colorado diesel - out of fuel

Submitted: Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 08:57

ThreadID: 86399 Views:20631 Replies:10 FollowUps:9

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frog

hello everyone

i have a colorado 3.0l tdi

the manual sais dont let the engine run of of fuel, i think i've come close a couple of times.. but why the warning ?

isnt it as simple as filling the tank and turning it over ?

or is there some kind of pressure\vacuum thing happening with this engine that requires priming or something ?

thanx for any info
tony

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Reply By: Diesel 'n Dust - Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 09:06

Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 09:06

Frog,

Don't EVER let the tank go empty!

And I hear that with common rail engines it's not the best thing to do.
I know on older diesels that you just jump fuel back into the engine whilst ticking it over. I've done it before on straight 6 Nissan Patrol. By cracking a fuel line and manually pumping fuel into engine.

Common Rail Diesel are fragile compared to older engines.

Just don't run it empty!!!

cheers

Matthew Clements
I just love the Pilbara!
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AnswerID: 454802

Reply By: Baz&Pud (Tassie) - Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 09:08

Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 09:08

I'm no mechanic, but would assume that they say don't run out of fuel because if you do you have to bleed the fuel through the injectors and not every one knows how to do it, and if you're outback you may have a problem.

Interesting, just noticed your thread was submitted at 9.57am and it's only 9.05am.
Cheers
Baz

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Follow Up By: Member Al (Sunshine Coast) - Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 09:45

Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 09:45

8:57 Baz. Wakey wakey!

Cheers
Allan

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Follow Up By: Baz&Pud (Tassie) - Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 12:21

Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 12:21

Al
I was awake, and interestingly enough the time shown on your follow up shows 9.45am, but when i click on to respond the time changes to 10.45am.
Maybe its a warning from the base station in WA, there's gunna be a time zone change.
Cheers
Baz

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Reply By: frog - Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 09:12

Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 09:12

interesting..

does anyone know how many K's you get when the red fuel light flicks on. Vehicle has the standard 60 litres tank..

i've driven 5k's on red, but havent been game to push it further.. and its always good to know how far u can drag it out

something the manual should tell u i rekon

AnswerID: 454804

Follow Up By: Member - Troll 81 (QLD) - Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 09:19

Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 09:19

How long is a piece of string?

In my Petrol Patrol I get 50km before it starts coughing driving in highway conditions not towing. When I am towing it's around the 30km mark. I have tested this btw.

FollowupID: 727682

Follow Up By: OREJAP - Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 10:33

Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 10:33

If you have the owner's book it will tell you. The Pajero has 12 ltrs in reserve when the fuel light comes on & the computer read out tells fuel consumption at the time. The answers to questions you ask & more can be found in the book or if you do not have one ask your service manager at the dealership. If he doesn;t know he will soon find out. That;s the reason we pay big bucks for servicing.....we are paying for their expertise.

FollowupID: 727691

Follow Up By: Rob! - Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 10:47

Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 10:47

It's usually 50km.

FollowupID: 727693

Follow Up By: Tonyfish#58 - Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 15:50

Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 15:50

It should have a 76 Ltr Tank - I take mine to the limit, I have put 74ltrs in to it.

The light from my records comes on at about the 60ltr mark - I usually say I have a max of 80k's left after this - for a safety margin.

Mine has run out of fuel - Follow the owners manual and you will have no issues, it is posted below, put fuel in the car turn the key on and leave it on for about 10secs, repeat 4-5 times. Try to start, if it does not fire, repeat the bleed sequence. You also have a water tap on the passenger side, if the fuel pump is working you should be able to open the tap, turn the key on as per bleeding and have fuel come out the bleed hose, if you do not you have a fuel pump issue like I had, noted following; My issue turned out to be the in tank fuel pump, so the bleeding did not work well for me...but I can tell you I turned that old girl over and over until it fired. That was about 50k ago and there was not issues.

the in tank fuel pump costs an arm and a leg (about $580 + fitting) It is the pump and filter unit in one. If it happens again I will be putting in an external after market electric pump.

Cheers Tony

FollowupID: 727716

Reply By: Lachy T - Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 10:24

Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 10:24

I'm not sure about the newer colorado's, but i have a 2006 RA Diesel rodeo and it comes with an air bleed pump on the fuel filter. So if you do run it dry, before u try and start you pump it and it bleeds the air out of the system, the book says that if the engine doesn't then turn over, pump it again and again and try turning it over, etc. repeat process till the engine fires.

I havn't been game to test either this or the fuel light out, but on mine i've gotten to 50km with the light on and by then the needle is looking extremely low.

Hope this helps.

AnswerID: 454813

Reply By: member - mazcan - Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 10:41

Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 10:41

hi frog
that statement has been printed in diesel manuals since day one as far back as i can remember
simply put they dont start up like a petrol engine after refueling because you first of all have to bleed the air out of all the fuel system
some have a manual operated primer pumpto force the new through
but some dont
the ones without are the harder ones to start as you have to rely on the starter motor and battery power to turn the engine over until it clears the air out and fires up
( common rail systems in particular) and some of the older ones where manufactures deleted the primer pump to cut back on production costs

hence the warning

cheers

AnswerID: 454814

Reply By: Aaron S - Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 12:10

Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 12:10

Another reason may be that with the higher pressures of common rail and the diesel being the lubricant it damages the pump and injectors and it is the manufacturer covering their backsides ...... Maybe ?

AnswerID: 454823

Reply By: jrzoo - Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 14:15

Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 14:15

Hi Frog

I have a CRi 2007 Rodeo - depending on whoever you listen to identical to your engine (buggered if I can find a difference).

Anyway I ran out of fuel when I first bought it new - you get that when you're seeing how far you can go. It has details on what to do in the handbook. It simply is put fuel in and turn the ignition on 4 or 5 times for a number of seconds and it self bleeds (at 3000 psi or whatever stratosphere pressure they run) and then you turn it over and it will start - eventually - all this from memory. Nil damage to mine anyway except the 6pack for my mate to turn up with a can of fuel.

It mostly all in the handbook - 76 litres tank capacity - orange light comes on at about 50ish litres - yes,you can get a long way on the light but fill up when you can is probably the go.

great vehicle IMHO. Love it.

Rossy

AnswerID: 454832

Reply By: nickoff - Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 15:28

Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 15:28

I am led to understand that with the new common rail high pressure diesels, that the fuel is circulated through the system and back to the tank to keep the fuel pump cool, and the tank acts as a heat sink and radiator for the waste heat. If the high pressure diesel pump on common rail diesels is damaged due to overheating and low fuel flow, you can kiss goodbye to in excess of $10K.

AnswerID: 454834

Reply By: gbc - Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 15:44

Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 15:44

I think you should continue to read the manual.

Two posts up has it correct. Once you've added fuel, turn the ignition on and off 5 times in a few minutes - the system self primes - then start the car.
I've got over 100 kms with the fuel light on - just testing it but decided to fill it up rather than run it out. (auto colorado)

The fuel tank in a rodeo/dmax/colorado is basically a pyramid so the fuel guage falls fast from a full tank, then slows right down on the second half. The guage is fairly innaccurate, because the guage is graduated by volume but the sender works off relative position, which with a pyramid is never going to give a great outcome.

AnswerID: 454835

Follow Up By: Member - nick b - Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 20:23

Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 20:23

maybe the reason that they say don't run them out of fuel is because as we found out , it's not that quick . after sitting on the side for the road too b....n long trying to get it started .

turn the ignition on and off 5 times in a few minutes - the system self primes - then start the car. " NO" try that again again & again . ( not my car)

regards nick

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Follow Up By: Alloy c/t - Friday, May 20, 2011 at 10:34

Friday, May 20, 2011 at 10:34

Love the pyramid analogy , on mine, 2004 rodeo, 100klm on the first quarter of the fuel guage then another 150klm on the next quarter of the guage followed by 200klm on the 3rd quarter of the gauge and then 250klm until the low fuel light comes on , 700klm with a light foot on the go pedal.

FollowupID: 727796

Reply By: Gronk - Friday, May 20, 2011 at 00:36

Friday, May 20, 2011 at 00:36

If its your own 4wd, I personally wouldn't let it run out of fuel.....most ( or all ) newer CRDI injection systems run fine tolerances in the fuel pumps, and added to the fact the fuel does act as a lubricant ( and some cooling ), then depending on what exact system you have ( Terracans are one ), even the 5 or 10 secs the fuel pump runs dry for before the engine stops can be enough to do serious damage to the pump !!

If the pump starts wearing, it can send microscopic metal shavings to the injectors, which means the whole injection system needs replacing !!

Same as bad fuel.....CRDI's hate bad fuel....and you can't guarantee the fuel filter will stop it all ..

Most CRDI's would probably handle a bit of "rough" play, but are you willing to take the risk ??

AnswerID: 454896

Follow Up By: Ray - Friday, May 20, 2011 at 08:07

Friday, May 20, 2011 at 08:07

I don't own a diesel powered vehicle now but have done in the past before CRDIs were on the market.
It makes me wonder if the motor industry has advanced or just got more complicated.
I think that I would be looking very carefully before I bought another vehicle. Things have just got more complicated, I was going to say sophisticated but sophisticated is the wrong word, since production of the WB Holden and the 2H Toyota stopped

FollowupID: 727781