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Run out of diesel ! Help !

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 5:10 pm
by PatBoySlimUK
My 2004 Megane dci 120 ran out of diesel outside the house, i walked round the garage and filled the can up and put it into the tank but i cannot get the car to start,Its turning over and over but nothing ! Its connected to my diesel saab so it has enough power but just will not start.

What do I need to do to get it going ?

Re: Run out of diesel ! Help !

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 7:35 pm
by vilguy
have you primed it with the pump under the bonnet..... :D :idea:

Re: Run out of diesel ! Help !

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 9:11 pm
by BlueMeganeII
Its tricky when diesels run out of diesel. Your probably gonna need quite a bit of diesel in the tank, and if you on a downloads slope, with the front of the car facing downwards, even better. If you can get to the fuel filter, this could do with being covered in fuel, beyond this your probably gonna need garage attention unless anyone on here can think of an easy way to bleed the air. Don't keep turning the car over and over if it doesn't start, you'll ultimately wreck the engine. No.1 rule of modern diesels, don't run out of fuel - although we've all done it :).

Re: Run out of diesel ! Help !

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 9:39 pm
by tomalamix
my advise is also to prime the system. You must be patience, it will take a while...and dont try to start the car too much times, it will harm your engine components that needs diesel to be lubricated..

good luck

Re: Run out of diesel ! Help !

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 10:23 pm
by davelowe
As above. Running the last drop out of the tank may have blocked the fuel filter with debris. This is not a big problem (change the filter element). Check that you can see diesel in the transparent pipe return hose from the fuel pump (front left hand side of the car as you look it under the bonnet). The priming is done by squeezing a black rubber thing - remove the plastic trim under the bonnet that surrounds the windscreen fluid container (couple of plastic clips - twist them with a flat blade screwdriver). Keep squeezing until no bubbles are present in the transparent pipe.

Re: Run out of diesel ! Help !

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 11:26 pm
by PatBoySlimUK
vilguy wrote:have you primed it with the pump under the bonnet..... :D :idea:


Where is the pump ? anyone got any pics where it is ?

Re: Run out of diesel ! Help !

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 8:59 am
by vilguy
left hand side, pretty much on the side of the wing, its about the size of a ... lightbulb? .. black rubber, and squeezable. it'll take quite a few pumps but it should go firm which means all the air is out of the system. Without doing this, itll never start.

Re: Run out of diesel ! Help !

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 9:41 am
by AlexB
It is on the right side, not left! They call it starboard in navy.

The instructions for priming are in p.504 in this document:
https://ray-lee.co.uk/megane/dialogys/MR364MEGANE1.pdf
The layout of the engine bay is in p.555.

Priming includes operating the priming pump and bleeding air from the filter. There is a bleed screw for it. The pump may be obscured by the plastic covers, which are easy to remove. The filter is accessible through the hatch in the right front wheel arch.

vilguy wrote:left hand side, pretty much on the side of the wing, its about the size of a ... lightbulb? .. black rubber, and squeezable. it'll take quite a few pumps but it should go firm which means all the air is out of the system. Without doing this, itll never start.

Re: Run out of diesel ! Help !

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 10:20 am
by vilguy
Sorry, i mean left when you look at it from the front of the car haha, unless you have REALLY long arms and can reach over the bonnet :D

being honest, i never bother releasing the air out of the filter. give it plenty of squirts on the pump and she "should" start up :cool:

Re: Run out of diesel ! Help !

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 11:02 am
by PatBoySlimUK
AlexB wrote:It is on the right side, not left! They call it starboard in navy.

The instructions for priming are in p.504 in this document:
https://ray-lee.co.uk/megane/dialogys/MR364MEGANE1.pdf
The layout of the engine bay is in p.555.


Where do you get access to all those PDF files ?

Oh and thanks all for your help !

Re: Run out of diesel ! Help !

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 4:15 pm
by AlexB
They are in the sticky thread above the other threads. This is the direct link:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12790

These manuals are a part of Dialogys system sold on ebay.

PatBoySlimUK wrote:
AlexB wrote:It is on the right side, not left! They call it starboard in navy.

The instructions for priming are in p.504 in this document:
https://ray-lee.co.uk/megane/dialogys/MR364MEGANE1.pdf
The layout of the engine bay is in p.555.


Where do you get access to all those PDF files ?

Oh and thanks all for your help !