Code L, Car suddenly stops???? Help!!

[infinity]

Hi Guys,

this morning i drove in the city center of our beautifull Blackpool aan den Rijn in city-traffic, 30 degrees and -OK, I admit- after having been on the phone with the car running stationary for let's say a quarter of an hour. Of course i kept checking the temperatures but my airco works quite good and i wanted the cooling (for myself that is...)

after driving away and moving a few hundred yards it suddenly stalled signalling Code L (which means erratic speedo sensor) to be honest I don't know why that should have something to do with letting the engine running, but I am no technician.Am I wrong and is this sensor necessary to let the engine run?

I tried to start it a few times immediatley after this happened and it just seemed not to get enough fuel, so i first thought of vapour lock.

A friend of mine suggested that i might have drowned it because they don't like running stationary for such a lon time with such outside-temperatures, but I went there half an hour ago (left the car in the city-center all day, so of course i had a fine fine...;-) and it still did not start, so it can be that there is still too much fuel inside the cylinders.

but because of the still not starting i don't think it can be vapour lock.

or was it vapour lock initially, so stalled, tried to start several times, overfilled the combustion chambers with fuel and now still to much fuel in?

For the real technicians, as i hust tried, it turns around like a lunatic (so enough electricity still in the battery) but doesn't even give a little starting to run anymore, so not sure whether no sparks or no fuel. (may be because Code L and speedo sensor kills fuel and/or ignition???)

Help would be greatly appreciated, because this goes beyond normal car-technics for me....

Regards,

Dries

[BGB autosport]

Check the fuse for the coil, I dont think you speed sensor code is at all related.

[infinity]

Thanx!!! is that in the fusebox or near the coil?

[nelly1]

The coil fuse is two above the labelled injector one (also worth checking).

[infinity]

Thanks again! it is not the Coil fuse, i checked it yesterday.

We tried to tow and start it in the meantime as well, but it doesn't even try to do anything anymore, so we now have put it in on a ramp and wil check everything fuel related, to begin with fuses (injectors as well, thanks)

Can anyone confirm that the "erratic road speed sensor" has nothing to do with the engine running or not??? (although i will of course clean it as well)

What a great medium is this forum, thank you all very much for reading and/or participating.

i will of course post the eventual cause when solved so other people can benefit as well.

[TVR_owner]

infinity said:

Can anyone confirm that the "erratic road speed sensor" has nothing to do with the engine running or not??? (although i will of course clean it as well)

Dries,
Its nothing to do with the engine running. Sorry cant help with the fault though.

John

[Daston]

I was told its a sensor on the Diff mine has the same problem when sat in traffic, I just hold the revs at 800 and blip the throttal if it drops. Will check that fuse though as I had problems with my cig lighter fuse so I might have taken that one out by mistake and not put it in properly

[Chequred Demon]

Engine will definetly run with code L fault.

[nelly1]

Have you checked the fuel cut-off switch in the boot?

Can you hear the fuel pump priming when you key-on?

[infinity]

thnx for all the suggestions, i will try tuesday or wednesday and let you all know!

[infinity]

It seems that the fuel pump broke down (again) i already replaced it one and a half year and no more than 3000 miles ago.....it says "Bosch". Actually one would expect the German stuff to last a little longer.

where can i best get one? Ebay?

[aquatix]

infinity said:

It seems that the fuel pump broke down (again) i already replaced it one and a half year and no more than 3000 miles ago.....it says "Bosch". Actually one would expect the German stuff to last a little longer.

where can i best get one? Ebay?

Is power getting to the pump ? The (large) fuel pump relay failed on mine, but shorted out so the pump was on even with the ignition off.
Only a £13 Vauxhall part so worth a quick check before replacing the pump.

[infinity]

yes, it does get electricity. we felt that it tried to turn but was stuck. then we removed it and tried with a battery directly connected to it and still no movement.

[aquatix]

2 such failures sounds bad. Might be worth flushing your tank in case bits are getting in to the pump and damaging it ?

[350Matt]

I'd make sure the filter is pre-pump and fit a new one at the same time

[infinity]

could be, i did a quick search on flushing but couldn't find anything, how do you do this?

[infinity]

is there normally no filter before the pump??

[aquatix]

infinity said:

could be, i did a quick search on flushing but couldn't find anything, how do you do this?

The ideal way is to remove tank and pressure clean with paraffin and an airline, but completely draining the tank may at least help.

Not sure if the Tuscan tank is stainless or galvanised, but I've had similar problems on older classic cars when not used often and left with only a small amount of petrol in the tank. Condensation forms inside, leading to rust flakes and water being sucked into the fuel pump.

Such contaminants may even have been introduced from the the filling station when you bought the petrol. A pre-filter before the pump is worthwhile, cheap & easy to fit. Change the tubing while you are at it in case that has degraded and is the culprit.

[Arapo]

Weird - I had a similar problem a couple of days ago..

A few seconds after starting the car the engine cut out. The reason was that the fuel pump stopped working, and while I was fiddling with the key and fuses I also got a Code L on the pod.. Coincidence? Maybe..

The following day, I tried to start the car again, and after a while it decided to come to life. The fuel pump now works again, but the revs in idle are too low (400 to 500).. Go figure..