03 CDTi Auto Cutting out\Not starting

olliewarwick · 15th July 2015, 08:04

Hi All,

I'm having a bit of a problem with my car. There is a bit of history to this problem which can be found in this thread:

http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/foru...d.php?t=219445

but basically I came out of the leisure centre a couple of weeks ago and the car wouldn't start. Checked the plenum and there was quite a bit of water in there, which I poked out and it drained out however, the bottom of the ecu was bone dry. A day later it started but I noticed, after it was pointed out by MarinaBrian that the oil light hadn't been on, but after a day of leaving it turned the ignition on, oil light on and it started. I took it to PhilT4 who gave the ECU the once over cleaned and checked it, also looked at the immobiliser unit as that had seen some work in the past and had a historic issue of water ingress caused by the sunroof drain, again checked and working.

Now up to Monday this week. We had rain for the first time and my girlfriend took the car out and went swimming, coming out of the car park and the car cut out, no warning just stopped. Called me, I described the oil light to her and she assured me that it was not alight (but she is not a car person so this hasn't been verified) when trying to start the car. I went out to her and the car and by the time I got there the oil light was on and it started. I checked the plenum and there was no water this time at all.

I checked the drain from the sunroof by the immobiliser unit and that appeared to be fine, and bone dry too, further to that the immobiliser unit was well out of the way for the drain.

It's worth noting that when this happens the car does crank over, it just doesn't fire.

Tank is well over half full and I can hear the under bonnet pump, not the under seat one. That said, we've had the tank almost completely empty and it starts fine.

It isn't heat related as when it happened to me it had been sat for about an hour and later about 3 hours, when it happened to Francesca it had been sat about 10 mins.

Both times it had rained.

Any suggestions would be very welcome at the moment as we are down to one, pretty unreliable, car at the moment.

Thanks in advance.

Ollie

olliewarwick · 15th July 2015, 08:07

Sorry Mods, I think this should probably have gone into the technical forum.

Ollie

Ian G · 15th July 2015, 08:18

As they say... I'm no expert but it maybe the camshaft sensor, the fact that it was raining may be just coincidence..
Cheers Ian

olliewarwick · 15th July 2015, 08:48

Thanks redfive. As I understand it the camshaft sensor only works whilst cranking, and after it's started becomes redundant, unless I've misunderstood another post which is very possible.

Mike Noc · 15th July 2015, 16:20

You are spot on Ollie - the cam sensor signal is referenced by the ECM when the engine starts and is then ignored until the next start up.

It can prevent the engine from starting but can't cause it to cut out.

olliewarwick · 15th July 2015, 21:09

Thanks for confirming, sometimes you hear these things but your not sure if it's correct or not. So that's not my problem because my cuts out and then won't start. I will see what else I can find.

Thanks, Ollie

Dragrad · 15th July 2015, 21:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by olliewarwick

Sorry Mods, I think this should probably have gone into the technical forum.

Ollie

Correct.. Thread moved to appropriate forum. Re-direct left in old.

15th July 2015, 08:04	#1
olliewarwick Avid contributor MG ZT-T+ Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Guildford Posts: 143 Thanks: 8 Thanked 20 Times in 13 Posts	03 CDTi Auto Cutting out\Not starting Hi All, I'm having a bit of a problem with my car. There is a bit of history to this problem which can be found in this thread: http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/foru...d.php?t=219445 but basically I came out of the leisure centre a couple of weeks ago and the car wouldn't start. Checked the plenum and there was quite a bit of water in there, which I poked out and it drained out however, the bottom of the ecu was bone dry. A day later it started but I noticed, after it was pointed out by MarinaBrian that the oil light hadn't been on, but after a day of leaving it turned the ignition on, oil light on and it started. I took it to PhilT4 who gave the ECU the once over cleaned and checked it, also looked at the immobiliser unit as that had seen some work in the past and had a historic issue of water ingress caused by the sunroof drain, again checked and working. Now up to Monday this week. We had rain for the first time and my girlfriend took the car out and went swimming, coming out of the car park and the car cut out, no warning just stopped. Called me, I described the oil light to her and she assured me that it was not alight (but she is not a car person so this hasn't been verified) when trying to start the car. I went out to her and the car and by the time I got there the oil light was on and it started. I checked the plenum and there was no water this time at all. I checked the drain from the sunroof by the immobiliser unit and that appeared to be fine, and bone dry too, further to that the immobiliser unit was well out of the way for the drain. It's worth noting that when this happens the car does crank over, it just doesn't fire. Tank is well over half full and I can hear the under bonnet pump, not the under seat one. That said, we've had the tank almost completely empty and it starts fine. It isn't heat related as when it happened to me it had been sat for about an hour and later about 3 hours, when it happened to Francesca it had been sat about 10 mins. Both times it had rained. Any suggestions would be very welcome at the moment as we are down to one, pretty unreliable, car at the moment. Thanks in advance. Ollie

15th July 2015, 08:18	#3
Ian G This is my second home Small Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Land of the Eel Posts: 6,317 Thanks: 2,328 Thanked 2,991 Times in 1,431 Posts	As they say... I'm no expert but it maybe the camshaft sensor, the fact that it was raining may be just coincidence.. Cheers Ian __________________ The man behind redfive

15th July 2015, 08:07	#2
olliewarwick Avid contributor MG ZT-T+ Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Guildford Posts: 143 Thanks: 8 Thanked 20 Times in 13 Posts	Sorry Mods, I think this should probably have gone into the technical forum. Ollie

15th July 2015, 08:48	#4
olliewarwick Avid contributor MG ZT-T+ Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Guildford Posts: 143 Thanks: 8 Thanked 20 Times in 13 Posts	Thanks redfive. As I understand it the camshaft sensor only works whilst cranking, and after it's started becomes redundant, unless I've misunderstood another post which is very possible.

15th July 2015, 16:20	#5
Mike Noc This is my second home Rover 75 CDT Manual Connoisseur SE, Rover 75 CDT Automatic Connoisseur SE & a Freelander Td4. Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hampshire Posts: 11,565 Thanks: 3,470 Thanked 3,119 Times in 2,247 Posts	You are spot on Ollie - the cam sensor signal is referenced by the ECM when the engine starts and is then ignored until the next start up. It can prevent the engine from starting but can't cause it to cut out.

15th July 2015, 21:09	#6
olliewarwick Avid contributor MG ZT-T+ Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Guildford Posts: 143 Thanks: 8 Thanked 20 Times in 13 Posts	Thanks for confirming, sometimes you hear these things but your not sure if it's correct or not. So that's not my problem because my cuts out and then won't start. I will see what else I can find. Thanks, Ollie