chickenslippers Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 Hi guys my disco 1 3.9v8 efi 1996 auto stalled at a t junction today. It then wouldn't start again on petrol or gas, but was turning over ok. 3 hrs later when mr RAC didn't turn up but kind neighbour towed me home it started once the battery was boosted. This happened before xmas and I had the rac out, he eventually got it going but we didn't know how. Mr Rac didn't know anything about gas systems so said he would concentrate on petrol. He put an indicator lamp in line with the plugs,they flashed. He put an indicator lamp on the injectors and they flashed. He had me turn it over while he checked fuel manifold pressure, fuel squirted out. He tried easy start for a while, it still didn't start. So with spark and fuel it should start, right? Eventually it did but only after time. Once the car is hot the car seems to stop and start no prob its when the car is stopped or stalls like today and the car isn't fully warm it won't start. Leave it for a few hours and it starts first time no prob. The gas system is a BRC. I have had the factory alarm bypassed and a toad alarm put in. I don't think its the alarm though as it allows me to crank the engine over. The trouble is as its an intermittant fault it could cost lots of money if put in a garage. Any help would be greatly appreciated, Many thanks Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widget Posted January 9, 2010 Share Posted January 9, 2010 A couple of thoughts...you'll need a multimeter to check it out. A faulty coolant temperature sensor shows up when cold starting on cold days. The coolant sensor tells the ECU the engine's hot, it will not allow the injectors to stay open long enough for the cold start thus making it stall immediately, additional cranking can flood the plugs. This can happen during the warm up phase too if the engine stalls, or is switched off - a bit like having the wrong choke setting. Another possibility is the stepper motor which controls idle speed by opening and closing the throttle bypass to control the quantity of idle air. If the stepper motor fails it results in low or high idle speed, rough idle, engine stall or non start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenslippers Posted January 10, 2010 Author Share Posted January 10, 2010 When this problem happens (engine stalls) it is usually when I'm struggling to keep it ticking over, so I think I will look at the stepper motor option. Any advice on where to get one from and are they easy/difficult to replace? Many thanks Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widget Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 When this problem happens (engine stalls) it is usually when I'm struggling to keep it ticking over, so I think I will look at the stepper motor option. Any advice on where to get one from and are they easy/difficult to replace? Very straightforward if it turns out to be one of them at fault. Stepper has two small bolts I think, and the coolant is a screw in and loctite job. Do check both and don't go the expensive route of replacing components like the ECU rather than diagnosing Coolant temp is more likely than stepper from the symptoms you describe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenslippers Posted January 10, 2010 Author Share Posted January 10, 2010 coolant sensor. The car never stalls once it has gotten fully warm, does that mean the coolant sensor is the likely suspect. Cheers Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calvin Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 The stepper motor is at the back of the plenum chamber on the drivers side just above where the fuel lines go to the rail. It looks like a cylinder about 20-30MM long with a big nut on the end. It has a large electric plug with 4 wires coming from it..This plug has a clip which has to be raised to pull the plug off. Just undo the nut , and pull it out. Clean the little cone shaped thing with carby cleaner and put carby cleaner on a cotton bud and clean inside the hole down to the bottom. Do not try to push the little cone in and out. seal the threads when replacing. Be careful with the fibre washer. I have attached a picture of the location in the engine, taken from the drivers (UK) side, and a picture of the stepper motor once it is removed. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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