4 Causes of Diesel Cars Not Starting and How to Overcome Them
There are various factors that can cause a diesel car not to start. Each has a different way of being resolved. Therefore, you must first understand these causes, which will be explained in the following discussion.
Causes of Diesel Cars Not Starting
Here are some of the most common causes that make diesel cars difficult or unable to start.
1. Trapped Air
The most common cause is trapped air in the fuel line. This usually occurs when the car is first started in the morning. Even if it can start, there will be air still trapped in the combustion chamber, causing other problems.
When this happens, it is possible that the vehicle's engine performance decreases such as reduced compression. Additionally, the car's pull also feels heavier, causing fuel to become wasteful, and it can even cause the vehicle to stall suddenly while in use.
Read Also: 10 Diesel Engine Components, How They Work and Their Functions
2. Indication of Air Ingress
Still related to the previous point, the most common occurrence is that residual air enters the fuel system. This condition is often referred to as air ingress in vehicles, especially cars.
The reason air can enter the fuel chamber is during the replacement of the diesel filter. When the replacement is done, air will be compressed when the fuel pump operates. The pressure for the fuel decreases and it does not come out, making it difficult to start the engine.
When air is trapped, the pressure generated by the engine will only expel the trapped air. Besides filter replacement, an empty fuel condition can also cause air to be sucked into the injection system, preventing fuel from coming out.
3. Turbocharger Issues
When air or under boost starts to decrease due to the closure of the turbo vane, it can indeed cause several problems. One of these problems is making the air pressure unstable. This condition is often experienced by diesel cars with turbo technology or SUVs.
4. Low Compression
It is important to know that in diesel cars, the combustion process is the most crucial. If the combustion that occurs is not perfect, such as due to decreased compression pressure, it will cause the car to be difficult to start.
How to Overcome Diesel Cars Not Starting
After understanding some of the causes above, you can now learn how to overcome them.
1. Bleeding Air
This method needs to be done if the problem occurs due to trapped air, namely by bleeding. In this process, you will manually remove air from the fuel line by pumping.
When pumped, the air will move to the injector. After that, when the engine is started, the air will come out when the injector opens. This process can be done independently, but you need to first find out where the diesel filter is located.
2. Checking the Battery Condition
Next, you can try to check the battery condition when the diesel car is difficult to start. If the battery is still in good condition but the voltage is low, you need to recharge the battery until the voltage reaches 12 volts.
Meanwhile, when the surface of the battery appears to be bulging, it usually indicates that the capacity is starting to decrease. This can affect performance and cause the car to be difficult to start.
Read Also: Advantages and Disadvantages of Diesel Engines
After knowing the causes of diesel cars not starting and their solutions, you can now feel more at ease when experiencing these problems. However, if the condition seems quite severe, please take it to the nearest Daihatsu authorized workshop before it gets worse.
