Ongoing Starting Issues and Fuel Burning Heater

I have had my Facelift TD4 about 6 months, it was a dog when I got it which is why I only paid £400 for it.

I have mopped up many faults and fitted many new parts but have never really had a sustained period of faultless starting. Cold Starts being the most annoying.

I had paid for the injectors to be serviced which identified one as being jammed open, the other 3 being ok but not an ideal spray pattern, this was costly so I decided not to have the other 3 serviced just cleaned and I hoped that they would improve with regular doses on injector cleaner.

Well for a few weeks that was the case and then the problem returned and I sighed and thought I would live with it, having spent a lot on the truck already.

Well all that changed last week when I discovered that it has a FBH, like many newbies I nearly jumped out of my skin when it burst into life on a cold morning. I did some research and decided to disable it by removing the fuse.

Guess what ????

It now starts on the button every time, its been a week now and I am reluctant to put the fuse back in so I shall monitor the situation and see if its a permanent fix.

When the FBH was making its jet engine noise there was no exhaust smoke so I just assumed like many LR items that it was knackered.

Does anyone have any comments on whether disabling it could help the cold start problem ?

Thanks, Karl.

The FBH is supposed to make a jet noise. That generally means it is working. Although it should only run when the outside temperature drops to below 5°C.

I can't see how the FBH would make a difference to starting? As stated it's designed to come on below 5c to aid fast heating of the engine. It does have a pump though to circulate coolant so it may be that you battery is on its way out and the extra current draw from the FBH is causing the starting issues?

Oh and having no smoke from it means it's working fine, it will sometimes smoke when shutting down due to unburnt fuel getting mixed in.

The battery is only a few months old, I panicked and took the fuse out assuming it was knackered.

Its the fact that it starts so well now, lets not forget the unit draws diesel from the same lines as the engine so it must have some effect.

I will put the fuse back when I am satisfied that the starting issue is improved long term.

I only do short hops so I have no real need for the FBH so I am happy to do without it.

I only threw this out for discussion to see if anyone had a suggestion as to why it might be helping, its not a big deal.

Didn't realise that no smoke meant it was ok, thats a good sign I guess and the fact that it just started suggests that the sensor is working too,

Karl.

It is strange. The FBH does draw fuel from the tank but has its own lines and pump so couldn't affect the main pump or lines as they're not connected other than at the tank.

Have you checked the glow plugs and harness, LP pump in the rear arch, injector harness, fuel rail harness? In fact the fuel rail harness had an upgraded part.

Give em all a good clean and check over...

I'll stick me kneck and say there is no way the FBH is affecting your starting.

we had a R40 which would not start and if it did then only for a about 20 seconds, disconnected the FBH starts ever time, the FBH can cause some very funny faults if it is not working as it should, it is mostly down to the PCB board,

I have fitted new NGK glow plugs already, which was pointless as it needs to be very cold for the ECU to use them anyway. I tested the old ones with a meter, 3 were dead and looked it too.

It had the upgraded fuel rail harness before I got it.

I fitted a new branded LP fuel pump and Mahle fuel filter.

As I said I have fitted a lot of new parts to this, also fitted new set of Bosch sensors, MAF etc.

If it continues to start well I shall leave the fuse out.

As for idea of separate fuel lines I am not so sure its easy to dismiss as there is a joint on the front right that looks like it goes to the FBH, hard to see in engine bay over hoses etc, I noticed it when I fitted a new HP Fuel Regulator and had the engine in bits.

I found some tired fuel hoses etc in that area and tidied them up and fitted fuel clamps on them rather than reply on a simple push fit. They might have been the diesel return pipes can't recall now or the ones to the EGR which I had already bypassed.

Karl.

Arctic2 said:

we had a R40 which would not start and if it did then only for a about 20 seconds, disconnected the FBH starts ever time, the FBH can cause some very funny faults if it is not working as it should, it is mostly down to the PCB board,

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The only place where the Freelander's ECU wiring and the FBH meet is at pin three on the X1 connection. This is via the FBH outside temp sensor. I don't know how the ECU would respond if the FBH was to back feed into the engine ECU. But I suspect it's protected internally from such abuse.

I was thinking more along the lines of it messing up the fuel pressure in some way.

I guess some electrical gremlins could also cause some fun and games to but I am not really qualified to say for sure.

I just try and keep a logical mind and google stuff when things don't add up.

Karl.

Rocky Ward said:

I was thinking more along the lines of it messing up the fuel pressure in some way.

I guess some electrical gremlins could also cause some fun and games to but I am not really qualified to say for sure.

I just try and keep a logical mind and google stuff when things don't add up.

Karl.

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It shouldn't mess with fuel pressure as the FBH and the engine pumps are completely separate. The FBH has its own tiny dosing pump which is controlled by the FBH control unit. The engine ECU controls it's own seperate low pressure pump. There's no connection between them except at the tank.
I can't see the FBH upsetting anything on the engine. But anything is possible I suppose.

2 weeks on and it still starts on the button.

There is no doubt in my mind that the (presumably malfunctioning) FBH was affecting the starting of the truck.

Rocky Ward said:

2 weeks on and it still starts on the button.

There is no doubt in my mind that the (presumably malfunctioning) FBH was affecting the starting of the truck.

Click to expand...

I can't see that tbh. But as long as it's starting, all is well.