What are the common diesel engine problems that every diesel engine owner has to tackle? There are several diesel engine problems, which include hard starting, Fuel Congealment, engine knocking or pinging, Black Smoke, and many more.
Common diesel engine problems
Hard starting: At times, you may experience a delay in starting your diesel engines, and you begin to wonder what the problem is. There are several probable causes which include faulty pressure regulator, bad filters, fuel contamination, and so on. Also, if fuel delivery is low or low compression of air, you are likely going to experience some trouble starting your engine.
Fuel Contamination: Fuel contamination occurs when fuel is full of organic and inorganic matters that are harmful to your engine. It usually happens when you store fuels for a long time, thereby giving room for bacteria, molds, or fungi to breed in it. Also, corrosion is another form contaminant common with diesel oil that may likely constitute problems for your diesel engine. You need to maintain proper fuel treatment to prevent your engine from breaking down when you least expect.
Lack of Power: Your diesel engine may lose power due to poor sealing of the combustion chamber, insufficient fuel supply, and interruption of gas supply. Also, lack of energy may be a result of dirty fuel filters as well as loosened throttle linkage. Lack of power may also occur if your injectors are faulty as well as improper adjustment of fuel supply timing.
Higher Compression Ratio: If your diesel fuel engine exceeds its standard compression ratio, which is 20:1, you are likely going to experience various problems. Also, exceeding the usual compression ratio may not only lead to fuel injection problems but also lead to knocking of the engine. Note that this does not mean that a high compression ratio is outrightly harmful as it allows the diesel engine to extract more mechanical energy from a given mass of air.
Defective Glow Plug: When your glow plug becomes ineffective, it becomes a problem for the engine to start up, especially in cold weather. Also, the light on the dash will stay longer than usual before it vanishes. You may also run your car battery down when trying to ignite an engine with a faulty glow plug.
additional Problems common with diesel engine
Black Smoke: Black smoke may occur if you have faulty injectors or bad injector pump. Also, a defective air filter will prevent the supply of sufficient oxygen needed to burn the excess fuel that is pumping into the engine.
Blue Smoke: This is a mechanical fault in which engine oil that percolates into unwanted places in your engine burns. If you have faulty injector pumps or worn out cylinders, check to know if the engine oil is beginning to flow into wrong compartments.
White Smoke: This occurs when there is arbitrary pumping of fuel into the combustion chamber resulting in poor burning. You may white smoke if your fuel is contaminated or your engine has low compression. Also, this could be a result of poor circulation of fuel as well as a defective fuel pump.
Noise: Diesel engines, especially old ones, are noted for too much noise when compared to a gasoline engine. If your diesel engine is becoming noisy, it may not be unconnected to faulty injectors.
Are you having a hard time starting your diesel engine or is it knocking or pinging? What’s the color of its smoke – white or black? Whatever the problem of your diesel engine is, locate a competent mechanic around you and let them diagnose what the problem is and get it fixed as soon as you can.
Although I have mentioned several problems common with diesel engines, we cannot but recommend that you also read the advantages and disadvantages of diesel oil. Also, we encourage you to read up our article on the uses of diesel oil and its importance in global economic growth.