Fuel filter change now no power

[tonygreen1966]

Hi,

I have a 2003 XC90 diesel. Bought it 9 months ago with service history and 90,000 miles. Recently had a warning light and 'urgent engine service' required and engine shut off/low power. Checked this forum and found fuel filter to be possible culprit. My filter looked at least a couple of years old- pretty rusty-so I changed it. Took about 3 off 10 seconds spins of the starter(with 1 minute gap in between to cool starter motor) for it to prime and start and left it running for 10 minutes. Drove off, engine shut off and warning message has disappeared but I have very low power. Any ideas?

Thanks

Tony

[kmosimanekgosi]

Hi Tony

Possibly you still have the issue of air lock and now what happened is the car switched onto the "limp home", this is to ensure safety for your engine which looks like there could be some problems.

It there is no air lock then you might have disturbed your sensors pipes and most preferably the performance sensors.
Just by the air filter you will find a pin sensor that combines all the mountings, those are the critical pipes, check them as they could be the problem. Provided yo dont have air lock.

[tonygreen1966]

Thanks for the reply buddy. The fuel filter is on the right hand side under the passenger door so I wouldn't have disturbed any sensors etc. But I think you may have been right about air in the system.

I was planning on taking the filter off and making sure I had all the filter seals seated correctly. I left my car idling whilst I moved the wife's car so I could get my car in the garage. When I got back in my car I noticed that it seemed a little more powerful so I took it for a drive and the 'urgent engine service required' message re appeared then disappeared then all was fine with full power restored and no error messages.

I think what happened was when I first changed the filter and left it idling for ten minutes the car was facing down a slope on my drive(I reckoned it would help prime the pump).
But when I left it idling while I moved my wife's car my car was on the flat. Maybe the car being on a flat surface and not a slope helped bleed the system of air. I'll keep you all posted.

By the way the job took only ten minutes and I used an oil filter wrench to loosen the filter. I didn't know what hole in the fuel filter was the fuel feed or else I would have filled the filter first before attaching it - that way the car would not have need so much starter motor turning to prime the system. Does any body know what hole is the fuel feed on the filter?

[Clan]

Originally Posted by tonygreen1966

Thanks for the reply buddy. The fuel filter is on the right hand side under the passenger door so I wouldn't have disturbed any sensors etc. But I think you may have been right about air in the system.

I was planning on taking the filter off and making sure I had all the filter seals seated correctly. I left my car idling whilst I moved the wife's car so I could get my car in the garage. When I got back in my car I noticed that it seemed a little more powerful so I took it for a drive and the 'urgent engine service required' message re appeared then disappeared then all was fine with full power restored and no error messages.

I think what happened was when I first changed the filter and left it idling for ten minutes the car was facing down a slope on my drive(I reckoned it would help prime the pump).
But when I left it idling while I moved my wife's car my car was on the flat. Maybe the car being on a flat surface and not a slope helped bleed the system of air. I'll keep you all posted.

By the way the job took only ten minutes and I used an oil filter wrench to loosen the filter. I didn't know what hole in the fuel filter was the fuel feed or else I would have filled the filter first before attaching it - that way the car would not have need so much starter motor turning to prime the system. Does any body know what hole is the fuel feed on the filter?

There is a drain tap on the bottom to drain out any collected water on each service .
The fuel tank has a pump , you have to leave the ignition on for 20 seconds , turn it off , do this 4 times to bleed the air out BEFORE you start it and it will start and run fine . did you have low fuel level when your car was parked on the slope ?

[tonygreen1966]

Thanks for the reply Clan. I reckoned there may be a primer function on the pump so I had the ignition on probably 10 seconds tops before I turned to the starter crank position. Next time I'll leave it on for the 20 secs you recommend and do it 4 times. I had 3/4 tank of fuel.