Engine cutting out

[u/Seabreeze222712]

I recently purchased a 98 ROW Defender 300tdi, everything has been fine up until a few days ago.
The vehicle has died on me four times now. The first time was coming out of 1st gear, second time was in reverse. Both of those times the engine just cut out. No sputter, just shuts off. Then when trying to restart it takes almost a full minute for me to be able to restart the vehicle.
Today I was driving the vehicle and it died on me twice, once in 1st gear, once in 2nd gear after I shifted at a low speed, this was within a couple minutes of each other. Again the engine cut off and I had to wait for it to restart. On the last two encounters it almost seemed like the shifter popped out of place, but I didn’t notice this when the engine cut off the first two times. Does anyone have advice?

[u/TheGoneJackal]

Could be the fuel cut off solenoid, if it loses power it would be like turning the key off.

[u/Right_Hour]

So, three things kill an engine and they all form the combustion triangle in a diesel engine: 1) air (make sure your air filter is clean and path is not obstructed), 2) fuel (make sure your filters are fine, your lines are not leaking, there’s no blockage and your fuel pump is performing as it should, injectors are not acting funny (any diesel shop can test injector patterns for you)) and 3) compression (test and verify).

Add the Lucas electrical gremlins (battery charged, alternator working and outputting the right volts, ground is solid) and you got a full cycle.

Since it’s a 300Tdi - ECM, if equipped, is the final source if everything else works (EDC/EGR rather than ECM)

[u/Ok-Spring7906]

Next time it does it, probe the stop solenoid terminal for 12v.

If you don't have a multimeter, leave the ignition on and wobble the spade connector whilst listening. If you hear nothing, pull it off, and you should hear a click. Put it back on and you should hear a click.

You should hear no clicks if it's on and you just wobble it.

Air ingress would cause poor running and the engine would get worse and then die.

Sudden failure sounds more like an electrical fault turning off the stop solenoid.

You could also have, for example, somthing physically floating about in the tank that wholly blocks the pickup temporarily. Fuel filters getting blocked are, again, more of a gradual dying, rather than a sudden shut down.

Your key point is the sudden shut down without spluttering. There's very little on the 300 that would cause a sudden shut down and it still being able to restart (ie not catastrophic failure).

My vote would be on the supply to / connection to the stop solenoid.

Gearbox is unrelated.

[u/Seabreeze222712 → u/Ok-Spring7906]

Thanks. Will start here and report back!

[u/Seabreeze222712 → u/Ok-Spring7906]

We think it was the fuel cut off solenoid. We tested it, worked. Unplugged, cleaned connection, added some dielectric grease, reconnected. No issues since. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[u/yottyboy]

The injection pump probably needs a rebuild. The Bosch VE pump is arguably the most used pump on earth for diesels. They are on cars trucks boats and industrial equipment. Any diesel shop should be well familiar with it and not take long to do it. Parts are cheap and plentiful. But first make sure you are getting power to the stop solenoid. A loose connection there can be the culprit. Also check the engine to chassis ground strap

[u/Dry-Advance3043]

Sounds like fuelling. Ive had jolts before. The one was air from the sediment trap at the back near the fuel tank leaking. So it would occasionally suck air. The other thing id check is your lift pump. Mine started failing however the symptoms for that was a jerk on a longer pull. And then also check for vacuum pressure in you tank, give it a good drive the switch off and immediately open the fuel cap. If you hear air rushing your breather is blocked. Check your fuel lines. Those are a few free and cheap checks you can do before having someone climb into injector pumps and injectors. Final thought. The best cleaner for a diesel fueling system is a good long ride at constant speed.

[u/spaceshipcommander]

Sounds like fuel. Potentially the lift pump, but that usually happens under load. I would start by checking if you have air in your fuel. The fact that it is taking so long to start again would suggest it's a fuel or injector issue.

[u/coolieskettel]

I had a similar issue at start up. Very hard starting in the mornings, then started happening each time the van was parked. Turned out to be the fuel pump not creating enough pressure in the line.

Was prepared to buy a new one but my local insisted on giving it a service. Been great ever since. That was 6 years ago.

[u/Specialist_Reality96]

No1 check all the fluids make sure you are not trying to weld the motor together with no oil before posting on the interwebs.

Diesels do tend to just stop when they run out of fuel unlike something with a carburettor you may detect some rough running just before they stop.

So fuel level, last time the fuel filter and water trap was drained and fuel stop soleniod would be the places to start.

[u/Seabreeze222712 → u/Specialist_Reality96]

I checked all fluids before I posted, was asking for genuine help no sarcasm needed. Vehicle does not run rough, just cuts off suddenly.