Super custom will not start

Sc refused to start despite good cranking speed, clicking sound coming from injector pump left it on charge whilst consulting internet, no use tried her again 2hrs later no clicking started first time conclusion low voltage from battery, hope this helps someone.

If battery was low then you wouldn't have a good cranking speed right?
To make sure, you could jumpstart it using another car.

What kind of Super Custom is it. 3.0 turbodiesel? 1KZ-TE engine?

The clicking from the fuel pump will be the fuel cutoff solenoid.

That's a low power device, does seem strange that it has power to turn over the starter, but not power the solenoid. Could be a bad earth? Cold and damp weather tend to find these issues.

SC now working pulled the ECU to inspect looked absolutely perfect on refitting it started first time and every time since . Can only assume bad connection on one of the plugs . Little niggle on fuel gauge low fuel light on with fuel in tank at 1/2 full any ideas.

Good news.

No idea about the fuel gauge, mine shows empty at around 60L of fuel used, but pretty sure the tank is bigger than that?

Sc not starting again same problem constant clicking from injection pump suspect stop solenoid cant see it must be under pump do you have to go through wheel arch or under vehicle to get at it. Any ideas would help thanks.

Hi SC now sorted clicking from injector pump is not the problem it is caused by low battery voltage although battery would crank engine voltage drop plays havoc with the electronics by the way there is no stop solenoid it has a spill valve which does the job and adjusts injection when required £270.00 from toyota plus fitting has to be calibrated which means taking injector pump of to be done by specialist. So a new battery and the SC is purring like a kitten again, quite a cheap fix at £87.00 in the end.

johntidmarsh wrote:

Hi SC now sorted clicking from injector pump is not the problem it is caused by low battery voltage although battery would crank engine voltage drop plays havoc with the electronics by the way there is no stop solenoid it has a spill valve which does the job and adjusts injection when required £270.00 from toyota plus fitting has to be calibrated which means taking injector pump of to be done by specialist. So a new battery and the SC is purring like a kitten again, quite a cheap fix at £87.00 in the end.      

Interesting, and a bit disturbing it needs such a good power.
Perhaps it's an old ECU but perhaps it's not - if not it means the idea of a single starting/interior camping battery may not work.

Maybe there's space for a DC-DC converter for the engine systems so the starting drain has no influence - eBay/China so some decent converters that will throw out 14.4 volts even when the input dips to 5V lol.

Food for thought.

johntidmarsh wrote:

by the way there is no stop solenoid it has a spill valve which does the job and adjusts injection when required £270.00 from toyota plus fitting has to be calibrated which means taking injector pump of to be done by specialist.

ok, useful to know. It's different to my engine (3L - 2.8D), which does have a fuel cutoff solenoid (22019-6A510). Guess the technology moved on when they started fitting ECUs.

Glad you found the problem.

GPW wrote:

johntidmarsh wrote:

Hi SC now sorted clicking from injector pump is not the problem it is caused by low battery voltage although battery would crank engine voltage drop plays havoc with the electronics by the way there is no stop solenoid it has a spill valve which does the job and adjusts injection when required £270.00 from toyota plus fitting has to be calibrated which means taking injector pump of to be done by specialist. So a new battery and the SC is purring like a kitten again, quite a cheap fix at £87.00 in the end.      

Interesting, and a bit disturbing it needs such a good power.
Perhaps it's an old ECU but perhaps it's not - if not it means the idea of a single starting/interior camping battery may not work.

Maybe there's space for a DC-DC converter for the engine systems so the starting drain has no influence - eBay/China so some decent converters that will throw out 14.4 volts even when the input dips to 5V lol.

Food for thought.

A big voltage drop is an indication that the battery needs replacement anyway. Voltage will always drop, but when it is below 8V or something, it should be replaced.

Anyway, about the single battery setup, you need to take the right battery. I would suggest the Optima Yellow Top (no other color!) and that one is very good at keeping voltage high while starting, much better than an average lead acid battery.

All very true and noted.
At the end of the day though - I'm too tight to buy an expensive battery and it it turns over at all I'd like it to start

A separate voltage converter for the ECU however could be one of those things I'm likely never to get around to fitting - not just because of the effort, but because I lack a decent wiring diagram.

Currently I've got a new quite nice Exide batery which will do for starting etc (it spins the engine super-fast!), and I'll probably go with a very small interior battery - ideally a nice A123 cell pack if possible - I just need to buy enough of these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-3-7V-CR123A-123A-CR123-16340-2800mAh-GTL-Rechargeable-Battery-Cell-White-/272353586609

TBH it only needs to do a laptop, sink pump, possible TV and lights. I'll be using a £20 single ring gas and a cafetier for coffee so no power there, and I don't think I need any 240V items as laptop and TV both have 12V adapters available.

Hi All SC not starting again this morning checked state of battery 12.2 volts after 2 hrs on charge it was up to 12.7 and it starts first time this with the new high spec battery I assume it was not fully charged when I got it yesterday. When starting from cold heater plugs and starter must drop the voltage too much for electronics to cope, when the battery is fully charged I will check it daily. On the subject of the living side battery the bigger the better with a 12v fridge light tv sat receiver water pump and night heater it will go flat in 2 days .

Perhaps it is an indication that some capacitors (in the ECU) are not doing their job correctly anymore? That it is very sensitive to the voltage drop of the car battery?

A bit of a voltage drop shouldn't be a problem I would think.

When the engine is running measure the voltage somewhere handy.
Lowest is 13.8V, fully charged is 14.4V - both figures with engine running.

They say batteries last longer if you fully charge them when new, not sure how true that is but now I whack them on charge straight away.

I use a Hobbyking charger that tell me how many AH go into it - new batteries always seem to take a reasonable percentage of capacity.


Leisure batteries - I only stay in one place for one night as I stop-over when travelling - but a good point. A multi-day stay may involve plugging into the national grid at the campsite LOL.

Hi Had a good look at the ECU absolutely like new, using a voltage monitor in cigarette lighter this shows charging 14.4v it will not start below 12.3 volts. time will tell.

keep the battery charged I had this problem and it turned out to be the starter solenoid. If the battery is constantly low it wears the solenoid and makes it hard to or not start at all.

Hi mate yes since fitting new battery 10 days back tested it nearly every day and no failed starts 2 or 3 long runs with no problems .

JT69 wrote:

Sc refused to start despite good cranking speed, clicking sound coming from injector pump left it on charge whilst consulting internet, no use tried her again 2hrs later no clicking started first time conclusion low voltage from battery, hope this helps someone.  

Aha, mine starts, runs okay then suddenly stops. (Bats new) clicking sound, yes. could be your electronic diesel controller. Good luck