L400 Problems Starting Engine

riverrio · Post by **riverrio** » Wed May 08, 2019 3:15 pm

Hey all,

I recently bought a 1998 2.8l L400. She was starting like a dream until recently. I've had the flashing light 4wd problem, and the forums indicated that it was possible that someone damaged a 4wd ecu wire while replacing the stereo. The stereo was replaced before I got the van, so I thought that might be a possibility (little did I realise that this advice is for the Pajero, and the 4wd ecu on the deli is just above the glovebox

). So I removed the center console to take a look. I found a mess of wires pertaining to the stereo replacement, and to the aftermarket
tv screen-sun visor things someone put in. At this point I realized the actual location to the 4wd ecu (it was fine). I don't know if poking around in the center console is necessarily related to the starting problems, but the starting problems began right after I was poking around.

When I turn the key, she cranks just fine but struggles to turn over. Most of the time she doesn't turn over at all. If I can get her to start, she runs and idles well, with no dash lights on. After idling for a while and letting the engine heat up, subsequent starts are no problem.

An engine that has problems starting, but then runs fine after, and starts fine after the engine has warmed up: sounds like a glow plug issue, right? I checked the glow plug rail, and didn't see any corrosion. I removed each glow plug and tested them with a set of jumper cables and they all glowed orange hot pretty quickly. I also measured their resistances and they were all around 0.5 ohm. So I think the glow plugs themselves are fine. I put the plugs back in and hooked up a volt meter to the glow plug rail. It read 11.8V while the glow plugs were heating, and 10.5V while I was cranking the engine. Do these numbers seem normal?

Also, it's not particularly cold here, around 15C, so the glow plugs might not actually be necessary. What's the next thing to check, fuel filter? Is there some wire that passes through the radio area that has to do with ignition?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
-River

poochike · Post by **poochike** » Wed May 08, 2019 3:23 pm

Sounds like it may be your front seal on your injection pump. Common problem. On the L400 when the seal goes it lets engine oil in which makes cold starts very difficult. Once the engine is warm it will burn the oil no problem.