Citroen Berlingo HDI Van (not starting)

[Jake1886]

Hey guys first post so please be gentle

Had my Berlingo for over 3 years now. Its a 03 reg, done just over 80k, serviced regular etc, ex British Gas, 2ltr HDi engine.

Problems started happening a few times last year, would drive somewhere park up, go back and wouldn't start, but if left for say 10-15mins start up lovely. This happened about 3-4 times last year.
New years eve is when things went wrong badly. Van had been sat for the day and I decided to pop out, engine wouldn't start at all. I called RAC, bloke came out tried easy start, manually pumping diesel etc etc and it wouldn't have it. He then plugged in a computer which come up with 2 fault codes, 1. being power supply to injectors and 2. being fault with ECU.

Its been at a mechanics who has managed to get it started a few times but the problem comes back quickly. He's saying that the ECU is faulty but isn't sure as he's fitted another ECU from another van and it still won't start

Do any of you guys have a idea what might be up with it? People are now telling me the van is kaput and I should look into get another, which I simply can't afford

 

[Crickleymal]

Could well be the ECU. You can get recon or pattern ones (I think) on places like EvilBay. It sounds similar to a fault we had on my wife's old Megane (petrol). Is your mechanic a Citroen specialist? There are some around who don't charge main dealer prices.

 

[Jake1886]

I'm not sure if he's a citroen specialist. He has serviced my van, and I've noticed he works on other Berlingos + Partners, so assume he knows his stuff.

The thing with ECU is that he fitted one from another van and it still wouldn't start

 

[Crickleymal]

I don't claim any specialist knowledge about ECUs but I thought they were coded to match the key transponder. You can't just put another in without matching it to the keys AFAIK. When my wife's Megane's ECU went tits up I did look at getting another ECU from Ebay that was either uncoded or buying an encoder bypass. In the end we scrapped the car as it just wasn't worth the hassle. Your car however is worth a bit more.

If you look at the 2nd and 3rd items in this search http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_...3&_nkw=berlingo+ECU&_sacat=See-All-Categories you'll see the one without the locks and keys needs to be coded to your car.

Could still be worth investigating the injector supply fault too

 

[Jake1886]

Well visited him and the poorly Berlingo today. He now believes the ECU to be fine, as its starting fine now! But it still has its moments of not starting. He now believes the problem to lie with either the injectors or the wiring loom. Both rather notey items to start replacing ! With brand new injector's RRP around £300 per injector

Has anyone any other ideas?

 

[Burnerman]

I'm wondering if a fuel pump fault has been considered here - fairly common on the Hdi's.
Look for brass filings in the fuel filter. If none, check for a voltage at the fuel pump (in the tank) next time the thing doesn't want to start.
John

 

[Jake1886]

Hello John,

I asked the mechanic today whether it might be the fuel pump. But he said its definitely not the pump.

I mean the van is starting now so surely it can't be something severe? Or am I dreaming? I just thought now that its starting and its back to the intermittent fault its going to be something silly, like a loose connection or something?

 

[Johndug]

Can you hear the lift pump in the tank when you first turn the key? You gotta be quick because it only runs for about 7 seconds. May help to hear if you lift the rear seat. These pumps sometimes go intermitent before finally giving up.

A weak battery can also prevent prompt starting. Check that you've got at least 12.7volts in the battery.

 

[Spark123]

He now believes the problem to lie with either the injectors or the wiring loom. Both rather notey items to start replacing ! With brand new injector's RRP around £300 per injector

Has anyone any other ideas?

See if your mechanic can get them cheaper, the injectors on my (petrol) mondeo were noisey and ford were wanting a rediculous amount of £££s for an injector. My mate found the bosch number and went directly to a bosch dealer who got them for a fraction of the price (iirc it was about the same price for all 4 as a single 1 from ford).