HDI Cutting out.

XantiaJon · Post by **XantiaJon** » 03 Jul 2006, 10:49

My Xantia HDI, cuts out. The check engine light comes on. You coast to the side of the road then after a couple of goes it will restart and run perfectly.
This seem to happen every 400 or so miles. Any idea's?
My first thought was the low pressure pump, but I fitted a clear fuel filter before the high pressure pump & it appears to contain fuel when it happens .
I've done 10,000 miles since april.

Any ideas at what to look for?

alan s · Post by **alan s** » 03 Jul 2006, 10:56

When it comes to diesels, my experience is such that I can almost write it on the back of a postage stamp, but I did have a Mazda E2200 (Perkins diesel clone) which I used for work for around 500K klms and the only problem I ever had was exactly as you described.
After having all the "experts" suggest everything from glow plugs to injectords to engine rebuilds, I eventually found a wire that went to the cut out solenoid was internally broken and if the van hit a bump it would stop. I would lift the seat, pump the air out of the system (I thought) and it would start again; sometimes just sitting on the side of the road for a couple of minutes did the trick, so I'd suggest checking the wire particularly either where it is connected to a spade terminal or (as in my case) where it branches off the harness for internal breaks often shown as kinked sections of the wire.

Alan S

Post by **RichardW** » 03 Jul 2006, 12:18

Unfortunately the HDi is a lot more sophisticated than the Mazda. There's no stop solenoid - only the ECU decides when to stop the engine. It does sound like the LP pump - although I have recently learnt that not all systems have them

You wouldn't see any air necessarily, just that the low side pressure drops and the engine cuts out. Mostly no fault codes stored. Does the light come on before the engine stops, or after? If before then a code should be stored. If after, then it's just the normal state of affairs when the ign is on and engine not running.

The fuel pressure sensor on the common rail is another failure point.

Does it happen only when the fuel is low? This might also point to the LP pump, as with low fuel it can get quite hot, which may be upsetting the pump.

Good news now is that the pump is available on its own, costing <£100 rather than a total unit costing nearly £300!

XantiaJon · Post by **XantiaJon** » 03 Jul 2006, 12:29

Thanks Richard, I guess i'm going to have to get the fault codes read. The light does come on just before the engine stops. To start with I thought it was due to low fuel, but not so sure now.

XantiaJon · Post by **XantiaJon** » 06 Jul 2006, 15:29

I've done 600 miles since the last time it cut out, what i'm going to try is keepring the tank above half full, as it does seem related to Lower fuel levels & Higher temperatures. Has any body else experienced problems in these 2 conditions. The car runs great the rest of the time & returning nearly 50 to the Gallon.

Bobby0026 · Post by **Bobby0026** » 07 Aug 2006, 12:06

Hi, I had the exact same problem with my 2001 xantia 110bhp, I first changed the fuel pump (cost me nearly £200) in the tank which made little or no difference (i still have my old one as a spare if anyone wants to purchase it for a sensible price as i think it works fine). Like you my engine light came on a few months down the line, the dealers were asking for £70 just to give me a reading of my fault codes, so I purchased a usb cable from ebay which connects to the obd port of the car which told me that the fuel pressure sensor on the common rail was faulty as Richard has already mentioned. This part is very expensive (£150 from dealer), so I was lucky to find one in a scrap yard. I have not had any problems since I replaced the sensor!!

PS: I have tried resetting the engine light with scantool but with no luck, is there any obd software out there which resets the engine light on a xantia hdi??

derekrumble · Post by **derekrumble** » 07 Aug 2006, 13:36

Hi - I had the same problem with my Xsara HDi. Called out RAC who intitially diagnosed a faulty sender unit to the fuel pump. Had this changed but problem remained. called RAC again, who I told the story so far to - so he looked further and found that a multiplug needed taking apart and cleaning; it was giving a poor connection to the fuel pump.

He cleaned it and all was well for 18 months or so - the problem has re-emerged so all should have to do is clean the multiplug again. Except that I dont know how to get it apart!

D.

Bobby0026 · Post by **Bobby0026** » 07 Aug 2006, 15:51

Hi,
There is an orange multiplug next to my ECU, unplugging that and replugging it used to temporally fix the problem. Like I said, I suggest you check the fuel pressure sensor.
Regards,
Bobby

derekrumble · Post by **derekrumble** » 07 Aug 2006, 15:57

yes, but HOW do you get the orange multiplug apart? That was actually the serious part of my posting and if you have a moment then let me know perhaps. Really would be grateful.

Cheers.

Bobby0026 · Post by **Bobby0026** » 07 Aug 2006, 16:45

The Orange connector on my car has a brown clip below it which slides sideways to unlock.
Hope this helps.
Bobby

XantiaJon · Post by **XantiaJon** » 08 Aug 2006, 13:22

No replies for ages, then loads!!! I've avoided running the fuel tanl below quarter a tank, this seemed to fix the problem, until the other morning the light came on & went into low limp home mode, I fiddled with the fuel pressure sensor then it went normally again! I was thinking of replacing the sensor, just wondering how you get it out as it seems to in such an awkward position!

Bobby0026 · Post by **Bobby0026** » 08 Aug 2006, 13:50

I managed to get an open ended spanner to mine, make sure you take the wire plug off first...

XantiaJon · Post by **XantiaJon** » 08 Aug 2006, 14:02

I'll give it a try, just getting the plug off was a very tight fit.