1.9tdi Limited To 3000rpm And Difficult To Start

[si.miller]

Hi everyone I have just purchased (SATURDAY) this 1.9tdi Galaxy 1998 Ghia X, shes done 89000 miles with fsh to June this year I desperatly need help.

The guy I bought this from has only had this 3 months he did not seem to know anything about cars at all and didnt set any alarm bells ringing at the time lol now I think they should have been bursting my ear drums!

1, the speedo isnt working I was told it had stopped just after he advertised it we all know these things happen and silly me thought it was a cable! it does flash on every now and again 70 miles home it managed to register a total of 1.6 miles

2,He did tell me that its very hard to start when cold " always seems like it is not going to start but always does" and he did say that it will not do a top speed of more than 80 mph I didnt realise that was out of the ordinary and thought the starting problems were down to needing new glow plugs.

I drove her home lovely drive cant fault it runs really smooth BUT it is not going over 3000 rpm I have trawled through the tech section since saturday and I have found posts that seem to suggest this is in limp home mode would the gal pick up and drive as well as this if it is limp home?

I think I have also found that the starting problems could also be connected to limp home any suggestions as to where to start please I am used to a diesel sireea with NO

[mumof4]

heck, could be a few things.If shes gutless and wont go over 70/80 at a push, it could be MAF, try disconnecting and see how she drives.

 

When you say speedo, do you mean the bit where it tells you how many miles you have done?as i thought the speedo was the dial that shows how fast you are going.

 

Limp home mode means its gutless and no oomph...the gal can go a lot faster than that :unsure:

 

as for not starting straight off from cold..not sure on that one as never had that problem

[si.miller]

When you say speedo, do you mean the bit where it tells you how many miles you have done?as i thought the speedo was the dial that shows how fast you are going.

thanks for looking yes the speedo I mean the actual speed it flickers every now and again and the trip meter calculated a 70ish mile trip home as 1.6 miles so I assume this was counted suring the brief spells of it working its actually showing the total mileage all the time ok that doesnt flicker at all. on a cable speedo car this would be the same problem that you get when the cable is broken or has a very loose connection.

[NikpV]

look for split vacuum hoses, I seem to recall someone recently had a problem not being able to get the revs above 3k

 

Worth disconnecting the maf and seeing if its better, if so you defo want to replace it, even if its no better it doesn't always rule it out,

 

have you experienced the starting problem yet? does it run rough? any extra smoke what colour? more info needed

[si.miller]

have you experienced the starting problem yet? does it run rough? any extra smoke what colour? more info needed

Oh yes the bad starting is every time! it is exactly as the seller described it always seems like its not going to start she churns over and over is not firing at all then suddenly it will spring into life which always seems to be at the point when the battry sounds like its just about to give up trying! when started there is a dark cloud from back but nothing unusual for a diesel thats been turned over without starting, once running nothing unusual and its backed right up to a wall so would be very noticable. after the inital start she starts quite quick even if the engine is only slightly warm, when its really warm its literally as soon as the key is turned. we have had the maf off today " think" it might possibly get more revs but thats standing still on the drive without taking it on a run and that didnt make any difference to the starting when the engine was cold again. It always will go above the 3000 when standing still but refuses to go over it at all when being driven. With the Maf off it sounded really different like it had more life ( difficult to explain)

Driving it we can only assume its pulling away ok etc bit hard to judge as this is our first one and the first Gal we have ever driven.

There is a clear fuel pipe that runs accross the engine that goes into the diesel pump my Son noticed today it looks like every now and again air bubbles are travelling inside the pipe dont know if that could be anything!

She runs lovely no rough running, no nasty noises the previous owner didnt seem to realise it should do any more than the 80 mph and didnt think it was or should drive any different to his sons 90 bhp tdi

[NikpV]

ummm air bubbles in the fuel may give some grief with starting, thing is the temperature dependence could be glowplugs, I wonder about the battery? putting a new one in my escort did wonders for cold starting.

 

I think you have to get the engine under load without the maf connected to see its effectiveness or not) -

 

I'm not convinced that the MAF will solve your rev problem I would look for a broken/split hose for that

[si.miller]

thanks for the help cant see anything obvious! My son is taking it into a garage where a mate works for diagnostics tomorrow and he seems to think he knows what the problem is and has ordered some parts ready to try so cross everthing I am not going to loose an arm or leg to get her right!

[si.miller]

Just posting a follow up to the problem incase it may help some one else out she went for diagnostics yesterday and the 3000rpm problem is all down to the turbo boost pressure we need a new attenuator for the turbo and my turbo boost valve has been glued together with superglue I assume the owner that got rid of this to the person I bought this off got rid of it in a hurry because they also found the fault and were not prepared to spend money fixing a turbo and they guy i bought it off didnt even realise there was a problem!

now the problem is not knowing which engine we have to actually get the parts as the turbos are different for the 90 and 110 BHP

The starting problems well I have only had diesel vehicles for the last 18 years and I have NEVER EVER known any to be this difficult to start ( doesnt even fire until the battery is about to die totally) they tested the glow plugs and there is only one of them out cant believe that would make starting that hard.

[NikpV]

thanks for the follow up -

 

I have tacked this on to the original topic so its kept together please just reply to the original thread ta.

[seatkid]

Try and check its service history - when was the fuel filter last changed?

 

Sounds as if some hamfisted person has had a go at trying to solve a limp home problem which begs the question what else have they done? (It may have had a tuning box or remap at some stage.)

 

You need to check if the glowplug are being activated on a cold start - use a meter or a bulb to check the glowplug busbar voltage when the key is turned with a cold engine. A faulty temperature sensor would stop the glowplugs from operating which would cause the symptoms you describe.

 

Also is the battery in good condition?

[insider]

Just posting a follow up to the problem incase it may help some one else out she went for diagnostics yesterday and the 3000rpm problem is all down to the turbo boost pressure we need a new attenuator for the turbo and my turbo boost valve has been glued together with superglue

 

If the "boost valve" is a bypass valve, dump valve, wastegate, etc. then it suggests that you have a 90bhp engine. The 110bhp engine was fitted with a variable nozzle turbocharger so there wouldn't be a bypass valve.

The safest way to identify it though, is to find the engine number stamped on the block (AHU=90, AFN=110).

[seatkid]

Ways to find what engine is fitted (as original built) :-

 

1. If any letters on the Tdi badge on the tailgate are red then its the 110bhp variant

 

2. Open the tailgate and open the drivers side rear compartment (where the jack is) - there should be a sticker with vehicle build detail including engine type/code

 

3. Take the VIN no (passenger side window) to a Ford dealer and ask them to look it up

 

4. Get the engine number - look for a sticker on the cambelt cover - sometimes it also in your V5 registration document.

 

Look for the letters AHU or AFN as per previous poster.

[Smilge]

Just posting a follow up to the problem incase it may help some one else out she went for diagnostics yesterday and the 3000rpm problem is all down to the turbo boost pressure we need a new attenuator for the turbo and my turbo boost valve has been glued together with superglue

 

If the "boost valve" is a bypass valve, dump valve, wastegate, etc. then it suggests that you have a 90bhp engine. The 110bhp engine was fitted with a variable nozzle turbocharger so there wouldn't be a bypass valve.

The safest way to identify it though, is to find the engine number stamped on the block (AHU=90, AFN=110).

 

This sounds to me as though the Boost Control Solenoid (N75) is causing your VNT mechanism not to work. When he mentions attenuator I assume he is talking about the VNT actuator which physically moves the vanes in the turbo which adjusts the amount of pressure. It is common for the VNT mechanism to stick and also the vacuum pipe to the VNT diaphagm to perish. Again like Insider suggested, you need to find out what engine is fitted to yours. Basically if it is the type fitted with the Variable vane turbo you're looking at

[si.miller]

If the "boost valve" is a bypass valve, dump valve, wastegate, etc. then it suggests that you have a 90bhp engine. The 110bhp engine was fitted with a variable nozzle turbocharger so there wouldn't be a bypass valve.

The safest way to identify it though, is to find the engine number stamped on the block (AHU=90, AFN=110).

 

This sounds to me as though the Boost Control Solenoid (N75) is causing your VNT mechanism not to work. When he mentions attenuator I assume he is talking about the VNT actuator which physically moves the vanes in the turbo which adjusts the amount of pressure. It is common for the VNT mechanism to stick and also the vacuum pipe to the VNT diaphagm to perish. Again like Insider suggested, you need to find out what engine is fitted to yours. Basically if it is the type fitted with the Variable vane turbo you're looking at