s60 d5 not starting
 

My 2002 163 d5 s60 failed to start today, 5 mins of cranking and it showed no effort to fire. Normally takes 5 seconds or so to fire. Economy is 40 to 45 mpg normally. 2 weeks ago did 4000 miles in 2 weeks in Scotland, no problems starting or running. 163000 miles full service history.

What can I do to coax it into starting ?

I would be looking at the fuelling system , D5 engines start very easily normally no matter what the weather first touch of the starter . Check the fuel filter has been changed , easy to do it yourself if one is needed . My V70 D5 needed a new in tank pump last week for the second time in 154k miles . The first time it failed it got steadily worse until engine would not start at all , that was about three year ago and sparked my interest in this forum . Could also be injectors and seems a common issue on 2002 D5 engines , there are hundreds of posts covering both these problems .

Just thought of something else , with the low temperatures could be you have a few failed glow plugs or the supply to them , just one out would not prevent starting but two or three might , this would not be a common fault on a D5. To overcome this remove the plastic engine cover then pour a few kettles of hot water over the cylinder head , this should warm it up enough within a couple of minutes to enable it to start , the glow plugs are not needed above approx 4 deg C .

Dont think so with the hot water , conductivity will lead heat away and connectors dont like water.
Also if you crank the engine for 5 minutes then enough heat is generated with the repeated compression strokes that should eventualy start the engine
i agree that the glowplugs are first suspects but i dont rule out bad injectors or fuelsupply

I have an MY2003 V70 D5 that I replaced an injector in last winter. It had been poor at starting below 5 degrees C and then became a none starter without a blast of cold start into the air intake pipe. I don't recommend this as good practice though.

It will now quite happily start at zero degrees C without the need for preheating with glow plugs if required, so I'd agree with Bernard333 about the D5 generally being a good engine for starting under a variety of weather conditions. However, I note that it was mild weather this morning.

I'd check for error codes using a Volvo specific reader, to see if anything has been stored. Also have a leak off test and the Vadis/Vida injectors diagnostic done.

Good luck with this.

I can assure you that this method works , I have done it many times on various diesel engines over the past 30 years on cars and tractors and on a D5 engine you will not douse any connectors if you use your common sense . The high conductivity of the alloy cam covers and head quickly conducts the heat to where its needed and even works a treat on cast iron heads . My 1965 3 cylinder Ford 4000 tractor is now on its last legs ( this Ford engine was not even fitted with glow plugs ) and needs a gallon of boiling water over the head plus a gas blow lamp flame or easystart down the air intake to get it started in cold weather , easystart alas on its own is no longer enough . I would not recommend using easystart on a D5 even though I believe AA patrolmen are partial to giving them a squirt .

The problem there is the water will fill the injector wells and rust the injectors into the head .

You could be right as I have never had to remove an injector on mine yet but what happens is the water evaporates and dries up fairly quickly normally within an hour or less as the engine gets hot and on mine a slightly leaking main oil filler cap ensures the wells and injectors are copiously coated in an oily gunge which although unsightly I leave in place , I cannot see any signs of rust in this area.

I'd see if there are any codes. The bad starting could also be down to a faulty/failing/failed crank sensor.

:star-wars-smiley-01

its further down that causes the problem if there is any blow back water or oil ingress with the heat it sticks like glue.
mike

I must admit the time will probably come that I need to remove an injector and hoping I dont find it siezed solid .