Fuel gelling or not?

Nico3d3

Veteran Member
Joined
May 13, 2007
Location
Quebec City
TDI
Golf 2001
So I was coming back from work and I started loosing power until I had to pull out because I wasn't going fast enough for the stream of traffic. I tried to switch the engine on and off thinking that maybe I was just in limp mode but it never started again. The starter is turning fast but the engine just doesn't fire. I'm clueless right now, I've got the car towed to my home but I still got to figure out what's going. Fuel filter was replaced before winter began... For now, I poured PowerService directly into the fuel filter but I'm not going to try anything until tomorrow.. Could it really be related to fuel gelling? It's not relay 109 because I still see the glow plug light when the key is on. I also checked to make sure antishudder valve isn't blocked.
 

Bob_Fout

Oil Wanker
Joined
Sep 5, 2004
Location
Indiana
TDI
2003 Jetta - Alaska Green (sold) / 2015 GTI 2.0T
Which PowerService product? Their Diesel 911 is for ungelling fuel, the white bottle DFS only prevents gelling.
 

Nico3d3

Veteran Member
Joined
May 13, 2007
Location
Quebec City
TDI
Golf 2001
I don't have Diesel 911 at hand so I used what I had for now. I'll see what I can do tomorrow and see if I can buy a bottle of diesel911.
 

85_305

Banned
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Location
Buffalo NY/FT Bragg, NC
TDI
1999.5 Jetta 5spd
There's a very very good chance it gelled. I can almost guarantee thats what happened. Diesel 911 is in your near future. make sure to fill your fuel filter half way up with it also.
 

n1das

TDIClub Enthusiast, Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2002
Location
Nashua, NH, USA
TDI
2014 BMW 535xd ///M-Sport, 2012 BMW X5 Xdrive35d, former 3x TDI owner
It could be due to ICING from water/condensation in the fuel and not actually gelling. Icing due to water/condensation can get you in trouble long before gelling will and the symptoms of each are similar.

The fuel in your region is supposedly winterized for the bitter cold temps. If the fuel is in fact already winterized, -0.4F is cold enough for icing but too warm for gelling. Non-winterized fuel can still gell at -0.4F though.

What version fuel pickup sender do you have in the tank? IIRC, any revision prior to "H" is suspect due to a restrictive check valve that becomes the first victim of icing and eventually plugs up and stops fuel flow. One telltale sign is to check the clear fuel line between the fuel filter and injector pump. If it is empty and dry as a bone, it may be due to the check valve plugging up.

To check fuel sender version:
1.) Pull up the passenger side rear seat cushion.
2.) Remove the 3 large screws holding a large round metal plate to the car body.
3.) Remove the large round metal plate and look at the fuel sender assembly on top of the fuel tank. Look at the part number and look for the letter on the end of the part number. The letter denotes the revision level of the assembly.

If you have one of the earlier suspect pickup senders, consider replacing it with a new one or modify the existing sender by drilling out the check valve.

1J0 919 183 H is a known good sender assembly. Any revision level prior to this is suspect. The revision H fuel pickup sender is in 2002 and later TDIs but I don't know when it was phased into production. Given that your TDI is a 2001 according to your profile, yours might have one of the earlier version fuel pickup senders in the tank.

There are several threads on this topic, the best one being "Cold Weather design flaw, secret recall from VW?"
Thread: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=68872

Good luck.
 
Last edited:

Nico3d3

Veteran Member
Joined
May 13, 2007
Location
Quebec City
TDI
Golf 2001
Yep my fuel line was empty and dry as bone when I took a look at it. I had to crack open all injectors and charge the battery before it finally came back to life.
 
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