Trouble starting diesel

[Squiggs]

Hi I'm hoping someone can help.
I've got an old E reg (1987) peugeot J5 mobile home.
We wanted to go out in it yesterday but it just wouldn't start so I called out the RAC.
He tested for diesel being pumped through to the injectors - yes, although he said the pressure was low.
He checked amps to the glow plugs a said two were bit low.
Having put some easy start into the air filter after a few turns it fired up.

So his diagnoses was it needs new glow plugs and that it's a garage job cos it's not straight forward to get one of the plugs out.
He also said it will start again now cos it's warm ... but it won't start again in the morning once it's cold.
So I tried again this morning and having let the glow plugs do their job it started instantly.

Until yesterday the engine hadn't been turned over for 7 months so now I'm wondering if his diagnosis was correct given that it's started fine today.

I'm not really mechanically minded ... but could it have just been that the fuel (diesel) had just got 'stale' or 'thick' and this was why he noted that the fuel pressure to the injectors was 'low'?

[davepoth]

Leaving a vehicle for so long between starts is a bad idea. Everything gets a bit stiff, earthing points get corroded, and the battery gets tired, meaning it makes it very hard to start. Much better to take it for a drive every month or so to keep it working.

[Old Merc]

May be its "dragged" in some air or the fuel needed priming back up due to it being idle for so long.I can remember having this fault on old Peugeot 405 Diesel`s and it was a mixture of a worn out priming pump and the none return valve in the fuel filter.

[TheEnd]

I think just a good charge to the battery and a run should get it all working OK.
You can get bubbles of air in the pipes as valves slowly leak which may take some time to work out of the system, but with a good battery you should be OK.

Maybe give it 2 pauses on the glow plug pre-heaters before starting.

[Squiggs]

Cheers guys
Could the diesel have 'degraded' over the last 7 months (epecially as it was sitting out during a pretty harsh winter?)

[TheEnd]

It can do, try smelling the tank.
If there is water in there, bacteria can grow and it'll smell like the 7th circle of hell.

[Old Merc]

I suppose the best thing to do before you do any work or expense would be to fill the tank with fresh diesel,add some good quality injector cleaner and give it a long run.Then if all seams well,engine oil & filter,air & fuel filters.Normally those old Peugeot diesels are bullet proof and very rarely suffer any serious problems.