Ran out of fuel on gt tdi please help!!!

[combatkarl]

Hi

Ran out of diesel on my mk5 golf gt tdi, are these self priming or do they need to be bled?

Ive turned it over for about 10-15 mins to the point my battery is now flat with no joy

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

[towcestervag]

they should self prime
charge battery and switch ignition on then off about 20 times this should prime the filter due to the lift pump in tank

[combatkarl]

Thanks - tried this but still no joy. I'm guessing crap in the bottom of the tank may have clogged the pump?

[SC03OTT]

Doubtful. There are filters and really very little crap to block them. The whole running the tank dry and pulling all the **** of the day through really doesn't apply to modern day cars.

[vwcabriolet1971]

The first time I changed a TDI fuel filter it took an enormous amount of battery churning to get it to start. I was concerned about the hammering that the starter motor and the battery were taking. Now I fill the new fuel filter with clean fresh diesel from a spare diesel fuel can and they start at the touch of the button ( OK switch). I'm sure if you charge your battery it should start although it does look like your battery may be past its' best. You should give the battery a breather for about 15 mins in between prolonged attempts at starting. As suggested by towestervaq turning the " ignition" switch ( on a diesel ?) of and on about 20 times might work. I know this works on petrol cars.

[philjobo]

Try filling the filter to the brim with clean fuel then turning the ignition on as to prime the system then it should go....
I work on large diesel engines and if we do not follow this procedure when swapping the fuel filter the engine would take litterally hours to start.

[combatkarl]

Ok thanks for all your help. The filter is full with fuel and the batt has plenty of power, tried switching the ignition on 20 times, and continually cranked over while jumped from a landrover and still nothing. As the lift pump is fuel lubricated, could this continual cranking have damaged it?

[MarcGTTDI]

What about the fuse blowing on the lift pump or the fuel pump? turning it over so many times could cause it damage?

any ideas?

[philjobo]

Although my tdi has the same engine i have never realy had to go under the bonnet for much apart from filling the screen wash so im not too familiar with the exact system although its obviously common rail, with this system the injection pump is now basicaly a high pressure pump which feeds a fuel rail at a common pressure ( hence common rail ) the 4 injectors are connected to the rail and are then opened in firing sequence electronically by the ecu.
on the diesel engines i work on we see this sort of problem when they run out of fuel because they create a kind of air lock from the tank through the lift pump to the fuel pump, what happens is the primer is not strong enough to push the fuel to the lift pump which only realy works when it has fuel in it, and because the lift pump has no fuel in its diaphragm to lift to the high pressure pump the injectors dont get fed with fuel.
The simple way we have of overcoming this annoying problem is to put some pressure into the fuel tank directly using an air blower into the fuel filler, use a rag to block most of the hole as to create a plug with just enough room for the blow gun and put some (not too much) pressure into the tank at the same time as turning the engine over and they pretty much start every time after maybe 30 secs to a min of cranking.
The only other option of course is to tow in gear tilkl it starts!

[MarcGTTDI]

So there is a possibility you can bump it?

[philjobo]

So there is a possibility you can bump it?
http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/applied/buttons/quote.gif (http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=543522)

Of course there is! as long as the ignition is on and its in gear it will eventually go.....

[phil miller]

i wouldnt advise trying to bump it as an airbag in the face hurts alot, you could well be alright bumping it but there is a strong chance of the bag going off, rule of thumb if it has an airbag you dont try and bump start as it can set off the airbag

[vwcabriolet1971]

All the empty filter churning may have drawn air into the system .You need to give it a good chance to purge through . This will take a fair bit of further churning ! Make sure all fuel hoses are good and secure and filter is full.

[daclyn]

Never "BUMP START" a Diesel (compression is very high and you could do

damage). Using "Jump Leads" is the only way.

[daveaustin]

When i service my MK5 diesel golf i always bleed the fuel filter chamber.
If u look at the fuel filter you will see approx 5 torx screws that keep it in place and the fuel tubes on top (front nearside of engine).
At the centre of the fuel filter lid u will see another torx screw. To bleed this filter undo the screw slightly, and try turning the car over, when the fuel starts coming out of the hole tighten the screw back up. the car should start if not you have another problem.

[combatkarl]

Ok guys quick update - thanks for your replies so far...

Now the car is in the garage, fuel pump is fine and fuel is present upto the injectors but still won't start. The mechanic claims it's an electrical fault? I can't see how that could have generated simply by running out of fuel, unless it's extremely coincidental.. Any ideas? Or know of any problems like this before?

Many thanks

[percymon]

If its an electrical fault then all likelihood its logged a fault code on the diagnostics.

I doubt the original running out of fuel would have logged such a fault, but perhaps since you've developed one with all your attempts.