Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

pegasus447 · 2023-12-16 13:40:32

Have had my Dad’s old Dispatch for many years now and never failed to start.
Drove it home two nights ago, absolutely fine. No sign of any problem whatsoever.
Parked in the drive and yesterday, had a fiddle with my radio/cd player as it was shutting off every time I hit a bump.
Took it out, sprayed contact cleaner on the contact plugs, took the fuse cover off and cleaned that up.
All seems to work.
Went to go out last night, first thing I noticed, the central locking was not working, then went to start. Plenty of cranking, but not a sniff of starting.
Checked all the fuses this morning, inside and under the bonnet, all good.
I did press the primer pump quite a few times and it didn’t feel like it was priming, however tried again and still no start.
Any ideas how to proceed, or what to check first ?
Grateful for any advice.
Thanks.
Roly.

AlvyLad · 2023-12-16 16:14:50

My (unprofessional mechanic) thought, something like security-imobiliser or a simple crank sensor or... Blockage, so the the HP pump isn't working, as diesel engines even without glow-plugs, if cranked long and fast enough, they do at least try to start up neutral

OAT · 2023-12-16 18:54:03

When you checked all the fuses, did you check for good contact or just for not blown? You could easily have disturbed a connection in the loom around the fuse box.

I don't have a wiring diagram to hand but do we know if the central locking fuse is getting power? Or could the central locking not working be a symptom of Alvy's suggestion about a possible immobiliser issue?

pegasus447 · 2023-12-16 19:25:28

Yes a possibility. I did check with my multimeter that all fuses were good.
Only pulled the radio out of the console and disconnected the plugs, only one connection from the radio back to the fuse box, don’t think I altered anything else.
Could be a blockage, will try cranking and I think there is a bleed valve somewhere, will see if fuel is getting through.
Not sure if there is an isolator on the 2000 model.
Perhaps I am wrong ?

AlvyLad · 2023-12-16 20:04:50

pegasus447 wrote:

Yes a possibility. I did check with my multimeter that all fuses were good.
Only pulled the radio out of the console and disconnected the plugs, only one connection from the radio back to the fuse box, don’t think I altered anything else.
Could be a blockage, will try cranking and I think there is a bleed valve somewhere, will see if fuel is getting through.
Not sure if there is an isolator on the 2000 model.
Perhaps I am wrong ?

The rubber pump thingy is your "bleeding valve", prior to diesel getting to the pump, and there from nothing, but injectors. To NOT to have injectors opening got to be something electric

pegasus447 · 2023-12-16 21:50:01

Thanks for that. Would there be a relay or anything that may have been damaged ?

AlvyLad · 2023-12-16 22:40:05

pegasus447 wrote:

Thanks for that. Would there be a relay or anything that may have been damaged ?

Not a clue m8, could be anything, anywhere, matter of elimination process

Not sure if you can get injector signal checked, but I'm still leaning towards immobilizer, than relays, but with electrics in general, I try to stay clear off myself, just not something I can fix or advise on personally

JohnDragonMan · 2023-12-17 04:19:59

on the 1.9 you can pretty much rule out anything to do with the ECU however you could do with checking if the stop solenoid on the diesel injection pump is getting power.

try manually powering just the stop solenoid and see if with that powered it will start.

there's a possibility it could be the ignition switch.. given the radio cutting in and out. try jiggling the key around while cranking and see if that does anything. failing that take the top steering wheel cowling off and bridge over all the connections on the ignition barrel plug. each wire from the live will effectively do what the 2x on positions do on the key and one will engage the starter.

the immobiliser on these engines as far as i know only make the ECU stop working, and these engines will "run" without the ECU all be it rough. its just there to smooth out the injections. the 1.9 is a hybrid mechanical/electric engine that will just run on the mechanical side like i say all be it rough and smokey.

now theres also the possibility of a snapped cam belt.. i know this is the worst case.. often i have found with XUD based engines like the DW8 (1.9) they sound perfectly fine when cranking but upon removal of the cam belt cover i have found a snapped belt. (i work in a scrap yard and rescued a few of these vans now)

let us know how you get on!

Last edited by JohnDragonMan (2023-12-17 04:35:57)

pegasus447 · 2023-12-17 11:36:00

Thanks for more ideas.
Interesting about the stop solenoid. Where would this be situated.
Sorry should be a bit more on it.
The cambelt is only a year old, so thinking this is not an issue.
Just surprised that all was fine when I last drove and parked in my drive.
Only sprayed contact cleaner on the plugs for the radio, can’t think that would have done any harm.
Very strange, will try the immobiliser thing when I can find it and report back.
Thanks again.
Roly.

kenbw2 · 2023-12-17 13:52:00

The solenoid is on the pump itself, although I couldn't say which wires correspond to the solenoid

Does the radio turn on at all with the ignition on?

Casper · 2023-12-17 21:46:57

Fuel return pipes? Are they old and worn looking, damp with diesel? They should go back into the furl filer housing and if its taking in air then it wont run. Fuel filter seal is a dodgy bugger also if aftermarket.

kenbw2 · 2023-12-18 00:01:39

Casper wrote:

Fuel return pipes? Are they old and worn looking, damp with diesel? They should go back into the furl filer housing and if its taking in air then it wont run. Fuel filter seal is a dodgy bugger also if aftermarket.

Ah yea that's possible. Is there a clear pipe coming into the pump? Could check that for bubbles

pegasus447 · 2023-12-18 00:39:18

Thanks, for all the ideas. Had to leave it for a few days, but will have to get onto it soon.
Yes the radio is fine. Turns on with the ignition on.
Still not sure where this solenoid is though.
Re the air filter and primer. I will crack the union and pressurise the primer until the fuel comes through, then tighten.
Strange the central locking has failed as well. Can’t see any sign of a fuse blown.
Am thinking this is more of an electrical failure than any other issue ??
Will have another look at the fuel return pipes Casper.
Thanks again.
Roly.

kenbw2 · 2023-12-18 15:36:37

You could check if fuel is being delivered to the engine by undoing one of the injector pipes and see if fuel comes out when you crank the engine

If not, then it could either be the solenoid on the pump - like JohnDragon says feed it 12V manually (not sure which wires though), or it could be fuel not making it to the pump - check the clear pipe for bubbles etc

tee_cee · 2023-12-18 23:02:54

This is where the stop solenoid is, where the question mark is

Yes, its behind a super fortified iron shield, as a security feature.
You can tell of its working, because the solenoid will "chatter" when the system is pre-heating and will give a definite "click" when the pre-heating stops (as per the pig tail light going out). If you can't hear this, then the immobiliser is not sending signal to the solenoid.
Some people have resorted to grinding the cover off and replacing the solenoid with a generic 12V version, thus bypassing the immobiliser.

pegasus447 · 2023-12-20 18:52:30

Thanks for further input and ideas. Have a chance to get to grips with it further tommorow.
Will definitely listen for the click after preheating.
Also going to crack the union and see if I can get the primer to pump.
I am thinking more fuel pump not working, but will certainly keep in mind all the other suggestions.
Will update if any success.
Thanks again.

pegasus447 · 2023-12-20 23:55:02

Well, have had a eureka moment this evening. Had been looking through the posts and taking onboard all the things to check and probable causes etc.
Was sat here thinking what I may have done to cause this and was looking through the original manual supplied with the van. I was looking through the fuses section and could see that the shunt fuse, that I had been piggy backing off, was in fact plugged into slot 2 and 3 bridging in effect the two rows. I had been inserting it into slots 3 and 4. I went out to the van and slotted the fuse into these two slots, the interior light came on, tried the central locking, all working, keyed the ignition, let the glow plug light go out and she fired up first time.
Guess I got panicky and should have gone back to the basics of when and where the problem occurred.
However many thanks indeed for all the useful comments on this problem, so relieved to have the old girl running again.
Great group.
Thanks again.
Roly. ??????

kenbw2 · 2023-12-21 14:13:02

Dammit! Bet you're kicking yourself haha

Glad you got it back to life, that's great news

Casper · 2023-12-22 21:19:07

Always the simple things however big_smile

tee_cee · 2023-12-22 23:19:25

Well kudos for admitting it smile

Last edited by tee_cee (2023-12-22 23:19:53)

pegasus447 · 2023-12-23 14:56:51

Yep feeling a bit embarrassed ???? but so happy she is running again.??????
Love my van, even gave her a wash as a Xmas present. ??
Happy Xmas all.
Roly.

pegasus447 · 2023-12-23 14:59:18

Should have been a load of smiley emojis, but shows ? Instead.
Anyway I am smiling .

AlvyLad · 2023-12-23 16:42:26

pegasus447 wrote:

Should have been a load of smiley emojis, but shows ? Instead.
Anyway I am smiling .

Karma lad, Karma! big_smile

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#1 2023-12-16 13:40:32

Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#2 2023-12-16 16:14:50

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#3 2023-12-16 18:54:03

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#4 2023-12-16 19:25:28

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#5 2023-12-16 20:04:50

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#6 2023-12-16 21:50:01

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#7 2023-12-16 22:40:05

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#8 2023-12-17 04:19:59

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#9 2023-12-17 11:36:00

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#10 2023-12-17 13:52:00

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#11 2023-12-17 21:46:57

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#12 2023-12-18 00:01:39

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#13 2023-12-18 00:39:18

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#14 2023-12-18 15:36:37

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#15 2023-12-18 23:02:54

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#16 2023-12-20 18:52:30

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#17 2023-12-20 23:55:02

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#18 2023-12-21 14:13:02

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#19 2023-12-22 21:19:07

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#20 2023-12-22 23:19:25

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#21 2023-12-23 14:56:51

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#22 2023-12-23 14:59:18

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

#23 2023-12-23 16:42:26

Re: Dispatch 1.9 cranking but not starting.

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