Hi I did serve a mechanics apprenticeship back in the days of Allegros and Maxis etc. but left the trade many years gone by.
I bought a 2.2 Freelander with a broken exhaust cam / pump drive. Replaced the cam, water pump, belts etc. etc. but I cant get it to fire up. It will run with a whiff of easy start so the valve timing is ok. I can see a fuel rail pressure of 4200psi on cranking the engine and the air intake valve is fully open, although it does come up with a open circuit fault code. I don't think the injectors are firing as I done see any white smoke from the exhaust on cranking. The fuel filter is new and the system is fully bleed of air. Fuel supply to the engine driven pump is good I'm using an Autel code reader but don't see any codes coming up for a cam position sensor problem or injector faults. Engine cranking speed and battery voltage is good. I'm getting fed up of it fast Any help much appreciated. Thanks. The Dog

In the absence of other replies...

AIUI problems with the cam or crank position sensors will not necessarily result in an error code being recorded - it depends on the nature of the fault.

If you have monitoring of live data on your diagnostic tool can you monitor the signals from the crank and cam sensors? If so are they reading OK?

You say you bought the car with the failed camshaft - are you confident that no one else had been messing with it before you and damaged something? Is it the case that all you've done is replace the cam, belts, water pump, etc? I.e. you haven't had the head off, injectors out, etc?

There have been other similar questions in the past so it might be worth a search, but many people don't bother to report back how/if they solved the problem. (So please do us a favour and let us know how you fix it.)

Thanks Pab I know the vehicle and the owner very well so I'm completely confident that there were no pre cam failure issues. I have Autel MaxiDiag Elite OBDII scanner but not too sure of its capabilities. Using the scanner I can see the fuel rail pressure and know it's ok at 4200 PSI or there about at cranking speed. I'll look now at checking the camshaft positon sensor. Would the crankshaft sensor also affect the injection pulses as I though it only sensed engine RPM although this is likely linked I guess. I should have bought a Morris Minor

It sounds as though both crank and cam sensors could potentially affect starting. From the manual:

Quote:

A CKP sensor is installed at the front of the engine...

The sensor is a variable reluctance sensor that provides an input of engine crankshaft speed, and No. 1 piston position to the ECM. The information is used by the ECM to determine the quantity of fuel to be injected, start of fuel delivery, and quantity of exhaust gas to be recirculated.

Quote:

The CMP sensor is mounted at the front of the engine behind the exhaust camshaft drive pulley. The sensor tip protrudes through a hole in the cylinder head cover, and is positioned close to the camshaft pulley target area. The position of the sensor to the camshaft pulley is adjustable.
...
The sensor is a variable reluctance sensor that provides a signal of No. 1 cylinder camshaft position to the ECM. The information is used by the ECM to determine the precise moment for injection during engine cranking.

Quote:

I should have bought a Morris Minor

Thanks for that. I removed and checked out the camshaft position sensor yesterday evening and it appears to be working ok, the position adjustment is a slotted fastener hole for mounting the sensor probe I've adjusted the sensor fully in towards the cam pulley and no fault code is showing for the sensor however I do have a fault code "injection pump fuel metering control A P0251-00" appearing not too sure what this relates to though I guess it could be related to the cam position sensor. The crankshaft sensor also appears to be working ok as I can see the cranking RPM coming up on the OBDII analyser.
At some stage after the camshaft failed the battery had been removed from the car I don't suppose this has any effect on the ECU these days would you know? Someone I know with a bit of knowledge suggested battery removal still may be an issue with Freelanders but I wouldn't have thought so these days. I guess if I could clear the P0251 code I'd be getting somewhere.

Removing the battery shouldn't cause any problems.

The P0251 code sounds significant, but it appears to be a generic code which could be caused by various things (including the crank and cam sensors). See, for example https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/p0251...ke-griffin - not LR-specific, but may give some hints.

Just checked out the code on the net and comes up with fords. Once you get her going lets us know what it was. I am also that old mechanic and out of the trade for years so I know how you are feeling.

As copied from passionford


If you have P0251 it could be a pump problem, but it could also be fault with injectors/air leaks/filter blocked/fuel pipes crimped.

With fuel low pressure side primed and fuel pressure tested, if the pressure is low you need to do a leak off test on the injectors.

If you haven't got the fancy kit to test leak off, just get 4 EQUAL lengths of washer pipe that'll fit on the injector leak offs and 4 tubs/bottles/whatever that are transparent.

Again disconnect the injectors and inlet metering valve, and 5 sec crank and check if fuel is present in any of the hoses, if one has a load of fuel in, there's your faulty injector that is losing your fuel pressure! FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

Thanks for the help fellows. I'm pretty sure the injectors are not getting a signal but not too sure how to test this as I believe the pulse to them lasts only around 2 milliseconds so I doubt if I'd see anything on a test meter. I believe an oscilloscope is the best way to check but I'd be getting out of my depth with this I think. I'm running out of ideas fast but don't want to get beat by it. My guess it will be something simple but it's just putting a finger on it. I did have a problem getting No1 fuel injector out and had to make up a sliding hammer to persuade it out possibly this has possibly jiggered the injector? but no fault code showing for the injectors although I don't know if my OBDII reader would show this up.
Never had this much trouble with a coil, plugs and points in days gone by

The dog wrote:

...the camshaft position sensor....I've adjusted the sensor fully in towards the cam pulley...

The distance has to be a specific value... See below.

The dog wrote:

I believe the pulse to them lasts only around 2 milliseconds so I doubt if I'd see anything on a test meter. I believe an oscilloscope is the best way to check but I'd be getting out of my depth with this I think.

The dog wrote:

I do have a fault code "injection pump fuel metering control A P0251-00" appearing

Thanks that's a good help with understanding the system
This evening I have actually cleared the P0251 fault it was the connector on the volume control valve (what a task to get to it ) so at least I feel I'm getting somewhere now with it. I've had to hold off on having more goes at getting it started as I'll have to replace the copper sealing washer on the injector that was stuck as it's leaking past I had to destroy the washer to remove it so on hold now till I get a replacement washer. Thanks again.

Fixed the blowing past injector washer and set the camshaft sensor position but looks like I'm going backwards as now I can't get the fuel rail pressure to come up. Yesterday I found a bad connection to the fuel pump volume control valve and this cleared the OBD P0251 code. There is a good fuel feed to the LP pump with no air showing in the feed line.
Interestingly the fellow at the fuel injection specialists said they sold plenty HP pump volume control valves. Now wondering where to look next Had to walk away from it for a break! The Dog

Fuel pressure back to 2400psi on cranking after bleeding but still not firing. I'm thinking now that the injectors are not getting a signal voltage to open, does anyone know how I can reliably test the injector supply without a oscilloscope?
The injector circuit fuse is good. I'm again thinking it may be a camshaft position sensor problem although it does seem to be pulsing on cranking when checked using a volt meter. I probably renew it as a precaution though. Thanks The dog.

Check the return lines pressure valve. It should open only past 10 bars, about 145 psi.
That pressure is needed for the injectors' hydraulic chamber to function properly...

Thanks Alex I'm working away at the moment but will do this check when I get home. I guess this is the small bright metal valve that the injector spill lines terminate back to before going to the fuel filter? Thanks again The dog.

Yes.
And, if I would be in your place, up until I start it, I would disconnect the fuel pipes before filter and I would put them into a container of about 1 liter, full of diesel, and I would try to start it in this configuration.
In that way, I would be sure that the fuel is circulating - feed AND return - and the circuit is bled properly.