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Asking for a friend.
Any thing I he can reasonably do with no tools apart from sitting waiting like a muppet for the mechanic turn up to bleed it through?
Put some more fuel in it?
Done that bit
With a diesel engine that run out of fuel you need to bleed the air out of the system.
With diesel the pump pushes the fuel to the injection pump were it is sent to the injectors at high pressure. if there is any air in the system the fuel pump will not work. You need to bleed the air from the fuel system.
To do this you can do ether of two things.
The first thing being starting fluid use a little bit at a time. (starting fluid will harm the engine if used to much)
The other way of bleeding the fuel system is to open the injectors as you crank the engine. This will push the air from the fuel system.
After I my friend did it with a Vectra, the best thing to do is let the RAC turn up and weave their magic. It didn't take long to sort it.
Crank it until the battery is flat or the starter motor is burnt out is an option.
The other way of bleeding the fuel system is to open the injectors as you crank the engine. This will push the air from the fuel system.
DO NOT DO THIS on a modern car ! modern Injection pumps will either not pump if they dont see the correct pressure build response or will cut you in half " circa 20000psi.
Crank it until the battery is flat or the starter motor is burnt out is an option.
This can lead to your injection pump not being lubricated as they are lubed by the fuel.
what engines the Smax got. if its the PSA one there will be a fuel pump button next to the fuel filter - press that repeatedly till it goes hard then start it on the key - this draws fuel up to the filter and pressurises the line to the pump.
When my diesel ran out of fuel years ago thanks to shift work, Sunday opening hours and bank holidays meaning the fuel stations were closed from 8pm on Saturday. I left for work at 6am the Monday morning running low as they still weren’t open I ran out about 3 miles south of my destination.
Grabbed a fuel can and a gallon of diesel while at work and refuelled my car, different days then meant I could do this. The old guy I was on with kept banging on about needing to bleed the system. I turned the ignition to Prime it a few times and then fired it up all good
Happened to me in my S-Max diesel a few months back, and I had to get a mechanic out. Nothing else for it I'm afraid
Open handbook. Read what it says about "If you run out of Diesel". Follow instructions...
Possibly, at least, it's certainly been covered in the manual for the 3 diesels I've owned.
So....
‘Apparently’ a mobile mechanic tuned up and had to call it quits after a few doses of quick start and cranking couldn’t lift the fuel.
‘Apparently’ it’s now been trailered on the back of a lorry to a local garage to suck the fuel through properly.
Get a great view from aboard a truck, apparently.
Cheers all.
what engines the Smax got. if its the PSA one there will be a fuel pump button next to the fuel filter – press that repeatedly till it goes hard then start it on the key – this draws fuel up to the filter and pressurises the line to the pump.
Don't think that's an option, certainly never had any fitted in the 3 different Mondeo's I've seen.
You need to bleed the system as said, my missus did the exact same to ours but luckily she pulled over just as it cut out and there was still enough in the lines to get started again (she had just gone up a hill then hit flat). You could be lucky. If it won't start you need a bleed it out the schraeder valve just next to the engine (if your S-Max is the same as my Mondeo) either with a Ford kit or a priming bulb attached to a truck tyre valve adaptor (allows you to inflate double wheels).
Here's a how to:
They're a total git, hope that helps..😀
Cheers SquirrelKing and Pepper.
That video is ace, I wonder how much idiot tax the garage will charge for my muppetry based on that.
Shouldn't be much, if they have ever changed a Ford fuel filter they would have the stuff to hand. Probably charge you the half hour labour.
Years ago I used to work on a farm which had several old MF 125 tractors. They were so old the fuel gauges either didn't work or were wildly inaccurate. This meant regular bleeding of the injectors after running out of fuel.
I was under the impression that modern cars would have a self bleed system of some sort, so nice to know that's not the case and I will be more careful not to run out of fuel in my modern diesel. Cheers.
Open handbook. Read what it says about “If you run out of Diesel”. Follow instructions…
Unfortunately in every Mondeo handbook it says you will need the special priming kit available from your Ford dealer.
I've done this. Mechanic was called and he managed to sort it but it certainly wasn't a DIY job. No way.
Idiot tax is £75
Taking in all the faff around it, even giving how simple it looks in SquirrelKings linked vid, I’m ok with that.
Was that on an smax or perhaps your iPad ?
Different cars in different engine shocker....much like different os have different issues.
Your car probably had an intank pump. Many don't these days.
Well every day is a school day, didn't know this would be such a faff.
Note to self:
If you're gonna run out of fuel, don't do it in the SMax......
Open handbook. Read what it says about “If you run out of Diesel”. Follow instructions…
Have you ever read a Ford manual? From experience they usually start along the lines of:
“Using a suitable tool”
and then go onto
“remove the part by pushing, pulling while twisting the unit”.
They are basically designed to destroy your will to live, give up, and pay the dealership/garage to do the job.
Crank it until the battery is flat or the starter motor is burnt out is an option.
This can lead to your injection pump not being lubricated as they are lubed by the fuel.
Did that really read as the correct thing to do?
press that repeatedly till it goes hard
S****.
Anyway I think it's different for different cars - some need bleeding some don't. I ran out in a Transit about 12 years ago - the fuel gauge stop was actually in the red zone, so I thought I had a bit left - but all I did was refill it and it started after a few seconds.
My Corsa 1.5TD developed a leak in the injectors, so the diesel drained back every time the engine wasn't running. Just had to turn it over for 10 seconds to pump the fuel back into the pipes then it started and ran fine. Lasted ages like that.
I'm sure my old ford focus diesel said in the manual that it would cut out prior to entirely running out of fuel to avoid the issues mentioned above. That would rely on a properly working sensor I guess.
Unfortunately in every Mondeo handbook it says you will need the special priming kit available from your Ford dealer.
Ah, yeah, that's not so helpful....mine have pointed you to the manual priming pump and told you how to use it...
Read the manual? You need to prime by switching the ignition on and off a few times on modern diesels without cranking. Is he sure it actually ran out of fuel?
Did all the switching off and on again, many times, when it’s air locked it’s knackered and needs the sucky thing in the SquirrelKing linked vid above.
And it very definitely ran out of fuel.
I have only ever had to do the prime it several times by turning the ign on until the pump stops and repeating it a few times to be safe.
That is normally for when I have changed a fuel filter but the freelander did run out once as the gauge is knackered.
"You need to prime by switching the ignition on and off a few times on modern diesels without cranking"
That has nothing to do with it being modern or old diesel.
What you have described is for if you have an in tank or inline electric fuel pump.vs a mechanical lift pump driven off the cam.
What you are meant to do is don't try and restart the engine, but coast down the hill to the petrol station, and then nearly crash into the pumps when you realise that you don't have any power steering and the brakes have gone solid. It was amusing as a passenger, and the driver was immature enough to find it hilarious!
When i did it in a vw caddy* hire i'm sure it actually cut out to leave fuel in the line.
*Sure it was... Maybe
And it definitely "ran out" of fuel as i i had to push the sodding thing out a junction at 845am in the middle of edinburgh.
surely the S max has an electric lift pump followed by the engine driven HP pump? Hence the suggestions that it should self prime when you turn the ign on. I know the lift pump on all mine has taken longer to prime after changing a fuel filter so it is definitely responding to the air in the system.
Our Focus had a non self priming fuel system. Only found this out trying to sort out the leaky No3 injector(and depressurising the low pressure side) the day before going on holiday. Spent day one of holiday sneaking around in a work van trying to find a primer kit. Eventually traced one which turned out to be rubbish so sucked diesel through to get system primed.......
Our Nissan has a built in primer system as did our old jeep.
I have only ever had to do the prime it several times by turning the ign on until the pump stops and repeating it a few times to be safe.
Doesn't work with Ford tdci engines, they don't self prime. If you get air in the fuel lines you need a bleed kit. Baisicly a rubber squeezey hand pump. You can bypass this (sometimes) by trying to towstart the vehicle, drag it fast enough and you can force the fuel through eventually. Or attach it to a jump start device and keep cranking. Best way though is DON'T run out of diesel!!!