Sprinter Starts Then Dies

pacman_34

Member
I have an early US sprinter with the om612 engine. It starts and runs fine for 30 seconds and then dies. Restarts fine then dies after a couple of seconds. Can't keep it running for longer than a minute.

Scanned it for codes with the dad and am getting:

P1400
p0203
p0300
p0412
p1802

These are ignore codes per this post. http://www.sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10432

sometimes it throws

p2020 or
p2016

Also the water in fuel light comes on after it dies.


I changed the o-ring and even swapped another used fuel solenoid at the rear of the fuel rail.

I had another used fuel filter and just swapped it on. Made no difference.

Does anyone have any ideas? When it dies sometimes the auxillary fan comes on for a couple of seconds then goes off.

I believe that its an electrical issue or sensor and the ecu turns the engine off.

On monday I plan on:

Installing a brand new fuel filter.

Taking the fuel tank off, draining and cleaning it.

Changing the front rail sensor with another one that I have.

Anyone have other suggestions?

I'm stumped.
 

NelsonSprinter

Former Nelson BC Sprinter
When it dies is there air or bubbles in the clear fuel lines?
P2020 P2016 could be caused by air or water in the fuel.
The water in filter light tells you there is water in the filter and that will stall the van every time. Unscrew the bottom drain valve until water no longer comes out and tighten lightly back in.
If the WIF light is the only one that comes on when the engine dies, all dash lights should be coming on, so you definitely have an electrical issue. If it comes on before the engine dies then it's a water issue.

When the Aux fan comes on it is another indicator of CAN electrical communication error issues, sometimes fixed by sending the ECU to Oregon's SOS Diagnostics for reprogramming.
 
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pacman_34

Member
Thanks for the reply. There are no bubbles in the lines. I also unscrewed the drain and nothing came out. I changed the filter too. All lights come on I believe, but when I restart it, the water in fuel light stays on. After starting and dying 5 or 6 times, the auxillary fan would come on for 2 or 3 seconds.

I know for sure that the fuel filter i installed does not have water in it. I will drain the tank on monday and install a brand new filter and new fuel so those can be ruled out.

I believe that the problem is electrical, some sensor telling the ecu to cut off.
 

MikeHowe

2003 Sprinter 413 CDi
I had starting problems on my 03 also with the WIF light staying on, or going off and coming back on again intermittently. However there was no water in the fuel, the WIF sensor on the fuel filter was letting a lot of air in, and this seemed to be causing the light to stay on and of course making the van very difficult to start. Once running however it wouldn't cut out so maybe your problem is not the same.

Anyway I replaced the fuel filter with one without the WIF sensor and the problem went away and has been fine since. It was a very simple solution to what seemed like a complex problem. Hope yours turns out the same. All the best, Mike
 

NelsonSprinter

Former Nelson BC Sprinter
Does nothing come out of the filter drain with the new filter, with the engine off? Must be clogged with bad fuel or ice.
Are you experiencing below freezing temps?
 

scubanw3

Member
The auxiliary fan coming on indicates an ECU problem. Something pertaining to it is intermittent, like a solder joint, ground issue or maybe a terminal pin problem. Hope this helps.

Thank you,
Sprinter Store
http://sprinterstore.com/
A division of Upscale Automotive, Inc.
19460 SW 89th Ave.
Tualatin, OR 97062
503-692-0846
 

lindenengineering

Well-known member
I have an early US sprinter with the om612 engine. It starts and runs fine for 30 seconds and then dies. Restarts fine then dies after a couple of seconds. Can't keep it running for longer than a minute.

Scanned it for codes with the dad and am getting:

P1400
p0203
p0300
p0412
p1802

These are ignore codes per this post. http://www.sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10432

sometimes it throws

p2020 or
p2016

Also the water in fuel light comes on after it dies.


I changed the o-ring and even swapped another used fuel solenoid at the rear of the fuel rail.

I had another used fuel filter and just swapped it on. Made no difference.

Does anyone have any ideas? When it dies sometimes the auxillary fan comes on for a couple of seconds then goes off.

I believe that its an electrical issue or sensor and the ecu turns the engine off.

On monday I plan on:

Installing a brand new fuel filter.

Taking the fuel tank off, draining and cleaning it.

Changing the front rail sensor with another one that I have.

Anyone have other suggestions?

I'm stumped.
As a description focus in on P0203 #3 INJECTOR FAULT!
P0300 miss-fire detected
Basically has a short circuit to voltage, or is drawing excessive current on the common cable.

So if the injector which is being supplied with a current from the PCM is shorting down it will cause the PCM to shut the engine down to protect the injector driver module contained therein.

The other cause could be a bad engine wiring harness not uncommon on 2002/2003 models!
I would suggest you ohm out the harness looking for short downs and cross connections on/within the injector harness.

Lastly don't forget the injector (#3) itself which might have a short down within the trigger solenoid.
Hope that removes the mystery
Dennis
 

pacman_34

Member
I think its fixed for now. I belive the stalling was due to a bad fuse box (underneath the steering wheel). I swapped it out with another and didn't have any more problems with that. Air was also getting into the system through the fuel filter wif sensor. Swapped a sensorless filter and that was fixed as well. Thanks for the leads guys.
 

aspen

Member
I have a similar problem. 2004 Sprinter is hard to start first time in the morning. When I turn the key to ON 5 lights come on
1.battery
2.water in fuel
3.oil light
4.engine light
5.traction control

AND the auxiliary fan starts humming, turning key father to START does nothing.

So, I have been cycling key on/off multiple times until no lights come on and no humming from the fan and then I could start it. Subsequent starts during the day are OK, If van sits for a few hours, the problem may come back.
I changed oil recently and changed fuel filter yesterday, but problem still there this morning. Started fine after the fuel filter change. (I didn't prime the filter, just cycle key a few times and it has worked for me last few fuel filter changes).

Any help would be appreciated!!! Thank you!!!
Val
 

surlyoldbill

Well-known member
I have a similar problem. 2004 Sprinter is hard to start first time in the morning. When I turn the key to ON 5 lights come on
1.battery
2.water in fuel
3.oil light
4.engine light
5.traction control

AND the auxiliary fan starts humming, turning key father to START does nothing.

So, I have been cycling key on/off multiple times until no lights come on and no humming from the fan and then I could start it. Subsequent starts during the day are OK, If van sits for a few hours, the problem may come back.
I changed oil recently and changed fuel filter yesterday, but problem still there this morning. Started fine after the fuel filter change. (I didn't prime the filter, just cycle key a few times and it has worked for me last few fuel filter changes).

Any help would be appreciated!!! Thank you!!!
Val
The aux fan on but no start is the tell-tale symptom of bad connections at the steering column fuse box, particularly the ECU relay. Wiggling that relay sometimes helps, taking it out and cleaning and putting it back in sometimes fixes the problem, but many have discovered that the soldering is dry and cracked in the fuse box itself. New fuse box or repairing the connections may be required.
 

Charly

New member
Thank you, SURLY, I will try wiggling that relay tomorrow and get a new one soon!
Hello Aspen, It was a long time ago, but got a van that has the same problem. Did changing the fuse box fixed the issue? I'm also heading toward an electrical problem.

Regards,
Charles
 

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