300Tdi cold start, and all you need to know about fuel senders and simple modifications

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If you have a Defender/Tdi problem and do not know how to fix it, drop me a line! Maybe I can help!
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[@NigelFurber]

My Dad had a similar thing; on a BMW 1800ti (!) it had twin Solex sidedraughts. Give it the beans and it would cut out after a couple of miles and then recover. You could blow air through the fuel system no problem. To cut a long story short, we finally took the fuel system apart and it had a filter which was clean but, but in the banjo fitting feeding it a large moth was stuck. It had travelled the length of the car and couldn't turn the corner.

[@MrRobmellor]

Hi Mike. You have pointed out one of the most troublesome fuel faults that I have ever known, that is a negative buoyancy obstruction in the tank. Many years ago, a friend of mine was nearly bankrupted because his removal van kept breaking down. He had it into a garage so many times costing him so much money for roadside repairs and towing in fee's that he was on the verge of selling it and packing in his business. As a last resort he asked me how much I would give him for the van. I felt a bit sorry for him and said that I would take a look at it for him. I took the tank off and poured the diesel out of the tank into buckets, as I was looking into the buckets out came a cap-seal, that is the soft paper packing that makes a seal for the cap. It turned out that he had been buying knocked off diesel on the cheap and pouring it straight into his tank out of the 5 gallon drum and never checked that the seal was still inside the cap. So this cap seal must have fallen into the tank and was getting caught every time it drifted across the path of the suction of the pick-up pipe in the tank. So what you have just shown is that if a vehicle has an intermittent fuel fault, look for a cap-seal or similar in the tank. Once again Mike a very invaluable lesson to pass on to your watchers, one that you would never learn from a book. Best wishes from Yorkshire Rob. Please keep the videos coming.

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Well Rob, I am glad it was not just me finding out this fluke! A real head scratcher when I first found this out Have a great Christmas! Mike

[@mikehetherington4788]

@@BritannicaRestorations I had similar on my discovery it was a plastic cap seal from a bottle of redex additive,

[@philhealey449]

Hell, remote locking on a Land Rover! Whatever next to go wrong ! I slide open the side window and have internal padlocking on my Series 1, years ahead of Mr Bean. Had exactly the same sudden intermittent fuel starvation / air suction drama from a rusted fuel suction pipe on an old Citroen Relay van on a nightmare run to Milton Keynes when the exhaust also fell off. Instant remote fuel diagnosis from a Citroen Guru when I described the symptoms. Also battled organic sludge in one of my old MB W123's 300D fuel tanks that kept partially clogging the fuel delivery. The evidence in hindsight was the hand primer pump feeling it was pulling a vacuum. I think on fuel gauge, the Voltage stabiliser dictates maximum reading and the wild swinging would then be tamed by a capacitor ? No such nonsense in the S1 with its cork float sender still going strong after 64 years and you confirm accurately what's happening by lifting the seat and looking directly at the fuel level.

[@Mike7O7O]

As I said in another comment Mike, you're a natural in front of the camera, so please keep on doing what you're doing. And a very Merry Christmas to you and your family.

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Thank you so much for your kind words and support - considering taking this further in 2019 Have a great Christmas! Mike

[@grahamsmith2039]

I still remember our trip to Scotland in 1990 when the Austin 1100 ran out of petrol due to a bent pick up pipe in the tank and the temporary fix to get us to a filling station where we spent the night, happy days mike , all the best Graham

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Thanks Graham - remember that Christmas preset I gave you years ago? LOL! Mike

[@grahamsmith2039]

Britannica Restorations Ltd How could I forget , excitement down to disappointment in 10 seconds lol

[@BritannicaRestorations]

As father Jack would say - "I love my brick"

[@dougfields5798]

You don’t think even Britpart could mess it up REALLY WOW .

[@48sydney]

I once had a Volvo 343 which also used to stop with fuel starvation. They had a plastic filter on the end, but as they became old they would collapse and block the pickup pipe. I was advised two solutions, one was to cut the pipe at 45 degrees and / or throw the pickup filter away.

[@nzrestoration9486]

Well it’s Christmas Day in NZ and I have opened my presents from Mum in the UK she has done me proud sending me Two Land Rover magazines! Now I had a choice Bing Crosby Christmas songs or watching Mike the Land Rover man in Canada! Guess you won that one Mike! Have a good White Christmas and thanks for your time and efforts , no chance of snow here it’s summer!

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Strap yourself in as I will be doing a few videos in the next few hours! So grab your turkey sandwiches! Thanks for your support - I am considering taking this further as it have been a very good first year, and I enjoy doing this more than customers work - there is so much more to do! Warmed up to -6c so things can't be that bad! Have a great day! Mike

[@paulfowler2790]

May I take this opportunity to wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year and thank you for posting all your videos 😃😃 keep them coming please

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Thank you Paul! And I really appreciate your support in my first year There were times I was thinking of giving up, but if it was not for you guys I may have done - but now I want to do more in 2019! Have a great Christmas! Mike

[@paulfowler2790]

Britannica Restorations Ltd not only are you a great mechanic but also a true Gent . Thank you

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Paul -- I think you will like my Christmas special! Lol! Mike

[@davidwoods80]

Happy Christmas, Mike, and may the new year bring you many customers who have no deadline for their repairs, plenty of cash, and jobs that you can do in your sleep because they're so simple. Cheers!

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Thanks David! I am having a serious think about my business and things over the holidays The videos are more fun for me to do that the job now - and that made me realize that the fun has gone from the job now - and there is very little money in it at the end of the day (not like the old days)

[@vic6820]

I once bought a britpart fuel tank for my 110 200 Tdi with a new britpart sender. The bolt holes in the fuel tank didn't line up, way off and the locking ring on the sender was too small. I ordered bearmach replacements and it all went together perfectly. Maybe luck of the draw. Happy Christmas, it certainly is a white one for you!

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Britpart is very hit and miss I am getting used to it now.. Have a great time at Christmas! Mike

[@nickboylen6873]

As you said, cost engineering. Series vehicles had fantastic filler necks with pull-out extenders for filling from cans without spouts, and those extenders had strainers to prevent debris entering the tanks. They were easy to remove for cleaning, too. Likewise the senders, which are in the top of the tanks on SIIs and SIIIs, but otherwise similar.

[@BritannicaRestorations]

I could not work out why they didn't put an access panel in the Td5 floor - as you say would have cost a few quid more

[@nickboylen6873]

They had it on the 109s and earlier 110s. They also deleted the tool locker from the rear left corner of 110 commercial tubs. Then there was the thinning of the body panels during the 300Tdi era to roughly half the thickness they used to be (so merely leaning of the front wings results in dents). Cost engineers and bean counters did a lot of damage to Land Rover.

[@BritannicaRestorations]

My 1958 S1 has panels twice the thickness of a Defender

[@neilfrancis3013]

Merry Xmas mate and thanks for all your hard work you put in to your videos. From Wales uk

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Cheers Neil! Mike

[@silli1939]

When I rebuilt my 300 used britpart cam followers 3000 miles down rd had tapping that would come and go stripped it down again found the cam followers had changed shape like 50p they had not been hardened

[@BritannicaRestorations]

I have seen Bearmach ones do the same

[@silli1939]

@@BritannicaRestorations not good when u can think u buy new and trust parts original ones went back in

[@jonathandosser]

Have a great Christmas Mike!

[@BritannicaRestorations]

You too Jonathan! Thank you for your support! Mike

[@brettsterr11]

Happy Christmas Mike

[@metaldog7128]

🎄Happy Christmas and a happy new year 🎄 to you and your family 🎄Mike 🎄

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Thank you for your support! I am really encouraged by all your support! Have a great time this festive season! Mike

[@aytonbob]

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family Mike

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Thank you Robert - hope all is well Mike

[@bigm383]

Merry Christmas from Australia! Heat wave predicted for all of Australian over the holidays. 40 to 47 degrees. So it's nice to see a bit of snow!

[@BritannicaRestorations]

You can have as much snow as you want! I spent Christmas on the beach in Victoria al long time ago = quite an experience! Have a great day, and thanks for your support! Mike

[@bigm383]

@@BritannicaRestorations Thanks mate, yeah, Victoria, four seasons in one day, 10 to 35 degrees and torrential rain then sunshine. I'm looking at a Series three stage one v8 when the silly season ends. Will let you know!!

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Spent a lot of time in Townsville repairing the prawn trawlers Least the Stage 1 will not be a rotted out basket case!

[@bigm383]

@@BritannicaRestorations Townesville would be oppressively humid! Yes, I'm hoping the Stage one is OK. A bit difficult to organise over the silly season.

[@craig_chaznibond452]

I fitted one of those fuel senders in the Autumn. It literally fell apart within a week. Very frustrating!

[@coyote5735]

Merry Xmas Mike, keep up the good work in 2019.

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Thanks mate! Lot more to come! Mike

[@nicknick-ht5dv]

Sounds like a tractor happy Christmas

[@nerhu59]

Frohe Weihnachten Mike!

[@BritannicaRestorations]

Danke! Mike

[@edd6113]

Should the gauge have a delay with the low fuel light coming on? Mine gets twitchy when it's low and flicks on and off. Was going to try experimenting with a capacitor to see if it would cushion it a bit. Have a good Christmas, shame it's not a white one everywhere!

[@MrRobmellor]

NO!!!! It flickers on and off because the contact in the sender is making and breaking as the fuel moves with the motion of the vehicle. If you get the odd flicker then the light go's off that is most likely to be because the level of the vehicle has changed as when descending or climbing a hill. If you are really worried and would like to check things out may I suggest that when you have around a1/3 of a tank, that you start to syphon the fuel out in to something and watch for the warning light coming on. Note when the light comes on with the reading of the fuel gauge. Carry on draining the tank, BUT take note how much fuel you take out until the tank is completely empty, that way you will learn how much fuel you have left in the tank when the warning light first comes on, you can also double check by watching when the warning light go's out when you refill the tank. If you are lucky, the drain plug in the bottom of the tank may come out, but don't turn it to hard as it could break off. Good luck.

[@edd6113]

@@MrRobmellor I know why and how it works, but was sure at one point it wasn't so sensitive / others I've been in (different ages) didn't do the flicker routine. The answer to the problem is a) did the gauge/light have some sort of smoothing capacitor to dampen the reaction of the low level warning or b) mess around to see if I can add one. When I get to the verge of empty at night the light gets a tad annoying flicking on every bump and turn. Better that it's either on or off!

[@nickuk1978]

@@MrRobmellor I should get around to doing that on both of mine, would be good to know how much spare there was!

[@philhealey449]

Agree capacitor would stabilise the needle reading but warning light is surely controlled by a switch?

[@87Rorie]

Hi Mike. How does the low fuel light work on this unit? My gauge shows almost full tank and is nice and stable, but the low fuel light flickers on and off on a regular basis. The only time it stays off is after I brim the tank with fuel!

[@BritannicaRestorations]

If you have a pre 300Tdi then there were 3 wires to the sender - a ground, a red connector and a white connector on the tank unit Just check you have the wires the right way round The white is to the gauge, the red to the low fuel kzbin.info/www/bejne/fqSYoqhvlM6kbM0

[@damianmarshall4818]

Hi Mike hope you are well. I have recently fitted a new fuel tank to my 300tdi, since then, on cold stet it revs it tits off for a few seconds the n settles down. I have put a none return valve at the pump end which has made a bit of difference but still revs high, any ideas why this could be happening.

[@BritannicaRestorations]

The fuelling for the engine is operated by the throttle/governor in the injector pump - the amount of fuel going into the pump should be no more than 4 psi I would be checking the inlet fuel pressure and maybe the throttle cable for sticking Hard to say without seeing the job

[@craig_chaznibond452]

I fitted one of those fuel senders in the Autumn. It literally fell apart within a week. Very frustrating!

[@BritannicaRestorations]

It's a feature..