Wont start....gelled

mcompton1973

New member
First a quick intro.
I dont have a Sprinter. My wife is a dog groomer. her friend has a mobile grooming unit in an '07 Sprinter. We are considering buying it from her, which is how we got into this.

I am familiar with Diesels. I have an '03 Ford powerstroke.

Ok, the van in question starts and then immediatly dies. (from what she is telling me...I have not been there yet) I thought Gelling first (todays HIGH was -4) I had her go buy Power Service 911. She added it to the tank but not fuel filter as she does not know how to get to or add to the fuel filter. That has not allowed her to start it yet.

Any other ideas? and how to on adding 911 to fuel filter?

Thanks.

Also...do these vans have a block heater. she says she has not seen a plug in cord and cant find one.

Thanks again
 

jdcaples

Not Suitable w/220v Gen
There's no block heater.

I don't know if it's the problem, but if you do buy the van, recent experiences indicate that the original 2007 battery should at least be tested and quite possibly replaced.

I would guess that if it turns over and runs briefly before dying, it's got enough fuel flow to eliminate gelling, but maybe the engine control module may sense something - perhaps falsely - that causes it to shut down fast.

I'll leave it to someone else to t-shoot the start, die problem.

If it were mine, I'd get it scanned with a dealership scan tool (not a generic scanner - they don't seem to 100% agree with the factory scan tool and sometimes send an owner down the wrong path).

There may be a stored diagnostic trouble code (DTC) that would point to the problem.

-Jon
 

mcompton1973

New member
Well, a heat lamp on the fuel filter for a couple of hours did the trick. Got it fired up...now the next part of the solution will be to see if tomorrow it starts without issue.
 

stockrex

New member
drove my diesel last winter in -17 F with no additive. just u buy diesel from a high volume truck place. it is a pain sometimes,
 

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