Kia Sportage - Halfords Issue

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Thu 1 Feb 2024 17:55
Kia Sportage - Halfords Issue - X3502

Hi all,

Looking for a bit of advise regarding an issue I've had which I have been lead to believe may be a result of Halfords Auto centres mistake.

I have diesel car with a mechanical high pressure fuel pump and no on tank pump, which had a fuel filter replacement last year combined with a service at Halfords Auto centre.

Within about 1500 miles I had intermittent 'surges' but not consistently, they felt more like a tiny judder. This persisted for a while and as it was so minor I didn't take any action.

Then car refused to start, and was diagnosed by the AA as high pressure fuel pump failure.

As a result of the cost of replacing this, I left the car for a while, and got someone round to take a look recently.

It turns out Halfords had installed an incorrect fuel filter, which even their own website states is not compatible with the car.

I have been advised this may have been starving the pump of fuel, resulting in it's failure.

I wanted to get some further advise on how likely this is, that the incorrect filter would have had a negative affect on the pump, and how best to proceed.

Many thanks in advance for any advise and input!

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Thu 1 Feb 2024 18:13
Kia Sportage - Halfords Issue - elekie&a/c doctor
Just to clarify , have you actually had the system tested to confirm the high pressure pump has failed? They are generally very reliable . It’s usually contaminated fuel that kills them . Had it been misfueled with petrol at any time? Not sure the wrong filter would cause a pump failure.
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Thu 1 Feb 2024 18:25
Kia Sportage - Halfords Issue - X3502

Hi, thanks for your comment.

I was told there is fuel all the way to the pump, and 0 PSI at the rail, and that the pressure regulator appears to be functioning as it should from electrical testing. I was also advised the oil level was slightly high which could have been fuel entering the oil, but he couldn't 'smell' diesel in the oil.

From the code on the filter that was removed, all the cars have an in tank electric pump, which I do not have.

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Thu 1 Feb 2024 18:37
Kia Sportage - Halfords Issue - elekie&a/c doctor
Need to be careful here . The HP pump cannot produce pressure in the system without a restriction on the outlet . It’s really a fluid transfer device. Is it actually rotating ? You need someone with the correct equipment to test the required pressure. Faulty injectors will give the same symptoms. With no in tank pump , any air entering the system will cause the hp pump to not operate correctly.
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Thu 1 Feb 2024 18:45
Kia Sportage - Halfords Issue - X3502

Hi, thanks for your feedback.

The pump is directly on the timing chain which apparently is turning fine and fully intact. Apparently the rail has fuel in but never pressurises, and as it doesn't pressurise it doesn't start the injectors. This was confirmed by loosening a pipe to the fuel rail and cranking the engine, which resulted in no fuel coming out of the loosened pipe apparently. I'm not sure how one would check if the pump is actually turning or not, but if you know of something I can check myself I would definitely do so.

Thanks again for your comment.

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Thu 1 Feb 2024 19:24
Kia Sportage - Halfords Issue - elekie&a/c doctor
Loosening the pipe on a common rail diesel system to check pressure, is an indication that whoever is checking the system doesn’t know how it works.
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Thu 1 Feb 2024 19:27
Kia Sportage - Halfords Issue - X3502

I think it was one of the injector pipes they loosened but I may be wrong

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Thu 1 Feb 2024 19:30
Kia Sportage - Halfords Issue - elekie&a/c doctor
That’s the idea of “common rail “ the pressure is the same across the whole fuel rail after the hp pump .
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Thu 1 Feb 2024 19:34
Kia Sportage - Halfords Issue - X3502

I'm just going by what I was told, but there was no fuel coming out from the other side of the pump.

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Fri 2 Feb 2024 12:39
Kia Sportage - Halfords Issue - Gibbo_Wirral

I've been doing Peugeot diagnostics for years, and if I had a tenner for each time the AA diagnosed "HP pump" as a faulty part I'd be hundreds of pounds richer.

I'm not saying they're wrong in your case, just get a second opinion.

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Fri 2 Feb 2024 13:32
Kia Sportage - Halfords Issue - X3502

Appreciate your input.

Current state is that there is 0psi to the rail, even when the pressure regulator is disconnected which I am lead to believe should allow full pressure through to the fuel rail.

If you have any suggestions for other checks I would be very grateful.

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Fri 2 Feb 2024 14:47
Kia Sportage - Halfords Issue - elekie&a/c doctor
The people looking at the car , do they have the proper common rail pressure test kit that enables them to dead head the injection pipes ?
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Thu 8 Feb 2024 18:45
Kia Sportage - Halfords Issue - Railroad.

Are you sure you don't have an air leak between the fuel tank and the HP pump? Could the fuel filter be seated incorrectly or a seal not properly fitted?

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