Just now, Uk4468 said:

Hello. I’ve fitted the new battery but the same thing happens again. It cranks but won’t start and after using easystart, it dies after a second

Ok, sounds like the fuel system needs manually priming now. 

You may find that one manual prime is enough, and it'll start reliably after that. 

Or you may find it needs priming at each start, which would indicate a minor leak somewhere around the filter or low pressure pipework.  

If the fuel filter hasn't been replaced recently, it would be a good idea to change that now, as the whole system needs priming after a filter change anyway.

2 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Ok, sounds like the fuel system needs manually priming now. 

You may find that one manual prime is enough, and it'll start reliably after that. 

Or you may find it needs priming at each start, which would indicate a minor leak somewhere around the filter or low pressure pipework.  

If the fuel filter hasn't been replaced recently, it would be a good idea to change that now, as the whole system needs priming after a filter change anyway.

Ok I literally just got it to start right now after easy start and a lot of revs. It’s now running. If I try starting it later and the same thing happens, is it still an issue of it needing priming?

Just now, Uk4468 said:

Ok I literally just got it to start right now after easy start and a lot of revs. It’s now running. If I try starting it later and the same thing happens, is it still an issue of it needing priming?

And how long shall I keep the engine running for now?

Just now, Uk4468 said:

And how long shall I keep the engine running for now?

As the battery is new, 15 minutes of idle should be fine for recharging that this time.

However I would suggest giving it some revs to increase the fuel demand and pull as much fuel through the system as you can.  (Effectively making the engine do what we would have otherwise done with a manual primer).  That should help to clear any air bubbles that may be in the pipework now. 

Ideally I would suggest taking it for a drive but appreciate that may not be possible if tax or MOT has lapsed while it's been parked.  At the very least, I would want to give it around 2000 RPM for up to 5 minutes when it's warmed up a bit.

41 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

As the battery is new, 15 minutes of idle should be fine for recharging that this time.

However I would suggest giving it some revs to increase the fuel demand and pull as much fuel through the system as you can.  (Effectively making the engine do what we would have otherwise done with a manual primer).  That should help to clear any air bubbles that may be in the pipework now. 

Ideally I would suggest taking it for a drive but appreciate that may not be possible if tax or MOT has lapsed while it's been parked.  At the very least, I would want to give it around 2000 RPM for up to 5 minutes when it's warmed up a bit.

Ok, I’ve idled the battery, driven it to my main residence and it drove fine. However, after starting it about 25-30 mins after we turned the engine off, the car started up then died, and now currently we’re back to square one where it continuously cranks but doesn’t start !

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

As the battery is new, 15 minutes of idle should be fine for recharging that this time.

However I would suggest giving it some revs to increase the fuel demand and pull as much fuel through the system as you can.  (Effectively making the engine do what we would have otherwise done with a manual primer).  That should help to clear any air bubbles that may be in the pipework now. 

Ideally I would suggest taking it for a drive but appreciate that may not be possible if tax or MOT has lapsed while it's been parked.  At the very least, I would want to give it around 2000 RPM for up to 5 minutes when it's warmed up a bit.

We are going to change fuel filter and prime it and see if that fixes it 

21 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

As the battery is new, 15 minutes of idle should be fine for recharging that this time.

However I would suggest giving it some revs to increase the fuel demand and pull as much fuel through the system as you can.  (Effectively making the engine do what we would have otherwise done with a manual primer).  That should help to clear any air bubbles that may be in the pipework now. 

Ideally I would suggest taking it for a drive but appreciate that may not be possible if tax or MOT has lapsed while it's been parked.  At the very least, I would want to give it around 2000 RPM for up to 5 minutes when it's warmed up a bit.

After changing fuel filter and priming the engine, it still cranks but doesn’t start. What now?

1 hour ago, Uk4468 said:

After changing fuel filter and priming the engine, it still cranks but doesn’t start. What now?

You'll need to get Ford specific diagnostics on it to go any further sadly. 

We recommend Forscan on here to save the cost of going to a Ford dealer.  

On 7/15/2024 at 12:23 PM, TomsFocus said:

You'll need to get Ford specific diagnostics on it to go any further sadly. 

We recommend Forscan on here to save the cost of going to a Ford dealer.  

Thank you ever so much for all your help. It has given me this code now P0087 - fuel rail/system pressure too low. 

16 minutes ago, Uk4468 said:

Thank you ever so much for all your help. It has given me this code now P0087 - fuel rail/system pressure too low. 

Ok.  That could mean there's still air in the fuel system and it needs to be bled a bit more.  Or it could be a fault with a pressure sensor or regulator or a few other parts.  At least we know it's a fuel issue though.

The next step would be to use the live data function on Forscan to read the actual fuel rail pressure when cranking.  That needs to be at least 200 bar before the ECU will allow the injectors to open.

8 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Ok.  That could mean there's still air in the fuel system and it needs to be bled a bit more.  Or it could be a fault with a pressure sensor or regulator or a few other parts.  At least we know it's a fuel issue though.

The next step would be to use the live data function on Forscan to read the actual fuel rail pressure when cranking.  That needs to be at least 200 bar before the ECU will allow the injectors to open.

I’ve used OBD sensor with live data and during cranking, it would read about 6-8 bar. We might try buying the sensor. How would you bleed the system fully, we bled it until fuel came out and it still cranked without starting. 

Could be an injector that's jammed open causing the pressure to be leaching away. That's more likely than a solid state pressure sensor that's reading low. They either work or they don't.and if they don't you'll get a fault code.

30 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Ok.  That could mean there's still air in the fuel system and it needs to be bled a bit more.  Or it could be a fault with a pressure sensor or regulator or a few other parts.  At least we know it's a fuel issue though.

The next step would be to use the live data function on Forscan to read the actual fuel rail pressure when cranking.  That needs to be at least 200 bar before the ECU will allow the injectors to open.

Maybe it’s the sensor as even when the car isn’t being cranked it still shows the same 6-8 reading?

24 minutes ago, Uk4468 said:

I’ve used OBD sensor with live data and during cranking, it would read about 6-8 bar. We might try buying the sensor. How would you bleed the system fully, we bled it until fuel came out and it still cranked without starting. 

Need to keep bleeding until diesel comes through clear with no air bubbles at all.

49 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Need to keep bleeding until diesel comes through clear with no air bubbles at all.

We tested high rail fuel pressure sensor with multimeter and there is no continuity on it. We have now ordered a high pressure fuel rail sensor

On 7/16/2024 at 5:32 PM, TomsFocus said:

Need to keep bleeding until diesel comes through clear with no air bubbles at all.

Changed high pressure rail sensor and still doesn’t start 😕 I was wondering if you know where the fuel pump relay is?

1 hour ago, Uk4468 said:

Changed high pressure rail sensor and still doesn’t start 😕 I was wondering if you know where the fuel pump relay is?

There isn't a relay.  There's no electric pump in the tank. That's why you need to manually prime the system before it'll start.  

The smallest air leak in the pipework will allow the fuel to drain back and there's nothing to force it forward again on these.

On cars with a lift pump they just need a flick of the ignition to prime the system.  No idea why Ford left the pump out to make it so difficult.  They did start fitting electric pumps to more recent models.

18 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

There isn't a relay.  There's no electric pump in the tank. That's why you need to manually prime the system before it'll start.  

The smallest air leak in the pipework will allow the fuel to drain back and there's nothing to force it forward again on these.

On cars with a lift pump they just need a flick of the ignition to prime the system.  No idea why Ford left the pump out to make it so difficult.  They did start fitting electric pumps to more recent models.

Ohhh ok. Today we took readings of the pins of the sensor on the fuel filter housing and it showed nothing/no resistance or continuity. Is this normal? 

At the start of all this, did you change the fuel filter, 'cos there's a gasket seal that gets placed on refitting under the screw cap instead of under the lip of the filter, and THAT causes air ingress problems. There's a thread on this subject I'll try to link to it...

Can't find it, but couldn't search for long. I see that you DID change the fuel filter, so just revisit that job and check where you've fitted the gasket....I'm pretty certain it should go UNDER the lip of the filter, not between filter and lid. There are 2 conflicting YouTube guides, take a look at them.

 

45 minutes ago, Uk4468 said:

Ohhh ok. Today we took readings of the pins of the sensor on the fuel filter housing and it showed nothing/no resistance or continuity. Is this normal? 

That could be one of two things.

1 - A fuel heater, in which case it should have some resistance, but definitely isn't a necessity.

2 - A water in fuel sensor.  That shouldn't have continuity normally.  Diesel doesn't conduct electricity.  Water does conduct electricity so will complete the circuit if present, which is what brings the warning light on.  

Either way, it isn't the cause of the non-start.

I'm still fairly sure it's just not bled properly.  And may have an air leak as well, possibly more now than before.  It might be quicker just to pay a diesel mechanic to come and sort the fuelling for you.

1 hour ago, nicam49 said:

At the start of all this, did you change the fuel filter, 'cos there's a gasket seal that gets placed on refitting under the screw cap instead of under the lip of the filter, and THAT causes air ingress problems. There's a thread on this subject I'll try to link to it...

Can't find it, but couldn't search for long. I see that you DID change the fuel filter, so just revisit that job and check where you've fitted the gasket....I'm pretty certain it should go UNDER the lip of the filter, not between filter and lid. There are 2 conflicting YouTube guides, take a look at them.

 

We seen a video that says they had the same issue so they changed the whole fuel filter housing

This was a simple mistake thats quite easy to make as logic says to put the gasket seal under the screw cover, but actually you put it between filter and holder. I'll keep looking for the info, but if you can just check to see where you've placed the gasket. 

Here you go, have a read of this and view the youtube videos. 

Had to resort to Google to find in the end. 

 

4 hours ago, nicam49 said:

This was a simple mistake thats quite easy to make as logic says to put the gasket seal under the screw cover, but actually you put it between filter and holder. I'll keep looking for the info, but if you can just check to see where you've placed the gasket. 

Here you go, have a read of this and view the youtube videos. 

Had to resort to Google to find in the end. 

 

Just asked dad, he’s fit the fuel filter properly. Gasket under the filter 

On 7/7/2024 at 10:07 AM, nicam49 said:

If you remove fuse f4 in the engine bay fusebox, it'll stop the glowplugs from draining the battery when you're cranking, meaning the battery won't go flat so quickly giving you longer to troubleshoot before having to recharge.  

Hi, I know it’s been a while but we removed fuse f4 and the glow plug light still came on? Is this normal?

Hi, probably! The reason to remove the fuse is to give you longer battery life when trying to crank the engine. You'll have to read the fault codes to find out why it's flashing. btw, don't look upon that light as 'the glowplug light'. In reality it's nothing to do with glowplugs. When you 1st switch on the ignition it lights up to show the ecu is running self-test. If it goes out it means the ecu is happy with the self-tests. If it stays on it means the ecu has failed the self-tests and you must get yer code reader out to see what's upset it. Re code readers, you really need one that reads Ford codes not just generic OBD codes. Forscan is a good prog to use with some code readers. Good luck and let us know how you get on👍