2000 P38 Diesel not starting - checking my diagnosis

Milliput · Feb 28, 2016

Hello All,

On Friday my Range Rover failed to start. It turns over as normal but there was no attempt to fire up. The stop solenoid and glow plugs are both receiving power when the ignition is on. There is power going to the in tank fuel pump fuse and the relay appears to be working as expected. However there isn't a lot of diesel in the clear pipe running to the injector pump from the filter and this doesn't change with the ignition switched on. This is leading me to think its the in tank fuel pump that's failed (car has done 142,000) rather than this being the issue where the BeCM and engine ECU loose sync.

I would have thought that if this was some sort of immobiliser or sync problem between the BeCM and ECU then there would be no power to the stop solenoid or glow plugs. I've had a look through the forum and there seems to be some confusion between the petrol and diesel models regarding the sync problem so, I've not been able to work out which systems would be powered if it was the BeCM/ECU synchronisation issue.

Before I drop the fuel tank or cut a hole in the floor do people agree with my diagnosis or have any other suggestions?

Thanks
Matt

dave3d · Feb 28, 2016

To test the pump, you can take the pipe off the fuel filter and run it into a jug. There is a minimum rate 180 mls in 10 secs.

Engine should still run even if the pump is duff as long as there is plenty of diesel in the tank. The FIP will pull it through.
It sounds more like a sync problem to me. Later cars turn over as normal even with lost sync. Mine does. Also the glow plugs on mine also indicate they are working. Earlier cars are a bit different I think.

When it looses sync, the stop solenoid FIP shuts off the fuel but I am not exactly sure whether it is signal on to stop it or signal on to run. Probably the former.

marty_nz · Feb 28, 2016

On a later model diesel (from about 97 onward ) it will crank but not fire up.

If it's not the in tank pump then it's probably leaning towards a sync problem..

I have syncmate units for all engine types of P38 that I hire out to other owners if you're interested and nobody near you has diagnostics to get it going again.. I've got them listed on ebay at the moment or they're on my website too..

Marty

Milliput · Feb 29, 2016

Hello Chaps,

Thanks for the replies. I've decided to go with replacing the in tank pump as after 142K miles it could probably do with changing anyway. If it doesn't turn out to be that i'll investigate the resync issue further. I'll update when I've replaced the pump.

Thanks
Matt

dave3d · Feb 29, 2016

Most people do the easy jobs first. The in tank pump is a big job. A resync takes minutes.

Milliput · Mar 6, 2016

Hi All,

I just wanted to provide an update, and after a fun day spent replacing the in tank pump the car now starts. Woo Hoo.

Thanks
Matt

dave3d · Mar 6, 2016

Thanks for the feedback. Too many never report back to the forum after fixing the job.

marty_nz · Mar 7, 2016

As Dave says...

Great that it's all up and running and thanks aswell for posting the fix up! You can move on to the next one on 'the list' now

Marty

2000 P38 Diesel not starting - checking my diagnosis

Our Vendors

Top Contributors this Month

Recommended Communities