Too cold to walk home...

[Chuck]

Hello all - hopefully someone can shed a little light on a recent problem...

My 1999 Disco II has been very reliable until last week. Died at a stop sign and would not restart. Thirty minutes later, truck started and ran fine. I took it to the local shop - they did an OBD scan and told me there were no fault codes present. The battery was pretty old and getting weak so I got a brand new Interstate battery. The mechanic drove it 10-miles and everything was fine.

That same evening, I drove an additional 10 miles - no problem. Then slowing down to make a turn, the engine died. Would not restart. Plenty of crank but would not catch. Like it was not getting fuel. No warning lights illuminated. Lights and all electrical accessories still worked. Truck sat all night, next morning started right up. Problem only seems to happen when engine has been run for 20 minutes or so. Of course that could be totally coincidental.

Any thoughts? Engine was tuned up recently, new plugs and wires. Could it be a fuel pump that wants to die, but can't make up its mind?
Weird...

[singingcamel]

If you got around 80 to 100k i would be thinking fuel pump problems, change the fuel filter as well.
you ought to hear the pump running, have someone turn the ignition on and some one listen for the fuel pump buzzing.
you also may have a corroded wire to the pump.

[Chuck]

Thanks SingingCamel...
95K miles on the truck so it really is time for the fuel pump to die. I turned on the iginition and can hear the pump buzz. I believe there is not an inline fuel filter on this model and that the filter is integral to the pump and therefore inside the fuel tank.

Do you think it is weird for the fuel pump to behave intermittently like this?
In my previous experience with a fuel pump problem, it just flat out died, thus making the diagnosis much easier.

[solihull109]

crank position sensor,...willing to put money on it.hopefully it's the one at the rear of the motor( there are 2),...there's also one at the front of the block, but it's under everything on the front cover,....it will throw all kinds of faults( obd2 scanners aren't too great, you need at least Autologic), but most of the faults will be effects, not the cause. Check the sensor.

[Chuck]

Thanks for the good advice. I checked into the crank position sensor symptoms and looks like you are dead on. However, I also got the transmission mode lights flashing "M" & "S" on the dash. This only happened once thus far...any thoughts? Is this also crank position sensor related?

[solihull109]

When the crank sensor goes, it will create a 12 volt supply shortage to the trans. Fit the new sensor and have someone with Autologic read and clear the faults in the trans and you should be good to go. Good Luck

[Ron T.]

How cold is "too cold to walk home"?

Current temperature at my location -42C, which is warmer than the last couple of nights, -46C.

Is it below freezing? Do you let the fuel level go below 1/4 tank? Could fuel line icing be an issue, if so try adding a cup of methyl hydrate or fuel line antifreeze to your fuel, and try to keep the fuel level near full during the cold weather, it leaves less room in the tank for condensation to form.