A tale of woe

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isisalar
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A tale of woe

Post by isisalar »

The wife today put about 6 litres of petrol in her almost empty 1.4 diesel 106(could be a Saxo), unsurprisingly it came to a halt about 100 yards from the garage.
I disconnected the fuel line and emptied the tank with the bulb, put in 6litres of diesel and armed with some easystart tried to start the car,it nearly caught but then the battery died. Connected jump leads to my HDI and couldn't get anything out of the starter motor on the 106, red lights on and one going out in start position but no clicks or anything.
First course of action will be to try a better set of leads, however on returning to the HDI it wouldn't start! A feeling of dread came over me as so far it's never missed a beat. It did start after a few attempts accompanied by some sort of countdown on the speakers and Mrs Trafficmaster nagging me about the subscription, the seat belt warning light was also on errantly on the one mile journey home. A restart has cleared that .
It sounds like it's not a good idea to jump from the Hdi? Could I have damaged something?
On the 106 could I have blown a fuse to the starter or something?
I salvaged the good battery from my old TD, if it fits would it do any harm to put it in the 106. 55Ah, the 106 is 45Ah, I think?
While the 106 was still turning over there were some loud knocks from the engine which I assume was the easystart igniting, have I done something terrible? Should I put in more diesel before attempting another start?
Your wisdom will be gratefully received as always.
Kind regards
Paul
J reg 1.9d auto BX first Citroen
M reg 1.9d auto Xantia lx
N reg 1.9 td Xantia VSX Estate
T reg 2.0HDI Xantia Exclusive Estate Present car
M reg 106 diesel red
L reg 106 diesel white
02 Saxo 1.1i desire wife's present car(sadly now very ill cambelt gone- Doh)
citronut
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Re: A tale of woe

Post by citronut »

first thing i would do is fit a new fuel filter and in the process empty the filter housing of contaminated fuel,

the TD battery will be ok if it fits the battery carrier,

you might find the 106 starter is on its way out and complaining with all the cranking over,
try pulling the spade connector on the solenoid on and off a couple of times to improve a possible bad connection there,
Regards, malcolm.

current ride a BX 1.7 TZD estate
1986 MK1 BX 1.9na D Auto(in Mothman Andy's stable )
layed up roppy 1.9TD XANT estate, now gone to meet her maker
purple and lilac metalic 2CV(VIOLET)registered to her in doors
1972 DS special been layed up aprox 31 years
Bick
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Re: A tale of woe

Post by Bick »

o dear :shock:

1) the easy start is a last resort on a diesel with glow plugs as it blows the ends off them! no telling until battery sorted

2) you need to put more diesel in about 5 gallon

3) sounds like flat battery and poor jump leads - charge or replace battery

4) never jump a moden car unless last resort and dont jump anyone else from yours strange things can happen including permenent damage :shock:

5)HDI systems if it has that system do not like neat petrol the older dps pums were more tollerent - it may have buggerd things up big time!


sorry to be so negative :(

get a good battery on it and put 5 gallon of diesel in (dont foget to get the petrol out of the fuel filer!) and give it a go you may be okay

good luck
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Re: A tale of woe

Post by JohnD »

Trafficmaster speaks up when you try to start an HDI with a flat battery.
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isisalar
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Re: A tale of woe

Post by isisalar »

Thanks for the prompt replies. Luckily not an HDI I don't think they were even invented when it was built. It's an L reg and it's now on death row.
Needs a cambelt, mot, tax, soon and a few minor electrical repairs. Can buy A.N. other with all those things in place for not much more than than they'll cost.
I'll stick the td's battery on tomorrow and see how we go. Would I not have emptied the filter by now?
Why do these things always happen at the worst possible time.
Kind regards
Paul
J reg 1.9d auto BX first Citroen
M reg 1.9d auto Xantia lx
N reg 1.9 td Xantia VSX Estate
T reg 2.0HDI Xantia Exclusive Estate Present car
M reg 106 diesel red
L reg 106 diesel white
02 Saxo 1.1i desire wife's present car(sadly now very ill cambelt gone- Doh)
Bick
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Re: A tale of woe

Post by Bick »

'Why do these things always happen at the worst possible time.'

Life lol

you should have flushed the filter with the primer yes.

if its old style dps pump you should be ok but i suspect glow plugs will need replacing at the least - gsf do a burg plug at a very good price - dont be tempt to put cheap plus in.
isisalar
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Re: A tale of woe

Post by isisalar »

Sounds like I should be putting the td battery on the Hdi.
Next stop Autotrader.
J reg 1.9d auto BX first Citroen
M reg 1.9d auto Xantia lx
N reg 1.9 td Xantia VSX Estate
T reg 2.0HDI Xantia Exclusive Estate Present car
M reg 106 diesel red
L reg 106 diesel white
02 Saxo 1.1i desire wife's present car(sadly now very ill cambelt gone- Doh)
citronut
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Re: A tale of woe

Post by citronut »

pm sent

regards malcolm
Regards, malcolm.

current ride a BX 1.7 TZD estate
1986 MK1 BX 1.9na D Auto(in Mothman Andy's stable )
layed up roppy 1.9TD XANT estate, now gone to meet her maker
purple and lilac metalic 2CV(VIOLET)registered to her in doors
1972 DS special been layed up aprox 31 years
isisalar
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Re: A tale of woe

Post by isisalar »

Just been out in the HDI and the seat belt light I mentioned earlier has returned and on closer inspection I think it's a side airbag warning light, Mrs trafficmaster keeps on as well so it would seem I have at the very least a failing battery. I new it was 4yrs old from the service history which is why i kept the td's one which is quite young.
I believe this is an mot failure so I'm not best pleased.
I've read that failing batteries can cause these sort of problems?
Is this something that can be sorted out with a Lexia?
Kind regards
Paul
J reg 1.9d auto BX first Citroen
M reg 1.9d auto Xantia lx
N reg 1.9 td Xantia VSX Estate
T reg 2.0HDI Xantia Exclusive Estate Present car
M reg 106 diesel red
L reg 106 diesel white
02 Saxo 1.1i desire wife's present car(sadly now very ill cambelt gone- Doh)
evilally
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Re: A tale of woe

Post by evilally »

1.4, not the 1.5? Either way it's a fairly crude IDI engine and a little bit of petrol won't hurt it. I would brim the tank with diesel, that should give you about a 15% or so concentration of petrol which really won't be a problem. Draining the filter housing and filling it with fresh diesel will probably make life a bit easier.
'96 405 1.6 GLX with 306 GTI engine on Cat cams @ 195bhp

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Northern_Mike

Re: A tale of woe

Post by Northern_Mike »

isisalar wrote:The wife today put about 6 litres of petrol in her almost empty 1.4 diesel 106(could be a Saxo), unsurprisingly it came to a halt about 100 yards from the garage.
I disconnected the fuel line and emptied the tank with the bulb, put in 6litres of diesel
Done this myself with an old 306 1.9 diesel. Drain filter, fill it with diesel if you have a small can, put a bit more diesel in the tank it just to make sure it's a decent percentage of diesel > Petrol. £20 should be ok. Make sure battery and glow plugs are fine and it should start and run with no ill effects. Drive it around a bit, then put some more diesel in it. These engines will run off anything that burns really, apart from neat petrol :)

I jump started many times from the HDi, never did it any harm as far as I know. It's still running...
citronut
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Re: A tale of woe

Post by citronut »

with the HDI i would make sure it has a good/charged battery then get the fault cleared with a DIS LEXIA,
Regards, malcolm.

current ride a BX 1.7 TZD estate
1986 MK1 BX 1.9na D Auto(in Mothman Andy's stable )
layed up roppy 1.9TD XANT estate, now gone to meet her maker
purple and lilac metalic 2CV(VIOLET)registered to her in doors
1972 DS special been layed up aprox 31 years
isisalar
Posts: 662
Joined: 27 Apr 2008, 14:16
Location: london UK
My Cars:
x 3

Re: A tale of woe

Post by isisalar »

Just off to get a set of glowplugs and change the battery on the 106. The fuel filter is a screw on type which gave me problems re starting last time I serviced it.I don't think it's possible to fill it completley. A kind AA man was in the shop and said to start it I would need something like easystart to get the engine turning enough to drag the fuel through because it's not a self bleeding system. In fact he gave me some brake cleaner which did do the trick.
Can someone please explain the correct procedure before I do any more damage.
I really don't want to change the filter if it can be avoided surely the petrols out of it by now.
When I get the glow plugs out should I leave it a while for any petrol or easystart to evaporate?
Any tips how to avoid freezing feet and hands working in this weather, 2 degrees presently.
Wish me luck
Kind regards
Paul
J reg 1.9d auto BX first Citroen
M reg 1.9d auto Xantia lx
N reg 1.9 td Xantia VSX Estate
T reg 2.0HDI Xantia Exclusive Estate Present car
M reg 106 diesel red
L reg 106 diesel white
02 Saxo 1.1i desire wife's present car(sadly now very ill cambelt gone- Doh)
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Xaccers
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Re: A tale of woe

Post by Xaccers »

Could it be that the starter has locked up and needs rocking in gear just to free it?
Had that once with an old Cavalier with a flat battery.
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isisalar
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Re: A tale of woe

Post by isisalar »

Well that was a fun day NOT.
Please bear in mind I don't have as many car tools as I'd like and it was so cold I couldn't feel my hands or feet.
Removed glow plugs no problem all intact, removing the rusted up battery clamp was a bit of a nightmare as the 1/2" ratchet extension piece has gone walkies and I had to work with 2 spanners. Searched in my work toolkit and found a 13mm long box spanner, perfect. The fuel filter was now looking temptingly accessible so I decided to go for it. Went and bought the plugs, filter and a strap wrench the journey at least warming my feet up enough to feel them again.
The strap wrench wouldn't shift the filter at all it seemed to be welded on. Only one option screwdriver through the filter, the filter started to tear and still wouldn't budge, another go with the screwdriver, more tearing and no movement. I then realised that either the screwdriver or the now very ragged looking filter had punctured a rubber coolant pipe. The puncture is just above the factory spring clip which looks a bit difficult to reach. I wasn't unduly worried as a plumbers merchant is over the road and an amalgum tape repair would be fine I'm sure.
Scratching my head as to what to do next saw me looking at the work tools again and I selected my weapon, the 3ft gorrilla bar. Managed to drive it into what remained of the filter and it did shift a fraction before disintegrating almost completely. Encouraged by this I now raided the work tools again and after at least an hour with the bolster chisel and club hammer on the top lip of the filter, a la spheres, it was finally off. Went over to the plumbers merchant and they'd run out of tape, it was getting dark so called it a day. Round 2 tomorrow.
I believe those factory spring clips can be remove quite easily by cutting them off in some way can someone please explain?
Kind regards
Paul
J reg 1.9d auto BX first Citroen
M reg 1.9d auto Xantia lx
N reg 1.9 td Xantia VSX Estate
T reg 2.0HDI Xantia Exclusive Estate Present car
M reg 106 diesel red
L reg 106 diesel white
02 Saxo 1.1i desire wife's present car(sadly now very ill cambelt gone- Doh)
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