Bongo cut out this morning

[sotal]

My wife phoned me this morning to say she had broken down in the bongo. She had started up fine this morning. Drove a few hundred metres then as she turned from the main road into a side road it cut out. Luckily she was on a downhill slope and rolled to the side and stopped. She tried restarting but it wouldn't start.

I went out to help her and it would turn over fine but other than an occasional cough it didn't sound like fuel was getting through. I ended up holding the accelerator down and turning the key for about a minute. The frequency of the little coughs increased and eventually it kicked into life. I drove it to work and my wife drove my car. It was fine all the way to work.

So it seemed to be a fuel starvation problem. Any ideas where to look out what it could have been? I can't look until this evening but the only thing I could think was that the fuel filter might need changing. Anything else to look at?

[Bob]

Oh poo.

Filter, yes, and worth removing the fuel cap to see if there's a vacuum. Breather sometimes blocks.

[sotal]

There is a good hiss when the cap is removed. What needs looking at for that?

[Bob]

Try running with it a bit loose, can't remember how you clean/unblock it, but a good old common sense look should reveal all.

A replacement can't be too dear, maybe a locking one from the Bongo Shop?

[g8dhe]

The valve in the cap just simply pulls apart;

[mikeonb4c]

Forgive me sotal, can't remember but what engine type is yours? To my mind, fuel most likely if diesel but ignition issues come into play if petrol.

[teenmal]

Forgive me sotal, can't remember but what engine type is yours? To my mind, fuel most likely if diesel but ignition issues come into play if petrol.

Diesel

[sotal]

Yes it is a diesel.

It started up this evening perfectly and drove home perfectly.

I started it up then checked the fuel cap. There was no hiss then. However it hisses quite loudly when we fill it up at the fuel station.

The only other possible difference I can think is that for the last few days it has been parked in a different spot which is on a slope with the nose pointing down. It is parked there again now.

[sotal]

When you say it happened after a journey, do you mean the cutting out? If so it was during the journey and only after a few hundred metres.

Fuel seals. I don't know if these are leading but I suspect they might be a little as I've always had a bit of smoke on startup and went through most other possible causes. There has never been a mention of any leaks on the mot and there isn't any visible diesel drops etc.

[sotal]

Thanks,

I can't really take a look until the weekend properly.

I don't really know how it cut out, my wife said it just stopped. She had reversed up the slope in the drive. Then she drove up our road, down the next short road and round a couple of bends to the main road. She then stopped and waited to pull out. Accelerated out onto the main road and then pretty much straight away slowed to turn right. Pulled across and it cut out so she pulled it over to the side and it wouldn't start.

It sounded to me like a tiny bit of fuel was getting through as it gave a little cough as it was turning but not enough to keep going. That's why I tried with my foot flat down and kept the engine turning. Which eventually worked.

The wife isn't satisfied that it is fixed so I'm in it for the foreseeable until I find something!

Does this look like the right fuel filter to fit?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 3585235717

If so I'll get one ordered and change it as a matter of course at the weekend.

I'll check out the banjo filter too.

Thanks for the help!

[sotal]

Forgot to say, no it doesn't have a heater or anything else connected up. I've not found any obvious leaks (no rainbow puddles etc) but haven't been able to do a close inspection yet. It's that horrible time of year where it is dark when I leave for work and dark when I get back!

[Northern Bongolow]

From the distance travelled before it died I would look at the fuel tank end.
The pickup pipe had a thimble filter on the end this can come off or get blocked, remove the feed pipe to the filter from the tank and gently blow back to the tank. The pickup pipe as it leaves the top of the tank can rot where the bend is to the rubber pipe as it sits in a puddle of rusty rain spray.
There are several pipes and a breather from the top of the tank outlet, one of theses pipes has a thimble filter attached, it clips to the inside of the chassis rail just in front of the tank mount, these filters get blocked with road crud, simply pull it from the chassis inside face with a click, clean replace. It looks about the size of a small cotton reel, black in colour with a thin pipe to it, just pull it.

[Alkers]

Was it cold on the morning it cut out?

Myself and at least one other user have been experiencing problems where the van will cut out and be difficult to start again when the weather is very cold, most probably linked to the cold-idle controls which I think are vacuum operated. I haven't bothered to fix mine as the work-around for me is to leave the bongo warm up for a good 5+ minutes before driving when the weather is cold.

I never have problems starting initially and van will run fine for a couple of minutes, then cut out when slowing down and be very difficult to restart.

[sotal]

Thanks Northern Bongolow, I'll take a look into that filter. When I last looked at the pipes from the tank they all looked great. I don't remember that filter though so will try and hunt it out!

Alkers, yes it was cold but not much colder than usual at the moment, perhaps 3 degrees or so. I'm not convinced the cold start stuff works 100% but I've looked at it before. Last time I had to repair a pipe that had snapped off.

[sotal]

Strangely the Bongo has behaved itself since. It has been used daily without fault.

I'm still going to change the fuel filter and check the banjo filter as I'm not sure if they were done as part of the servicing.