Car out of diesel

jezzer

folks, my 03 Saab 93 was running low on my way to work but it got me to work, i parked, turned off the engine then went to turn it back on but it wouldnt start, if i out diesel into it now will it start or is there anything else i need to do?

shietpilot

Googling that car I don't think it has a priming pump button under the bonnet to bleed the air out of the system. I think you will just have to keep cranking it until it starts. Turn the ignition on and off like 10 times and attempt to start it and repeat. If your battery is weak you may not be able to do it though!

On other diesel engines they have a priming pump button like this:


You are meant to keep pressing it until the button goes hard.

It's awful trouble if you let a diesel car go out of fuel

jezzer

shietpilot wrote: »

Googling that car I don't think it has a priming pump button under the bonnet to bleed the air out of the system. I think you will just have to keep cranking it until it starts. Turn the ignition on and off like 10 times and attempt to start it and repeat. If your battery is weak you may not be able to do it though!

On other diesel engines they have a priming pump button like this:


You are meant to keep pressing it until the button goes hard.

It's awful trouble if you let a diesel car go out of fuel

thanks for coming back to me, yea the fuel gauge is not working and i got caught out

shietpilot

jezzer wrote: »

thanks for coming back to me, yea the fuel gauge is not working and i got caught out

Yeah just fill it up and try cranking. If you have jump leads you could jump it to another car. If the battery is good it should eventually start up. There won't be that much air I don't think.

Also, be sure to fill up with a decent amount, 20 euro worth should do

jezzer

shietpilot wrote: »

Yeah just fill it up and try cranking. If you have jump leads you could jump it to another car. If the battery is good it should eventually start up. There won't be that much air I don't think.

Also, be sure to fill up with a decent amount, 20 euro worth should do

i just put some diesel in it there now, a 5 litre canister, should i leave it for a while before trying to start? the strange thing is it didnt cut out on me, it got me straight into work but when i turned off and turned on again it wouldnt start?

Nekarsulm

If it's sitting on level ground, 5 litres might be OK. Heat it and spin engine for 5 seconds. Then repeat. Keep at it till it either starts, or the battery dies........

jezzer

Nekarsulm wrote: »

If it's sitting on level ground, 5 litres might be OK. Heat it and spin engine for 5 seconds. Then repeat. Keep at it till it either starts, or the battery dies........

thanks mate i will give it a try at lunch

jezzer

it wont start for me so i have had to call a vehicle recovery crowd 65 quid

shietpilot

Honestly if you ran dry of diesel I think 5 litres is way too little! You should fill up a decent amount. The fuel light should still be on with 5 litres.

jezzer

shietpilot wrote: »

Honestly if you ran dry of diesel I think 5 litres is way too little! You should fill up a decent amount. The fuel light should still be on with 5 litres.

i will get some more, would another 5 do it?

Atlantic Dawn

shietpilot wrote: »

Honestly if you ran dry of diesel I think 5 litres is way too little! You should fill up a decent amount. The fuel light should still be on with 5 litres.

5 lites will take him 20 miles or more, plenty to get to a garage for a full refuel.

PáircLife

jezzer wrote: »

it wont start for me so i have had to call a vehicle recovery crowd 65 quid

My day isn't going too bad after all !!!!

Bazzy

I've done it a few times never in a Saab tho there should defo be a primer button or Rubber thing you squeeze to prime

What year is your Saab

Don't call a recovery service you just need more diesel

eezipc

Many times back in the bad old days I had to drive my car basically running on fumes. This happened to me a few times. I'd get to my destination (After alot of sweating) and when I get back to the car it won't start. €5 of petrol used to do the trick. I would have had to start it a few times to get it going though.
Needless to say, it's bad for the car and when at all possible you should always keep plenty of fuel in the tank.

Alanstrainor

Surely we can't rule out something else at play. I find it odd that the car made it to the destination low on fuel and did not cut out or sputter before being turned off. Then only when it tried to start again it didn't fire. Can you hear the fuel pump priming when you turn the ignition to position 2?

jezzer

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Surely we can't rule out something else at play. I find it odd that the car made it to the destination low on fuel and did not cut out or sputter before being turned off. Then only when it tried to start again it didn't fire. Can you hear the fuel pump priming when you turn the ignition to position 2?

yes it is odd that it made it to my destination but when i turned off and went to start again it wouldn't start but i do know it was very low on juice, yes i hear the fuel pump

jezzer

recovery guy came, got it going, i was trying to start it wrong, he showed me how to do it, lesson learned and i learned something new!

Markcheese

jezzer wrote:

recovery guy came, got it going, i was trying to start it wrong, he showed me how to do it, lesson learned and i learned something new!

What did he do differently ?

jezzer

Markcheese wrote: »

What did he do differently ?

i attempted to start, he just switched on and off and hey presto!

Nekarsulm

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Surely we can't rule out something else at play. I find it odd that the car made it to the destination low on fuel and did not cut out or sputter before being turned off. Then only when it tried to start again it didn't fire. Can you hear the fuel pump priming when you turn the ignition to position 2?

Sometimes when a diesel is still running, even though the pick-up in the diesel tank is getting air intermittently, they seem to be able to self bleed and keep going. Even though you might feel a "shudder" from time to time. When you stop they airlock.

shietpilot

jezzer wrote: »

i attempted to start, he just switched on and off and hey presto!

Well I did say switch ignition on and off 10 times before cranking :pac: You do this because each time you turn on ignition the fuel pump runs.

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

5 lites will take him 20 miles or more, plenty to get to a garage for a full refuel.

The reserve tank capacity would be around 5 litres itself. Not enough for normal driving especially if your car is battling with an air lock!

The Backwards Man

All this fancy self bleeding crack should be down away with. There'd be very few people running out of fuel if they had to bleed the injectors individually every time.

jca

The Backwards Man wrote: »

All this fancy self bleeding crack should be down away with. There'd be very few people running out of fuel if they had to bleed the injectors individually every time.

Ahhh the old simms in line injector pump with the rounded off bleed nipple, now that was a challenge...everything soaked in red diesel and the fcuker still wouldn't start!!!

Nekarsulm

jca wrote: »

Ahhh the old simms in line injector pump with the rounded off bleed nipple, now that was a challenge...everything soaked in red diesel and the fcuker still wouldn't start!!!

Open everything and run her on easy-start till you get some sign of life

Melodeon

Nekarsulm wrote: »

Open everything and run her on easy-start till you get some sign of life

The Aussies definitely came up with the best brand name for this stuff: