Starts and Dies, 10 minutes later Starts for good.

[jarobert]

I have a 05 NB Diesel. Never worked on Desiel engine, so a little imtimadated, but with guidance will try. The car will start and it will run for about 30 to 50 seconds, and it will die. The oil warning light will blink and sound the alarm. it will take about 2-3 times of heavy crank to get the car started. By heavy I mean 30-40 sec of crank. Gennerally in the inbetweens I just set there with the key in the ignition hoping that glow plugs will magically help. But once the engine is started, it's good and remains good until it gets cold after say 8 hours at work. It's a problem and i am not sure what to do with it. I have checked the dipstick, and added a quart or oil to it, now it's where it should be. I am currently in the cold season of my texas home, so the temps ranges this has occured was between 20 and 60 degrees. This is a odd one for me as i though it might have been oil level. Any help please.

Thank you

[CoriBug]

Good luck to finding the solution from another TDI owner. Have you checked out the trusted mechanics list on Fred's TDI Page. TDIClub.com. VW TDI Enthusiast Community One of the guys here might be able to point you in the right direction, too!

[Yello_jellybean]

Cori's right, there are a few guys on THIS board that may be able to help you out, but you may be better off moseying over to the TDIclub. You may try to PM DZLBUG, Growler or The Cheat, to name a few on this bored. Otherwise do a search, or post on the TDI club forum. (Coribug posted a link for you above) Good Luck!

[cep]

My guess is that your fuel system is losing its prime. You could have a small air leak on one of the suction fuel hoses that is allowing air to get in the system. My guess is that it is between the fuel filter and the high pressure pump.

I had a Cat engine do the same thing. It would start, run, die, then you would have to ether it to get it going again and then it would be fine until you let it set for any length of time.

Next time it does this, don't just crank and crank on it, you'll burn up your starter. When it does this, turn the key to 'on' and wait 15-20 seconds, letting the fuel pump in the tank try to pump fuel into the system. You might have to do this a couple of times. If that fixes it, then do this before you ever crank it the first time to start it. Then, get it fixed.

[Lew]

When is the last time the fuel filter was changed? Take it by Autozone and let them scan for codes. If you get a code you can find them here. You might in the future add some "Power Service" to the fuel. The white bottle from Wal mart is for extreme cold weather, the gray bottle is not for cold weather. I add 8 zo every other fuel up. The wife has a 05 just like yours and I do all the service work on it. No problems! I'm not sure about air getting in the lines. How many miles on the car?

[cep]

This is not a problem that's going to be fixed with a can of something.

The only thing a diesel needs to run is fuel and compressed (ie, hot) air. The fact that it started shows that it had both at that time. Then it died--one one thing can cause this--the fuel it was running on went away. Once a bubble of air hits the injection system, you are done. I am surprised that he can eventually get it running, which is testimony to the effectiveness of the in-tank fuel pump.

[Lew]

Here's what I think is wrong with your car. It will crank after sitting overnight when at home. That's because it has fuel in the fuel rail. The fuels left there when you cut off the engine. Now since it quits after starting is because you are not getting enough fuel from the lift pump. Do this remove the fuel line leaving the fuel filter that goes to the engine and put it in a bottle or jar. Turn over the engine to see if fuel come through. On top of the fuel filter there is a thermostatic tee that has a "O" ring in place. You could be sucking air there. If so that's the problem. Be careful removing the clip and don't drop it or you will have a problem retreving it. Also the tee will break easy so be careful. Compression and fuel is what ignites the fuel...Glow plugs will not get hot enought unless the coolant temp is below 49 or so degrees. Post up your finding.

[WolfieG]

Could it be that the diesel fuel down in Texas is gelling? Up here in more northern climates they put additives into diesel fuel for the winter. Down there you guys have been seeing some incredibly low temps. Most fuel stations probably weren't ready for it and still have lots of 'summer' diesel fuel in the tanks (or perhaps have never even brought in winterized diesel).

Up here, on really cold mornings, I let my glow plugs cycle 3 times before trying to crank the engine (turn the key on, wait for the glow plug light to go out, shut it off, repeat 3 times, THEN try to turn it over). I've found this shortens the crank time so I don't have to worry about burning out my starter.

[DZLBUG]

failing lift pump

[The Cheat]

Originally Posted by DZLBUG

failing lift pump

seems to be the be-all, end-all of solutions on the pd, eh?

these lift pumps must be horsepuckey...

[DZLBUG]

Originally Posted by The Cheat

seems to be the be-all, end-all of solutions on the pd, eh?

these lift pumps must be horsepuckey...

Seems to be. I think it often gets exacerbated when guys maximize tank mileage, which TDI owners are famous for. Its fine on the rotary pump engines as the IP handles all the fuel pumping duties. But I think the lift pumps in these PD's like to be submerged in fuel just like gassers.

[Lew]

Originally Posted by DZLBUG

Seems to be. I think it often gets exacerbated when guys maximize tank mileage, which TDI owners are famous for. Its fine on the rotary pump engines as the IP handles all the fuel pumping duties. But I think the lift pumps in these PD's like to be submerged in fuel just like gassers.

I agree, that's why I never let the tank get below 1/4 and sometime 1/2.