thats been done too...so, now just got to fix the plug "relay" thingy...thats being done tomorrow.

Just in time for our wedding anniversary day out on Sunday...

Just like to thank all the chaps that gave help and advice...what a cracking forum this is...

Cheers lads...