Stalling D40

Solarjack1 · Oct 20, 2012

On occassions when starting my Jan 2011 ST D40 2.5TD, (particularly during the colder winter months) first thing in the morning the engine starts then simply stops. If I can get it to rev initially it is generally fine however if not it may stop / stall several times before eventually settling down. It appears to hunt a little at idle as well. I discussed this with Nissan & they looked at it at the most recent service (40000ks) but advised there was nothing on the diagnostics but there was a little algae in the fuel filter which may have caused the problem. No such luck, back now better than ever & very frustrating when I need to get away quickly in the mornings, just wondering if anyone out there has experienced a similar problem? Otherwise I have had no issues with the vehicle at all (apart from the usual squeaks & rattles!).

user 12270 · Oct 20, 2012

Hey Solar, I had an issue with my Jeep with it stalling on idle though it came back to a battery that was going flat and as a result the computer lost the idle position memory. I gave the battery a charge and it fixed the issue, I shortly got a new battery as the other one was shot. We had a work Patrol that had issues in the cold due to a buggered battery too, the battery held charge during the day though when cold it caused issues, not sure if this is any help though thought I might just put forward my experience.

Craig09 · Oct 20, 2012

hey mate,could also be a small air leak in the fuel line somewhere,if so overnight a air bubble would be forming therefor makeing it hard for the engine to start/run at first, then when you get the revs up it gets through the air and to fuel again.does the D40 have a simmilar fuel primer to zd30 enigine?if so before you start it pump the primer till its hard and see if it stalls or if it takes for ever for the primer to go hard

Old.Tony · Oct 20, 2012

Welcome to the forum!

Mine did that once before Christmas 2012 and then several times on our trip around Tasmania. Again, more when it was cool but it did it a couple of times when warm as well.

Nissan looked at it, checked the fuel pump etc and couldn't see anything wrong. It did have a service then and it hasn't missed a beat since so it could very well be a slow leak on the suction side of the fuel pump (between the pump and the tank). It's likely to be around the fuel filter up the top at the rear of the engine and could either be from cracked (old) fuel lines, under-tightened clamps or over-tightened clamps.

It could also be a seal not sitting perfectly in the filter.

The test (to see if it is a fuel leak): tomorrow morning, before you start it, pop the bonnet and pump the diesel primer bulb (under the fuel filter on the fuel line). It should be fairly easy to squeeze for no more than 6 full squeezes, then it should go quite hard. If you keep going and going, there's a leak and there's your answer.