Diesel, won't start Help please??

[mitch1965]

Hi folk, i wonder if anyone can shed some light on my gf's diesel??

Its a 1999 Vec-b 2.0 Di. It broke down on her last night on a roundabout, she said it was asi f she was in wrong gear pulling off & it stalled, then the accelerator pedal went light, as if fuel isn't getting through.
She has plenty of fuel in the car & it is diesel in there. could this be the throttle position sensor, or the dreaded pump that gone on it??
I don't have a clue where to start, apart from i know fuel has & is in the filter area.
Also suffice to say there is no eml light flashing on this either.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated

[Penfold101]

Does it turn over and just not start at all now?

[mitch1965]

Yeah it turns over, but the battery is dead & on charge now, I got it dragged home last night, had thought it could have been chains, but the engine turns over making the usual noise without firing up.
Had thought about trying to pull start it off a rope, but it wold possibly not start anyway??

[Penfold101]

Nah, wouldn't make any difference mate as all that does is replace the starter motor...

It's either air of fuel, possibly the intake gunged up...

[mitch1965]

Would this be the air intake gunged up??
I had thought MAF but also thought, this would show on EML warning??
Having no eml, or a way of finding fault like paper clip test/ pedal test I am stuck. Its deffo diesel in the tank, & was last filled on saturday & done a good few miles since.

[m8internet]

It's either air of fuel

Very unlikely to be air
The MAF would sense poor air flow and return a fault code
However the inlet manifold could still be the cause
If the butterfly valve has snapped then NO air will enter!
However the engine should still run, but produce LOTS of black smoke

It is possible there is fuel starvation, but that is usually gradual, not sudden
Equally, very unlikely to be faulty injectors or poor compression

It could also be an electrical fault
The fuel sender switch may be broken
This would also explain why the accelerator fails to respond
However the engine should still idle and rev
Equally, the engine management light should come on when this switch has failed

Sadly a more detailed garage inspection will be necessary

[mitch1965]

Its not looking good for it then. I had hoped i would find a simple fault, looking like its gonna have to be a garage job then??
I will have another look at the throttle boday to see if i can find something. No-one's come back & said it the pump thats gone, so it can't be bad news??

[mitch1965]

Ok, an update on this one,
The AA man has been & he has it diagnosed as the fuel pump

Now i have to ask is it going to be worth doing, these aren't cheap, its been, this is the only time its let her down, but had to be the major way.


If anyone knows the where abouts of a pump for this, i would greatly appreciate it.

[John LE]

The pumps aren't as expensive the Vec-c dti pumps though mate. Should be a fairly straight forward swap

[mitch1965]

Been looking about, but i daren't check with the dealers tbh.
Have seen one, its £175 with no comeback,,, yeah right.
Most of the others have been around the £350 mark, but i haven't got a clue on fitting these things, so it would have to be a garage, meaning more wallet bashing.
I am also looking at possibly getting the old one refurbed