Dr Gneil Pipely Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 We have a 2003 Defender 90 Td5 in Africa. The driver suspects the fuel pump has failed. These are the symptoms: 1 - "Check engine" warning light on dashboard; 2 - Vehicle will only idle, dies if you apply some revs; 3 - The fuel filter is very hot to the touch (but has been replaced as a first step); 4 - Oh, and the fuel pump's been making some funny noises for a while... The driver (competent mechanic, but little direct LR experience) is currently sat reading the Workshop Manual's Fuel System section! Does anybody think that it is not the fuel pump before we send one out? Any advice gratefully received. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JST Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 fuel filter being hot is characteristic of the the td5 engine does it die to stall or die to tickover with revs? fuel pumps do whine a fair bit and can be a sign they are on their way out. Has the vehicle been run dry at any point - or run with low fuel level that leads to the pump overheating and then failing. i did think that if the pump was knackered it didn't run at all. Does he get a HP feed at the fuel pump regulator? fuel filter side of engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicTheOrange90 Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 why not send him a nanocom from bearmach, at around £200 they can help him diagnose problems and you can either look up the fault code or if he has a laptop he can get an idea himself ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 Noisy fuel pumps which suddenly aren't noisy any more are usually dead ones. However it doesn't usually trigger a check engine light if my memory is correct. Check engine lights/no throttle have been known to be dodgy ECU's. The best thing to do is plumb in a pressure gauge to the RH rear corner of the engine, where the fuel temperature sensor is located (take out the temp sensor and screw in an appropriate adaptor). This should read 58psi with the ignition on, if it doesn't then the pump is probably knackered. If the pump is producing the right pressure, then I'd try a new ECU next, but you need a computer to program the security code and injector grades which could be a problem in the middle of Africa... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gneil Pipely Posted November 30, 2007 Author Share Posted November 30, 2007 Jungle Update: It runs fine for about a mile when started. Then if at speed starts to fail when you apply throttle but letting off throttle brings the engine back to life. When at low speed the check engine light comes on and the throttle will not work. It doesn't die just sits happily at idle. Turning off the ignition resets it and will be ok till we get to maybe half throttle then light on and no throttle again. It has never been run dry but fuel is notoriously dirty out here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJIbex Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 Jungle Update:It runs fine for about a mile when started. Then if at speed starts to fail when you apply throttle but letting off throttle brings the engine back to life. When at low speed the check engine light comes on and the throttle will not work. It doesn't die just sits happily at idle. Turning off the ignition resets it and will be ok till we get to maybe half throttle then light on and no throttle again. It has never been run dry but fuel is notoriously dirty out here. Could be a dodgy throttle potentiometer! Had them work fine on light throttle but go "out of range" at higher throttle and engine light comes on and into limp home. Will re-set with ignition cycle only to fail again when throttle passes a certain point. Mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel_90 Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 have herd of a fault like this before on a td5, it would stall when you were falt out, turns out it was something to do with the hi/lo box switch. ive read on another forum that this switch has a effect on power? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 I think that the hi/low switch is do with throttle mapping rather than power. Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosworth Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 thrpttle potentiometer or pump. same thinking here. they are both common faults on the defenders. iirc there is a choice of 2 throttle potentiometers. a 2 track or 3 track (can`t be certain at the mo as my head hurts!) make sure you get the correct one. it will have to be fitted using t4 though. fuel pump is a right royal pain in the arse to do. probably the most common of faults on the defender. something a bit obvious but is there water in the tank perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirstybeast Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 Hi has the mechanic checked the air filter, I saw one last summer with very simmilar symptoms in dusty conditions. All it needed was a new filter because of the locatoin of the intake so close to the front wheel(my V8 had no trouble in the same dust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimAttrill Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 In dusty conditions the air filter will block and then get sucked into the intake allowing unfiltered air through. They don't last 20k kms so check them regularly. I would check the fuel pressure as Steve says. Unfortunately a computer doesn't help as the ECU has no idea what the fuel pressure is. So you have to act like a real mechanic for a change. If you are in the middle of Africa.... get a Tdi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gneil Pipely Posted December 2, 2007 Author Share Posted December 2, 2007 Thanks to everyone for their contributions. The vehicle is going to get some workshop time this week, to see if the fault can be traced. As it happens, won't be such a bad thing if it needs parts replacing - the driver's coming home for Christmas soon, so can take anything needed back with him. And it it doesn't work whilst he's away, nobody can "borrow" it, can they?! Will let the forum know what it turns out to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porny Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 Thanks to everyone for their contributions.The vehicle is going to get some workshop time this week, to see if the fault can be traced. As it happens, won't be such a bad thing if it needs parts replacing - the driver's coming home for Christmas soon, so can take anything needed back with him. And it it doesn't work whilst he's away, nobody can "borrow" it, can they?! Will let the forum know what it turns out to be. The other thing that can cause similar faults is a faulty ECU (actually just noticed Mr BogMonster has pointed this out already) If the ECU is at fault, when you plug the diagnostic kit in, you will usually see: Topside switch failed pre-injection Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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