95 Escort 1.8 Diesel wont start

[nick.jh]

The car sounds like it's just about to start but doesn't quite get there.

I had a recovery guy come out 8 months ago with the same symtoms, and he sprayed what he called engine starter in part of the engine, and this started it first time. Since then it has had the same problem twice, these occations I spraied compressed air in there (as I guessed that's what he had) and this had the same result, and started fine. Obviously there was a problem but you know money is tight.

Now, this has happened again and the comprssed air isn't helping

I've got power to the car, no problem, it just wont start, I was wondering if it's the glow plugs, if so can any tell me ho wto check this or more importantly where are they and how do I replace them.

Thanks

[mightymoose_22]

Most likely glow plugs.

Test them with an ohmmeter touching one lead to the tip and the other to the threads. If it is no good you will not get a reading. Chances are if they are bad, you will know it when you remove it... the head will be burned or swollen.

They are easy to replace.... just like spark plugs... out with the old and in with the new.

If your plugs test ok, check the controller device that operates them... just follow the plug wires bag to see where they come together at.

[nick.jh]

Thanks for that, I'll give it a try. Though I'm a complete beginner, roughly were are the glow plugs.

[12Ounce]

I've had two Escort diesels ... one got smashed on the interstate, the other finally died after heaps of miles and heaps of neglect.

The glow plugs are kinda like regular plugs ... but they're all hooked up to the same one conductor, some engines have individual glow-plug wires that go back to a common connector ... so just look for something on the cylinder head that has the conductor wire going to it (them). They are easy to remove for inspection ... just make sure you don't get crap down in the holes.

Once I had some problems with the electric relay feeding the glowplugs .. 'til I could spend some repair time on it, I would just raise the hood, press a large conductor wire from the battery + post to the glowplugs for a few seconds ... then jump in the car and crank-up before the plugs could cool down. (This is a bit dangerous ... if you severely overheat the plugs, a piece will actually burn off and fall on top of the piston .... NOT GOOD!).

You can also check and see if you're getting fuel by:
(A) Remove all glow plugs.
(B) Crank the engine and see if fuel mist comes wheezing out of each cylinder.

Have you drained the water out of fuel filter lately? (Looks like a quart can kinda, on the firewall near the RH hood hinge. Changed the fuel filter cartridge?? (I think I still have a new spare).

[steelsoldiers]

The recovery guy probably sprayed ether in your intake to get it to start. Ether has been used for years to start big truck diesels. Some even have a dash mounted knob to spray it while starting. The big difference is that your diesel has glow plugs and rigs with ether start don't. Ethering a rig with hot glow plus can cause problems like swollen or broken glow plugs and other maladies. If you do ether it, make sure you disconnect the glow plug harness first to ensure there's no explosive detonation.

[nick.jh]

Thankyou all, I think that's pretty conclusive. I've pulled them out to check if fuel mist came through, it did. I've tried a bump start, it didn't.

And with that bit about the Ether, that makes sense as compressed air sprays can contain Ether (Though somethimes Ether free) so that explains why that may have worked.

Thanks all I'll give the glow Plugs ago.

[nick.jh]

I decided before paying for the glow plugs to use my recovery service (includes home start).

Basicaly he sprayed a little Ether and the engine kept starting but wouldn't stay on and kept cutting out.

So I guess the glow plugs are most likely a factor but could be something else, so I gave in and got him to take to a local garage rather than calling out recovery again if just replacing the glow plugs didn't work.

[steelsoldiers]

If it would start on ether but wouldn't stay running, you may have a fuel delivery problem. You may have an air leak somewhere and diesels hate air in the system, or maybe your lift pump it giving up on you, or maybe the injection pump, or maybe the fuel shut-off solenoid crapped out, etc....

Most of the time it is air in the lines that will cause a diesel to start and then die again. Lots of cranking with the starter will follow as the pump tries to push the air out of the lines. If you crack your injector nuts open and have a friend crank the engine, you should see fuel pulse out around the lines as each cylinder gets a shot.

Hopefully the shop will sort all that out for you without out charging an arm/leg. If it happens again in the future, troubleshoot the fuel system.

Good luck,
Chris

[nick.jh]

Thanks for that Chris.

without out charging an arm/leg

Hope so

Thanks again all, I'll let you know what the garage says.

[12Ounce]

Did you ever check the fuel filter?