Biodiesel in C5

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the bish
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Biodiesel in C5

Post by the bish »

Hi.

I have a 2007 C5 2 litre diesel automatic.

I was interested in running it on biodiesel and after checking with my usual garage to see if it was ok to run it on this fuel decided to give it a go.

I put 30 litres in last week to try it, I probably had about 10 litres left in the tank, and it seemed to run ok.

Yesterday I filled the tank with 60 litres and this morning driving to work I had real problems with loss of power and the engine cutting out.

Had to nurse the car home at very low speed.

Is this likely to be the fuel filter?

Hopefully it's nothing more serious.
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Post by myglaren »

It is a possibility.

I ran mine on Biodiesel for six months a couple of years ago with no adverse effects.
I bought it from an AquaJet franchise who made the fuel for their own fleet of cars and lorries and I work for a company on the same estate and was able to inspect their process. They were very professional, as one would hope but this unfortunately is not the case with all bio producers.

In the first instance I would change the fuel filter and examine it for contamination. Drain the filter bowl into a clean glass jar and look for very fine metallic particles. If there are any remove the filter bowl and clean it meticulously with petrol and check again before reassembly.

If there are signs of contamination it would be advisable to pull the lift pump/strainer from the tank and examine/clean it.
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Re: Biodiesel in C5

Post by howiedean »

the bish wrote:Hi.

I have a 2007 C5 2 litre diesel automatic.

I was interested in running it on biodiesel and after checking with my usual garage to see if it was ok to run it on this fuel decided to give it a go.

I put 30 litres in last week to try it, I probably had about 10 litres left in the tank, and it seemed to run ok.

Yesterday I filled the tank with 60 litres and this morning driving to work I had real problems with loss of power and the engine cutting out.

Had to nurse the car home at very low speed.

Is this likely to be the fuel filter?

Hopefully it's nothing more serious.

Hi,
Where have you got your bio diesel from as it could be the quality of the fuel?
I would also expect the filter to clog up after many more, rather than 1/2 a tank of bio diesel.
One last thing what was the outside temperature as bio diesel can go very thick in low temperatures?


1. Can you remove the fuel feed pipe to the main fuel pump and confirm fuel pressure, I'm assuming that you have an in tank fuel pump (this will tell you how thick the fuel is and or if the filter is blocked)?

2. I'd try and remove the fuel from your tank and get some diesel running through it 1st and maybe change the fuel filter.

3. Then get the fuel checked from where you have purchased it (possible water contamination)?

4. It is not ideal to be running 100% biodiesel at this time of year, trust me.

Let us know how you get on.....

Howie
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the bish
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Re: Biodiesel in C5

Post by the bish »

howiedean wrote:

Hi,
Where have you got your bio diesel from as it could be the quality of the fuel?
I would also expect the filter to clog up after many more, rather than 1/2 a tank of bio diesel.
One last thing what was the outside temperature as bio diesel can go very thick in low temperatures?


1. Can you remove the fuel feed pipe to the main fuel pump and confirm fuel pressure, I'm assuming that you have an in tank fuel pump (this will tell you how thick the fuel is and or if the filter is blocked)?

2. I'd try and remove the fuel from your tank and get some diesel running through it 1st and maybe change the fuel filter.

3. Then get the fuel checked from where you have purchased it (possible water contamination)?

4. It is not ideal to be running 100% biodiesel at this time of year, trust me.

Let us know how you get on.....

Howie
I bought the biodiesel here.
http://www.applefuels.co.uk/

The temperature was around -1 but I'd been running the previous mix down to around -7 with no problems.

For a quick fix would draining three or four gallons from the tank and topping up with regular diesel be likely to remedy the situation? Perhaps in conjunction with a filter change as the car's done around 36,000 miles and I assume it's the original that's still in place.

At least nobody seems to be suggesting I've done any serious damage, which hopefully is the case

I can't do anything tomorrow, so I'll probably give my garage a call on Monday morning.

Thanks both of you for taking the time to reply.
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Post by DickieG »

If the fuel filter has been on there for 36k miles then I'd certainly change that as a starter, I imagine most investigations will point there as a starting point and as filters are relatively cheap its got to worth trying.

Diluting the biodiesel may help, again a cheap one to try so why not, apart from the hassle factor.
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Re: Biodiesel in C5

Post by timborob »

the bish wrote:Hi.

I have a 2007 C5 2 litre diesel automatic.

I was interested in running it on biodiesel and after checking with my usual garage to see if it was ok to run it on this fuel decided to give it a go.

I put 30 litres in last week to try it, I probably had about 10 litres left in the tank, and it seemed to run ok.

Yesterday I filled the tank with 60 litres and this morning driving to work I had real problems with loss of power and the engine cutting out.

Had to nurse the car home at very low speed.

Is this likely to be the fuel filter?

Hopefully it's nothing more serious.
Hi

I had read you have to be careful on the type of biodiesel you use in the C5 due to its pump type and injectors so please do be careful and get as much advice as possible

Here's some info to read through :

http://www.dieselbob.co.uk/vegetable.asp

Regards
Tim
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Biodiesel

Post by timborob »

Hi again

Ahh, I found an official biodiesel site
that mentions the problem DickieG highlighted on changing your fuel filter

Have a read here :

http://www.uptownoil.co.uk/biodiesel_FAQ.html

Regards
Tim
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the bish
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Post by the bish »

Thanks for that info Tim.
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Post by the bish »

Got things sorted out this morning.

Phoned my regular garage and they reckoned it was probably temperature/viscosity related or perhaps the fuel filter.

As the car was staring and running all be it a little roughly I ran it in my driveway for an hour or so to drop the fuel level a little.

Tried a run around the block, and as it was driving not too badly headed to the local Tesco and managed to get 10 litres into the tank which improved things further.

I then took it over to the garage and left it with them for an hour to change the filter, which it turned out was absolutely filthy, I reckon it must be the original one - I've only had the car a couple of months.

It's running like a dream again

The car's not due a sevice for another 6,500 miles so I think I'll try running it on a 50/50 mix until then and see how the filter looks by that time, -or would others advise a different percentage mixture?

Thanks again to all who have taken the time to reply to my thread.
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Post by howiedean »

the bish wrote:Got things sorted out this morning.

Phoned my regular garage and they reckoned it was probably temperature/viscosity related or perhaps the fuel filter.

As the car was staring and running all be it a little roughly I ran it in my driveway for an hour or so to drop the fuel level a little.

Tried a run around the block, and as it was driving not too badly headed to the local Tesco and managed to get 10 litres into the tank which improved things further.

I then took it over to the garage and left it with them for an hour to change the filter, which it turned out was absolutely filthy, I reckon it must be the original one - I've only had the car a couple of months.

It's running like a dream again

The car's not due a sevice for another 6,500 miles so I think I'll try running it on a 50/50 mix until then and see how the filter looks by that time, -or would others advise a different percentage mixture?

Thanks again to all who have taken the time to reply to my thread.
Big relief then!
I'd see how you get on and expect to change the filter again as you have just gone on to bio diesel. A few of the people I know including my bio diesel producers always add diesel in the winter, it is more protection of the fuel pump rather than anything else.
I've been adding 25 - 30 litres to a 60 litre tank, although with the -5 temperatures went to diesel only. I'm sure that lots of people will have different opinions, you will have to make your own mind up!
Roll on summer diesel is too expensive to use now. :wink:


Regards

Howie
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Post by Citroenmad »

Your brave!

Id never attempt running my C5 on biodiesel, have you enquired to Citroen as to if its a wise thing to do with your particular engine? I doubt you local mechanic will not have the knowledge to say yes or no, id want to know from the manufacturer.

HDis use extremely high pressure injectors, i think the 16v even more so. A few owners have reported injectors failing, using diesel, id not risk them further by running biodiesel.

Mind im fussy with fuel, I only every use Shell or BP, nothing else.

Id be careful, or you could end up with a big bill. Saying that, it might run on it fine, but for the advantages you gain the risk is too great for me to try it.
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Post by steelcityuk »

I used to run my C5 on bio sometimes. Never had a problem with the C5 but the 2.5 XM ended up with a partially blocked strainer and filter housing full of 'jelly'. If the bio is made correctly it should lubricate the fuel system better than current low sulphur diesel but it's a big if!

Steve.
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