KZN130 Turning over but not firing

[MadKiwi]

Disaster. Just finished a great holiday romping around the Scottish highlands in the truck when it suddenly decided not to start when I tried to head home. Had just pulled over and switched off to go check the bikes strapped to the tailgate. When got back in, it turned over just fine on the key but refused to fire up.

Not good, had the missus and kids with me.

Checked fuel/water/battery/fuses ... all ok. Noticed that glow-plug pre-heat light on dash had stopped lighting up on ignition. Also air flow sensor had become disconnected with battering the truck was taking from the rough roads.

Had to arrange for us to be trailered home since Toyota in Stirling were 'too busy' to help.

Anyhow, now I'm back in London am trying to diagnose the issue.

First up, assumed it must be the glow-plug circuit at fault. Have tested the glow-plug relay with a 9v battery and it switches just fine.

Visually double checked the big 80A fuse but looks ok.

Have now found the wiring diagram for the KZN130, and the only other things in the circuit are -

- ignition key
- fuel shut-off soleniod
- pre-heat timer

Key switch seems ok because the rest of the ignition circuit seems to working normally.
Can't see how to test the shut-off solenoid or fuel delivery (am stuck trying to do this on the side of the road down my street!)
Am starting to worry that I've got a fault on the ECU, because the pre-heat timer is built-in to that. I located this under the left kick-panel and re-seated all the connectors ... this did briefly seem to make the glo-plug relay click on and off wildly for a few seconds when I tried the ignition again but nothing since.

Can anyone tell me if the Surf ECU's are prone to dry joints? Are they easy to re-solder?

Might have to get towed down to the auto electrician if I can't trace the fault.

Ideas anyone?

[BUSHWHACKER]

Immobiliser?

[Sir Plug]

Are you getting fuel to the injectors?

[MadKiwi]

Considered the immobiliser as one of the most likely causes initially, but the immobiliser actually stops the engine turning over when its active. In this case, the truck is happily cranking over on the key once the immobiliser is deactivated.

Would like to check if fuel is getting to the injectors but not sure how to approach this without getting air into the lines. (remember I'm investigating while parked out in the street with few tools to hand).
This would be a good angle to check, since the fuel cut-off solenoid is in the glow-plug timer circuit according to the wiring diagram.

[BUSHWHACKER]

Most immobilisers cut the fuel pump circuit too.
Remove the section of dash under the steering column and see if theres a load of black insulation tape plastered over the wiring coming from the ignition switch.

[MadKiwi]

Good point. I know exactly where the immobiliser unit is and where it taps into the loom - it was one of the things I checked a few days ago.

[MadKiwi]

It LIVES mwa ha ha ha ha ... !

I was all set to strip down the ignitition loom and bypass the immobiliser (which is a dual-circuit Cobra unit), but before I did I located a replacement ECU unit. Since these are apparently quite rare now for the KZN130, I decided to nab it while the opportunity was there.

Headed down the road to the truck this morning armed with a toolbag of wire cutters, electricians tape and also the spare ECU. Since the ECU is a simple case of unplug and plug in I tried that first.

Was delighted when the truck fired up straight away. The pre-heat indicator is showing on the dash again too.

[NiftyNev]

Seems like the 3Ltr ECUs are not as reliable as the 2.4s. Always hearing of non starters starting up with another ECU.

Nev

[Jonthefish]

I recently had exactly this issue. Intermittent non-starting, no fuel to injectors along with glow plugs not operating. Read this thread and searched for an ECU. Got lucky after a week or so and grabbed an ECU on Ebay for £35. Problem appears to be solved (fingers crossed).
The ECU that I bought was a Denso with code 9717580-131-7.

[Robert mayne]

Had similar problems, sent ECU. to ECU. Doctor in Plymouth, he repaired the unit, have just fitted it but still wont start???? Any ideas