2018 Chevy Cruze 1.6 Starting Issue

[jimmyfine]

Hello all, hopefully someone has some experience with this before I have to take it to the dealer out of warranty because I cannot find anything that makes sense before I start looking at the fuel pressure regulator.

Car: 2018 Cruze diesel automatic, 91,000 miles, oil change being done next week, 10,000 on fuel filter.
Issue: Randomly, seems more common on afternoon/evening starts after car has ran, it will crank but not fire, then fire on the second attempt. When cold it also feels like a misfire hits but no misfires are counted, this goes away in less than 1 mile but did not happen before.
Codes: P11CD, P228C (not present today)
Troubleshooting: I have ran multiple sensor monitors while starting and noticed that in the no-start the injectors do not fire, fuel rail pressure does not come up to demanded, but fuel supply pressure is steady at 59psi. As soon as fuel rail pressure shoots up to demanded, injectors fire.
Notes: I will be checking timing chain tension as it is a bit noisy but no codes for timing.

I am going to be checking the fuel pressure regulator visually to make sure it looks ok, but beyond that I am at a loss and can't find much online to help due to how few of these cars are on the road it seems.

 

[TurboABA]

1.8L?

 

[vwgtiglx]

Do to the Cruze Talk.com forum. Someone can help you there for sure.

Gen2 Diesel General Discussion

 

[jimmyfine]

1.6, I messed that up lol, and thanks for the tip, I will post over there as well.

 

[TurboABA]

Which pressure sensor are you monitoring? There should be one before the injection pump, one on the pump, probably one on the rail.... and probably a pressure regulator on the rail. Both codes are fuel/air related based on standard DTC deciphering.

The fuel tank stores the fuel supply and contains a 3 - phase electric fuel pump that is controlled by the fuel pump driver control module and engine control module. Fuel is pumped from the fuel tank through the fuel feed line to the fuel filter assembly. The fuel filter assembly consists of a fuel filter/water separator, fuel heater, fuel temperature sensor, and a water in fuel sensor. Fuel flows out of the fuel filter assembly through the rear fuel feed pipe to the fuel pressure sensor and fuel injection pump. The belt driven fuel injection pump is mounted on the upper right corner of the engine block. High pressure fuel is supplied through the high pressure fuel line to the fuel rail and then through the fuel injector lines to the fuel injectors. High pressure fuel is controlled by the ECM, fuel pressure regulator 1

 

[TurboABA]

Check the P11 code again and make sure it's correct... I can't find it as listed

DTC P228C Fuel Pressure Regulator 1 Control Performance - Low Pressure

 

[jimmyfine]

Monitoring low pressure pump from tank and fuel rail, the fuel rail sensor is a little erratic which makes me suspect it sorta, jumps around between 10-48psi while sitting with car off. There is only 1 other option in the Car Scanner app for fuel rail pressure that works but it hangs out around 4-5psi.

I have tried looking at pressure regulator PIDs but none seem to be picking anything up.

 

[TurboABA]

The low pressure code is thrown if the pressure is not within spec for longer than 6s, and said pressure is controlled by the fuel pressure regulator.....

 

[jimmyfine]

Did not know about the timer, but that tracks with my current thoughts. Thank you very much for your input!

 

[TurboABA]

That's the metering valve on your injection pump... pull it out and check for debris at the very least.
Also change your diesel filter again, the pump is not making proper pressure fast enough... hopefully not a sign of impending doom.

 

[TurboABA]

The thing with the electrical connection on it... green dot

 

[jimmyfine]

Appreciate it, juggling this, work, and finding 507 oil right now lol. I will check it out, and my worry is a pump failure soon-ish, fingers crossed.
I thought the pressure regulator was the valve on the fuel rail though? I may be confused which you referenced, I am with you on the metering valve though, and that would make more sense now that I think about it.

 

[TurboABA]

One on the pump, one on the end of the rail. Your code relates to #1 which is on the pump. #2 is on the rail.

 

[jimmyfine]

Here is a log for a no-start then start coming back from lunch. If you look at fuel pressure that is where I attempted first start, oil pressure shows when it stopped and started again.

 

[TurboABA]

That coincides with what I've said so far.... you have fuel getting to your injection pump, but it's not delivering it to the fuel rail.... so if the metering valve is acting up, it's not allowing the pump to make pressure for the injectors to use..... I don't imagine it's your pump unless you have air in the system or something and it needs a bunch of cranking to prime......

 

[oilhammer]

Sounds to me like you have a loss of fuel prime. The rail pressure regulator normally opens after you shut the car off (so the rail isn't "holding" the super high pressure just sitting there, but there should still be liquid fuel in there, no air). You could have an injector dribbling out, or the pump's pressure control valve isn't working correctly.

I'd first look carefully on the engine, between the pump and the rail and the delivery pipes, for any signs of leakage. Even the smallest amount. Next, I'd try some fuel system cleaner... it is cheap and easy, and it helps a lot of the solenoid injected CKRAs with strange cold start misses/stalls. I'm not exactly sure which type of injector your Cruze uses, but I'm sure it's Bosch of some variety.

The other DTC is incorrect, but very close to the NOx sensor suite of DTCs.

 

[jimmyfine]

Thank you for the help and second opinions to make sure I was thinking along the correct path. I have only had time to look at the top of the engine so far where I do not see any signs of leaks. I will hopefully have time in the next day or 2 to actually get behind the engine to inspect the fuel pump itself which is in a tight, hidden location.

I will reply back if I am able to ID anything in particular.

Edit: The P11DC I believe did come up as a NOx code when I went looking for it.

 

[TurboABA]

Order of letters is apparently important

DTC P11DC NOx Sensor 2 Current Performance

 

[jimmyfine]

P11DC is correct, I did flip it, I even wrote it down lol!

 

[jimmyfine]

Verdict is in: Last person my wife lent the car to put 3-4 gallons of gasoline in and insisted they put diesel. Opened the fuel filter housing water drain and then closed it after a few drops of straight gas came out. Sending to local dealer and hopefully getting their insurance to cover repairs.

Note: Car has been driven about 1/4 tank since it was filled as they insisted they put diesel in, and where we picked the car up was a good bit away from the house. The person says the starting issue began before they filled up, I am surprised it is still running.

 

[TurboABA]

Ouch.

 

[1854sailor]

...Last person my wife lent the car to...

I would drive any of my friends pretty much anywhere, but NEVER lend a car to anyone...

 

[oilhammer]

I let my uncle drive my Golf.... he fried the clutch out of it in less than a mile. And he had driven manuals, included said same Golf, many times.

 

[jimmyfine]

@1854sailor, I offer to drive people as well but we are pretty trusting people and have been lucky so far. Luckily I have a problem with collecting cars and we have 4 at the moment so I can spare the down time as long as I don't have to foot a repair bill not caused by me. Certainly won't be letting that happen again if I can, but happy wife happy life so if she loans it out again and that happens I may have to take her keys .

 

[1854sailor]

@1854sailor, I offer to drive people as well but we are pretty trusting people and have been lucky so far. Luckily I have a problem with collecting cars and we have 4 at the moment so I can spare the down time as long as I don't have to foot a repair bill not caused by me. Certainly won't be letting that happen again if I can, but happy wife happy life so if she loans it out again and that happens I may have to take her keys .

My reason is insurance related. Our policies cover my wife and I driving either car. If anyone else is driving, the situation can get sticky depending on the driver's coverage. Better safe than sorry. Just my 2¢...

 

[jimmyfine]

Insurance is a tricky thing, that is a very valid point lol. I will post back when the car is back in my possession, I will try to get a full report from the shop as well for record.

 

[jimmyfine]

Picked the car up yesterday, seemed to start and run fine but I will have a more thorough review on if the problem is fixed in the next few weeks. Total repair cost was $838, covered by the other persons insurance. Below is what they did, and they said they "confirmed" no damage to the fuel pump, heres hoping the design prevents that for the most part.
- Flush fuel lines from tank supply to return, including rail and everything else.
- Drain and clean fuel tank of all fuel.
- Drain/clean fuel filter housing, replace fuel filter ($58 dealership price tag)
- Filled with 5 gallons fuel.
- Tested car to make sure issue was resolved. (no clarification on HOW they tested)

 

[jimmyfine]

Update: There does not seem to be any immediate signs of damage from gas contamination, either the pump is indeed designed better than a CP4 (which I suspect), or the fuel filter prevented gasoline from entering the main fuel lines. When the water drain port was opened gasoline came out so it was separating at least some of it but the warning for water in the filter never came on so I am not sure it got everything.

 

[jimmyfine]

Longer Update: No additional long term effects have been noted, car is running like it never happened. The transmission though, it is starting to shift weird but I am about to change fluid due to service interval being up now.