Advice needed on strange problem.

[R W]

I have a 2.9 diesel ( same engine as was fitted to the Sprinters)E210 here in Russia. A couple of days ago the alternator stopped charging.I jump started it yeasterday & took it to a local auto repair shop. They removed some of the air trunking, air filter & alternator. They didnt have a new diod pack so fitted a pack from a used alternator.Replaced everything & upon starting it,it idled OK but any attempt to rev the engine produced clouds of blue smoke & intermitent missfiring.The smoke smells like unburnt diesel & not oil.Took it for a short drive & no power but the smoke eased up a little. It sounds like there is not enough air getting fed to it. I first thought the electrician had maybe left a rag or something in the air intake.But I didnt see him with any rags & he said everything was assembled OK.They advised disconecting the battery overnight & maybe the computer would re-set its self. This I have done this & just started it again & it is just the same.So I will have to take it back to the repair shop in the morning.Any advice would be very much appreciated.

 

[hawk20]

Sounds like one for Malcolm or one of our resident technical experts. This is just to keep your thread on page 1!

Could it be MAF?

 

[R W]

Thanks Hawk & my apologies for putting a technical fault in the wrong section.
The problem has been cured?. This morning the car was running really sick, misfiring
& clouds of blue smoke. Struggled back to auto electrical shop. From there I was taken to another workshop that had diagnostic equipment. I was very surprised to see it as I thought there wasn’t any such equipment here. Anyway, the car was checked by 3 technicians, checked MAF, checked a circuit board, then the diagnostic reports showed a Needle Lift Motion Sensor B27 fault. There was a lot of talking going on that I didn’t understand & they removed the top plastic covers covering the injectors & there they found the wire to #1 injector rubbed through & separated. They soldered the wires & all was good. What must have happened was, the wire must have been damaged but still connected. The guy changing the alternator put his hand under the cover to pull back the pin from the belt pensioner & this must have separated the wire.
The end result was very simple but what confused everyone was how the engine was running so sick & all they did was repaired the alternator?. I am very happy with the results today & it’s a huge relief that the car is now OK again.

 

[Rory]

Thanks for posting the solution - it's always nice to hear the result.

 

[television]

Like Rory says always nice to have the answer to pass on to others

 

[R W]

The end result was very simple & may help someone else. The confusing thing about it all was, there seemed no connection between repairing the alternator & an engine running very sick. I was sure the electrician had left a rag in the air intake & I was expecting a cyl head removal. The engine sounded as though starved of air. Like an old petrol car running on full choke & misfiring. It was a great relief to find only a broken wire.I was very grateful those technicians found the fault. Even more surprised at the bill.Total cost of the 3 technicians for 1hr + diagnostics came to just under 16pounds?.