Heavy smoke on startup... causes?

[BiG K]

When starting the car up it smokes quite a bit, light greyish which smells like diesel, no oil or water being used. The engine feels a bit rough for about 30 seconds and then it's fine.

It's a '99 HDi - 235k on clocks - owned for 8 years & done over 120k in it, remapped by Mr Whippy for the last 5-6 years, brand new 075 injectors fitted around 180k

If I rev it, it will smoke very heavily, especially at 1500rpm where the engine feels very very rough but the smoke clears up when the engine revs are over 1800rpm and smoke returns when revs drop to 1500rpm. After 30ish seconds, the engine is fine.

When engine is warm, it's absolutely fine.

Glowplugs seem to be fine (No voltage supplied after the engine runs anyway, disconnected the glow plugs completely and behaves the same.)

If MAF is disconnected - engine goes into limp home mode.


Now, 2 years ago racing a Type R, around 3k in 3rd gear, engine shut off, error code P1112 displayed, after which the situation got worse, shutting off in 5th, 4th, 2nd.

I do have Peugeot Planet, for error code P1112, engine shut off at 3213rpm, Pressure sensor 1043Bar, FPR was at 97.3%, Regulator Current 1188 mA, Fuel temp 61c.

FPR was never replaced (rounded bolt : ) , Esso Premium Diesel (Double detergents) seemed to fix it : But it recently happened again on a very hot sunny day.

From what I've read, seems like the FPR at fault here, would it cause the heavy smoke on startup?

Also on Peugeot Planet, it shows the camshaft / crankshaft as not being synchronized, is that normal or an issue?

[toseland]

engine will shut off if the fuel pressure spikes too high.. Pro-steve had that issue with mine when mapping it.

White dieselly smoke indicates unburt hydrocarbon entering the exhaust...


seems like either: an injector issue, leaking or stuck injector?, or a rail pressure issue?

the cutting out would point to overpressure, especially if it is difficult to restart immediately afterwards for about 10 seconds..

check connections at rail sensor, remove the pressure regulator from rear of pump and inspect for any swarf on tip of pin. clean the regulator sensor clear codes and see how it goes.

Fuel pressure at idle should be (IIRC) 298bar... if you smoothly but quickly rev it it should go up to around 1300bar and stay steady under revs..

[Poodle]

Jammed fpr by the sounds of it, too much rail pressure at idle. Alternative is a sticky injector, but if they're relatively new i'd be surprised. Unless by new you mean second-hand..?

[BiG K]

Thanks for the suggestions, I've got the car booked in to a local garage (Pro Diesel) this Friday, they'll try and replace the FPR, will keep everyone notified of any updates on that!

[pro_steve]

If it's smokes white on cold start it's the injectors.

Replace with low mileage injectors, don't use refurbished injectors they only last a few months and then you'll have problems again.

[BiG K]

FPR was replaced yesterday (for a good used unit) and so far it seems to have cured the problems. No smoke on startup, engine runs smoother and seems to have more punch. Under heavy load FPR goes to 85% max. I guess the pump is still worn a bit too, but the car has done 230k.

The injectors were brand new. Not refurb/recon or used. 4 brand new 073 injectors from Bosch. There was no reason to replace the injectors other than I got the injectors cheap.

[BiG K]

Well... The gremlins have showed up again, engine cut out again when trying to join a motorway. Popped it on PP2000, when the engine cut out, the pressure recorded was only 933 bar, the max pressure is slowly decreasing over time.

On idle, Fuel rail pressure is recorded around 298 bar +/- 10bar. If I quickly rev it while the car is stationary, I will never see 1300 bar, max I've seen is ~850 bar.

I've done an injector leak off test (using a Renault leak off test kit) at 5 minutes on idle (from cold) the results were:

Inj 1: 26ml
Inj 2: 36ml
Inj 3: 36ml
Inj 4: 35ml

I did do an injector leak off test when the injectors were installed around 180k (now on 230k), and Inj 1 was always lower. Using the same kit, My friend's HDi got 32, 25, 45, 50 in half the time.

Is the HP pump due a replacement?

[Poodle]

That's still a lot for 5 minutes, although not the worst i've seen by a long shot. Leak off tests should be done for about 20 minutes minimum to get a good result, for future reference.

Are you sure it's not the lift pump or fuel relay at fault?

[BiG K]

If I ran the test for 20 mins, the fuel pots would overflow! haha 



I have found the results from the leak off test when the injectors were installed, surprisingly enough, the results were far more uneven than the above, the injectors must have bedded in.

The LP fuel pump was replaced a few years ago for a new one and even if the relay was faulty, it wouldn't cause cutting out from 2950-3100 rpm. I've got a cambelt kit and HP pump, off to replace the next thing in the chain I guess!

[Poodle]

The fuel relay could cause that as it also controls the fpr, if it's got a noisy signal... Hope changing the hp pump fixes it for you.

[BiG K]

Reconditioned pump fitted and the cutting out issues have been resolved. MPG, mid range torque and responsiveness has gone up considerably too.

Still smokes on startup the bastard lol I'll whip the FPS out and give it a clean, can't hurt!

[Poodle]

Good to hear.