Oh No! "Water detected in fuel" 2013 TDCi

[AlCan]

Well...

Getting ready for Christmas, just about to take the Star Wagon for a test run after swapping a couple of tyres around. A Bing, and a message, briefly on the orange Plasma Display.

I see one other related thread, but that was for the previous MC engine variant which had a belt-driven Power Steering pump and the Fuel Filter down the back beside the tank. I think I could handle that, but this one is different.

It has the PSA, 3-logo fuel filter housing installed on the side of the engine about where the Power Steering pump used to be. Alan Howatt does a video on replacing this filter but it makes me nervous, knowing how difficult it can be bleeding this single pump system if it decides not to play ball.

Anyway, I've had a close look at the filter housing and see what appear to be a couple of football-bladder-style bleed points.

One is on top of the housing just in front of the fuel return line (air bleed no doubt), just above the LHS of the FoMoCo logo, the other on the bottom right (passenger) side, angled to face forward and up, for easy access (for water extraction???). That one is in a plastic moulding, attached to the side of the bowl by a bolt.

These can be seen in the two linked photos - a round plastic cap with a cross in the centre. There's a hole about 10 or 15mm deep, and some kind of (soft?) plug at the bottom.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...B4LWM5elp2cWRR

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...B4LWM5elp2cWRR

Does anyone know what kind of tool fits the lower bleed point, and does it seal again after use or does it need to be replaced?

[Citroënbender]

It will have an O-ring seal to each point, which is re-usable.

Most correct tool will be a Phillips No.3 or 4 driver, after you pick/blow the junk out of the cross. A “hack” is to make a dedicated tool for such bleed points by lightly taking the absolute tip off the driver with a grinder. That way it engages fully at the extremities of the cross, where torque applied is most efficient.

Those white push-to-release fuel harness connectors are really fragile - the white part, anyway. You can get non genuine replacements online. They’re prone to not releasing well and breaking.

[AlCan]

Excellent, most helpful advice, thank you Citroënbender.

It makes such a difference having some idea of what you're looking at.

Being a bit lazy... Took a suitable flat-blade screwdriver which fits snugly into the cross of the drain one and gave it a wee tweak. The plug (now that I know what it really is) loosened with just a tiny bit of torque. Will get organised and take it from here. Hopefully won't need to touch those white clips - they look so thin and flimsy already.

[AlCan]

Well, well...

Two holes in the ground. Not much oil, and even less water!

Spent a couple or more hours chasing this...

Long story short, didn't find any water.

Ended up pulling out both plugs, as nothing seemed to happen when I took out just the lower one. Probably let lots of air into the system. It certainly made sucking noises... And despite my catch tray, I still got diesel on the driveway. Watched the Alan Howatt video on changing a late-MC Fuel Filter (in his usual emphatic way), but he doesn't let on about a few things. He does say "Do it my way" but doesn't say why. Maybe this:

Near the end says if your engine doesn't start, or stops afterwards, you'll have to bleed it by sucking out from the return line. Figured, okay, I'll do that anyway - without trying to start the engine first - since I seem to have let so much air in.

Well... Just as well I have a (home made) vacuum catch bottle already set up, and simply hooked that up with my wife's little shopping cart's intake manifold as the vacuum source. I used that to suck from the return line from the HP Pump, where it has a joint near the filter housing. That little Toyota is a pretty good suction machine!

And I can tell you, if you used any simpler method, such as a hand pump bulb or such like, you'd be there all day and night, be frustrated to hell and still probably get nowhere.

The fuel flow when sucked out of the return line is abysmally little. I would say, certainly not enough flow to clear any air out of the pipelines. When there was air waiting to come out, it came out fast, but after that, it was a tiny trickle of diesel, about half a litre in 30 minutes. I was still getting bubbles but figured that was probably as good as I was going to get.

So, put it all back together (leaving the beauty cover off) so I could see the clear (nylon?) delivery pipe where the black sleeve is missing near the retaining clips as it crosses the intake manifold. Cranked it over apprehensively...

She fired up just like normal.

I watched the fuel in the delivery pipe. Amazing!

Absolutely massive amounts of air. It was hurtling through that pipe, appearing to be far more air than fuel. I listened to the engine carefully, and it did seem to be hunting slightly, as you might expect, but it kept on running. Settled down after the bubbles stopped, been good ever since. There must be a second, low pressure suction pump inside that can.

Certainly, it has an incredible ability to suck air and get rid of it without starving or stalling the HP Pump. Totally unlike any other diesel injection system I've ever met. Modern Technology!

So, Alan Howatt was right. He says pour the diesel out of the old filter back into the bowl. This makes good sense, because it's almost certain that all the fuel in the suction line from the tank will have run back. The pump needs a supply of diesel to prime it, and the engine needs a supply of diesel to live on, while it pulls the air and fuel back through from the tank.

I'm very, very impressed with that Fuel Pump. I'm no longer scared to change the filter. The trick seems to be, just make sure the filter bowl is full of fuel when you put it back together, and, like Alan H says, don't take the pipes off the filter housing lid, (or, I say, don't let any of the fuel in the line between filter and pump run out). That's the fuel that will get you going again.

As for the "Water detected in fuel" - I have no idea. It was a hot afternoon. It was definitely reporting. Turned Off and On three or four times, same message every time. Maybe it's a dirty contact fault. I can only wait and see if it happens again. (Did I check it today before I started? No, don't know why. Had already decided to go ahead, I guess. I suspect it would have been gone. And haven't seen it again since.)

Fingers crossed!