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Old 2nd August 2008, 21:57   #1
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Always have a reserve of min 10 Litres in your tank if you drive a diesel.

Had a small incident with my ikon 1.8D today. The car was low on fuel, around 4-5 litres in the tank is what i guess. I had to park on an incline and soon as i did that the engine died. All efforts in getting it firing ended in vain. So, called up dad who guessed the problem even before arriving at the scene. He got around 5 litres of fuel when he came and pushed the button like thing in what i guess is the fuel pump, to release the air. After a few efforts, it came to life again.

He had one piece of advice: Always have a minimun of 10 litres of reserve in your tank if you drive a diesel car.

Hope its useful for those who did'nt know.
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Old 2nd August 2008, 22:06   #2
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Did you prime the FIP ? That should have got you going.
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Old 2nd August 2008, 22:12   #3
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Yes, I read in Ford's manual that running a diesel engine out of fuel could cause major damage.
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Old 2nd August 2008, 22:29   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by condor View Post
Did you prime the FIP ? That should have got you going.
Thats too technical for me dude.
What do you mean by "Prime the FIP"?
Does FIP stand for 'Fuel Injection Pump'?
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Old 2nd August 2008, 23:39   #5
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Well, that is excellent advice.

However, I have run out of fuel both in my ex-Indica and Accent CRDi.

I had to pump the FIP (or whatever it is), to get the Indica restarted. As for the CRDi, I just had to refill and it started up immediately.

p.s. I admit I was a complete idiot to let the fuel run out in the first place....
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Old 3rd August 2008, 15:22   #6
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My tip : Never let the fuel gauge go below 1/4 or 1/2, the more the better. You owe that to the car and to yourself. Besides, that reserve fuel could be a life saver in the case of a midnight emergency, petrol pump strikes, last minute unplanned trip etc.

Best to top up once a week. And while you are at it, give the car a once over too (tyre pressure, under the hood check, fluids).
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Old 3rd August 2008, 15:33   #7
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This has nothing to do with a diesel,i have seen similar incidents including failure of fuel pumps in ikons and escorts,petrol and diesels both.
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Old 4th August 2008, 09:44   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fash_1 View Post
Had a small incident with my ikon 1.8D today. The car was low on fuel, around 4-5 litres in the tank is what i guess. I had to park on an incline and soon as i did that the engine died. All efforts in getting it firing ended in vain. So, called up dad who guessed the problem even before arriving at the scene. He got around 5 litres of fuel when he came and pushed the button like thing in what i guess is the fuel pump, to release the air. After a few efforts, it came to life again.

He had one piece of advice: Always have a minimun of 10 litres of reserve in your tank if you drive a diesel car.

Hope its useful for those who did'nt know.
Is this really the cause of the problem? because what happens to the fuel in the ducts leading to the injector surely they can't be empty and I suspect there would be a temporary holder too before it is injected. And why only diesel if the above is the cause?
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Old 4th August 2008, 11:33   #9
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My Suggestion is to have your tank full of Fuel for following reasons -

1. Reduces fuel evaporation loss upto 10%. This is not just statistics but true.
2. Reduces effort to pump fuel by Fuel pump.
3. Reduces chances of contaminants getting into fuel filter and choking the same.
4. Reduces rusting in metallic fuel tanks.
5. Reduces anxiety of being out of fuel and stuck on the road.

my two cents.
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Old 4th August 2008, 13:16   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AbhiJ View Post
I had to pump the FIP (or whatever it is), to get the Indica restarted.
I was an idiot once (atleast to the point of this thread ) and let my 2005 Indica DLX go dry. I never had to pump or anything, just filled and it started. Don't know what was different in my case...

But then I do agree in re-filling from 1/2 tank rather than letting it go to the red.
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Old 4th August 2008, 14:05   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ph03n!x View Post
I was an idiot once (atleast to the point of this thread ) and let my 2005 Indica DLX go dry. I never had to pump or anything, just filled and it started. Don't know what was different in my case...

But then I do agree in re-filling from 1/2 tank rather than letting it go to the red.
This reminds me of a incidence when my indica ran dry years ago,and i had to manually pump the lever before it cranked to life again.
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Old 4th August 2008, 14:40   #12
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Well keeps happening on the jeep. Manually pump it and you can go for upto the nearest bunk.
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Old 4th August 2008, 16:47   #13
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The simple policy that i follow be it a diesel or petrol is head straight for a bunk as soon as the fuel lamp lights up.

I typically find a reserve of around 7 litres when this happens.
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Old 4th August 2008, 16:55   #14
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This happend to me once with my Indica Turbo, when almost 5 litres were left in the tank. I had to fill about 2 lt. diesel and crank the engine to bring her back to life. Clearing out the air from the pump was not required for me
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Old 4th August 2008, 17:23   #15
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I do agree with the below said. Happened to me when i was going in my cosuins Indica. The car's engine died and we had no clue whats happened all of a sudden. Called the tata guy and he told us that due to low fuel Dust has gone into the pump and then he blew the air out. The best way is when the indicator is showing 1/3 go for d refill..
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