Used Cooking Oil Running

[dieselkiki 7]

Hey guys!

Some of my friends didn't believe me when I said to him: "I run my smart on used cooking oil from restaurants". Previously, I drove my olds mercedes 240D, 300D and 300SD with cooking oil but almost every tread I found on the web say: "DO NOT OPERATE A CDI ENGINE ON COOKING OIL". Sooo...

From summer of 2007, I drive my car with a blend of SVO and diesel. The engine work properly with a blend of up to 75% cooking oil. I exceed this ratio one time (90%) and I had to called a towing. The night was cold and the oil became grease! But normaly, when I drive my car during summer with a blend between 15% and 75% of cooking oil, I have no problem. More hot is the weather, more cooking oil in my ratio. Colder is the weather, less cooking oil ratio is better to be ponctual at work.

So, I make a short video of how I run my cdi on cooking oil. Yes, it's in french because my english talking is very worst than my english write. I hope you will understand the mean part of this video.

Enjoye!

Dom

[bilgladstone 13]

Merci pour la vidéo intéressante, Dom.Bil

[stickman007 309]

I've always wanted to do that! SVO or DIY Biodiesel...now I'm motivated to try

[dieselkiki 7]

You are welcom Bill! I'm happy to read that my video could be a source of inspiration for you stickman007!Today my girlfriend follow me on the way back home then she notice that there was less smoke who get out from the tail pipe when I start at green light. Interesting!

[dieselkiki 7]

Well, this afternoon I drove the CDI to go to work. As usual, I put around 8L of cooking oil before I leave home. Everything worked fine! I drove about 20 minutes from home when suddenly... no power! The engine shutdown. So, I looked at the DTC and of course, as usual, there was a P0087 code... as usual!! No problem! The fuel filter is durty and need to be replaced as every 2-3 months when I drive on cooking oil.

So, I replaced my fuel filter beside this gravel country road in the middle of nowhere. After fuel filter replacement, I cylce the ignition key about 6-7 times to prime the fuel system as usual but when I tryed to start... no success. The engine turned over and over but never started. Damn!! I tryed to crank it with brake cleaner starting fluide. The engine start but shutdown again when I stopped to spray the fluide in the air box. With all that try, the battery start to be low. The engine now crank very slow and I couldn't heard the fuel pump running. At this time, I needed to charge the batterie. So I bribed my girlfriend to come with here smart to charge my battery with boosting cables.

With boosting cables on, the engine crank pretty fast but... still not start! DAMN!! This situation begin to be annouying!! I still couldn't heard the fuel pump in the fuel tank so I removed the fuel line to the fuel filter and... "SUPRISE"!!! No fuel came from fuel pump line. I inspected the fuel pump fuse in the fuse box but it was still good and the power was there when I turned the ignition key.

DAMN DAMN DAMN!!! The fuel pump seemed to be dead! I knocked under the fuel tank with my foot to try to unstuck the fuel pump motor but that was useless. So, for the second time since I own this car, I had to call a towing. It's kind of frustrating.

Arrived at home, I removed the fuel tank and this ?*%$* fuel pump unit! I used a 12V battery charger to test the fuel pump motor in putting direcly on the motor terminals a 12V power. I heard a kind of "Gggnnnnnngngnnngnngngnnnnn". You know, this noise of an electric motor who can't rotate when you put the power on? There's however no dirt in the sump and the strainer of the pump unit. I don't think it's cooking oil running who blew up the fuel pump. Every parts of the fuel pump unit seems to be clean and dirt less. But there's something I don't understand. Why was the fuel pump fuse didn't blew while the fuel pump motor was short or stuck??

So guys, tomorrow I'll call my wonderfuls pals from mercedes-benz dealer to order an other affordable part for my reliable vehicle.

Some of you have an idea of how much cost a new fuel pump unit?

Then as usual guys, some pictures of this beautiful day!

Yes, this is the right place to get stuck!

I'm lucky to sharing my life with this girl. She's always there when I'm in trouble. Thanks Marianne!

A brand new kenworth T-300 flatbed to get home!

Fuel tank removed,

Then... the guilty parts...

I just hope that they get it in stock to the dealer...

Edited August 7, 2013 by dieselkiki

[MikeT 747]

Aw crap, that's bad luck.

[tolsen 630]

I run on filtered used engine oil mixed with diesel. An environmental friendly way of making good use of a resource that is otherwise disposed of.

[fordnut71 1]

Can you get to the pump itself in the hanger.I cant see it being any different then every other car out there that uses a walbro electric pump. After market you can get anywhere from 30gph up to 300 gph for under $150. You shouldn't have to worry about flow as its a fuel return system.

[tolsen 630]

Feed pump may look similar to this one if yours is a Bosch:

This one failed at the commutator. Bosch feed pump for a Renault Kangoo 1.9 Dci.

All of the feed pump electrics are 100% immersed and wetted in fuel. Bearings are therefore permanently lubricated. I guess some foreign object has entered the pump part of yours making it seize up. Well worth while to open out for a quick and cheap repair.

[dieselkiki 7]

Hmm, I don't know. The pump in the unit have one hose connect to. This plastic hose can not be removed without breaking it. I tryed but it seem impossible to take it off without damage. So, I have the used pump from the electric smart but brother didn't care about it when he removed the pump unit and he broke one of the 3 plastic nipple connector. This unit is now unusable and I can't replaced just the pump itself because the same plastic hose between the pump and the cover will break too. This part is realy desinged to don't be serviceable.

Edited August 7, 2013 by dieselkiki

[dieselkiki 7]

Feed pump may look similar to this one if yours is a Bosch:

This one failed at the commutator. Bosch feed pump for a Renault Kangoo 1.9 Dci.

All of the feed pump electrics are 100% immersed and wetted in fuel. Bearings are therefore permanently lubricated. I guess some foreign object has entered the pump part of yours making it seize up. Well worth while to open out for a quick and cheap repair.

Unfortunately, the pump you showing is an "inline" type. The one on smart is a sump unit in the fuel tank and have some system as an anti back flow and a sump strainer etc... That don't have an inline pump. I tryed to sucked fuel from pump outlet hose when the unit was in the fuel tank with my oil change vacuum pump but that didn't work. There was almost just air and very few fuel. I think there is a valve system or a kind of bypass in the pump unit that it make impossible to instal an inline pump outside of the fuel tank. It's seem that I'll have to pay alot for the right part.

[fordnut71 1]

I'm sure its a walbro pump. Most kits will come with high pressure fuel line. If not canadian tire sells the. High pressure hose an clamps to go with it.

[yyzboyz 0]

Hey Dom, sorry to hear about your bad luck.

[Francesco 71]

My LP pump was replaced the first month I owned the car. :|

[dieselkiki 7]

Well, well... today wasn't an easy one.

Overall, there is a good and a bad news.

Good news: The car is back to life!!

Bad news: I waste 423$ for nothing.

This morning I called mercedes-benz Duval at Boucherville to order a fuel pump and of course, they didn't get it in stock. But fortunately, after the 3th dealer I called, they got one in stock at mercedes westisland. But it's always an adventure when I have to left Saint-Ours to reach this "high traffic island" who's Montréal. So, I made a roadtrip of 3 hours (1,5h of traffic on métropolitain) to get this part. They asked me 423$ to own this fuel pump!! It's kind of expensive (as I expect).

Back to Saint-Ours, I intaled the new pump who was a bitch to instal. The seal ring is realy hard to keep in place and if you screw the retainer cap with the seal in wrong position, I don't want to know what it could happen but I think that it will be very wrong (dust, dirt, salt, water... inside the fuel tank and leakages). So, after an hour of try to screw correctly the retainer nut, I succeed! I was happy and eager to put all the parts back in place to try but... I though to myself: "I'll be very very angry if this pump don't work and I have to disassemble again". So I plug the connector and look at the outlet o the fuel pump then... nothing. NOTHING?? What's wrong? I feel a "clong" when I put my hand on the fuel tank and I turn the key "on" but it don't seem to rotate at all and there is no fuel who comes out. Maybe the line is clog? I disconnect all fuels lines and I push compressed air inside each of them. Every hose are free of obstruction.

A little bit confused, I removed the fuel pump unit to test it with my 12v battery charger. My test tend s to prove that the new pump rotate and is in good condition! I wasted an other hour to put back the unit on the fuel tank then I decided to take the power to the connector just for fun and... &*?%*&!!! There was no power when I turned the ignition switch in "on" position. I remebered that last winter I had to fixed the fuel pump harness because the mercedes-benz machanic squeezed the harness between the A/C hoses and the floor when they work on last time (there was 3-4 years). So, I tough that this harness could be failed again! I removed all the harness from undercarriage then I found nothing wrong. I wasted an other 3 hour to inspect and remove all rear fenders and wheel pannels etc... to searching about the cut wire but when I was arrived where the harness passe to the cab, I gave up! It was enough! It wasn't true that I removed both seats and carpets to searching the wire! NO-WAY! Enough time and money wasted for today!

So I finaly opted to pass a new wire and now I'll drive the fuel pump by hand with a switch and relay. Enough is enough! Now the only thing to worry about is don't left the fuel pump switch to "on" when I stop the engine. Maybe I'll feed the relay with an "ignition power" or I'll drive the relay by a parking light signal. There's a "BEEP" noise when you left the parking lights "on". So, the most important for my today was: The car must bring me to the job tomorrow! My boss said to me today: "If you can't bought a real car, you will loose a real job! So, you have to be on the floor tomorrow!"

Yeap! That wasn't the fuel pump but I'll drive with a new one. I tough that my problem was caused by cooking oil burning but, absolutely not. I fill it up with a 10L of canola then tomorrow morning big boss will see my face in my "fake car".

As usual, when I work on my car I try to take some picture of it...

So, you remember yesterday when I said that even if I removed the collar, the plastic hose looked to be molded around the pump nipple. If I pull on it, it don't want to come and the nipple seem to want to break. So...

The all new unit!

Yesssss!! Oh YES!! All this amount of money for nothing! Shame on me! Bad diagnostic! I'll be more careful next time, believe me!

The second time I removed the pump unit...

Searching for the broken wire.

Then f*ck off!! I'll make a new fuel pump feeding setup.

Of course, I'll improve the system because I expect a drained battery soon!!

Thanks for watching, advices and for your moral support! See you next time for further "funny" smart adventures!!

Dom

[MikeT 747]

Oh crap! I am sorry to read about those hassles. Your boss has a bad sense of humour!

[tolsen 630]

Now we know why the fuse did not blow.

[dieselkiki 7]

You got it Tolsen!! Today I drove to work without any problem even with +/- 60% of cooking oil in the fuel tank.

[Alex 21]

Running constant on fuel pump will throw a code and limp mode when engine braking at about 3000 RPM or higher. Check the SAM, and run your new wire from the correct output. Pin 10, plug N-11.

Is it possible it was the SAM connector all along?

Everything you need is here, seulement en anglais je regrette. Starts with headlights, but gets into the fuel pump soon.

Edited August 9, 2013 by Alex

[dieselkiki 7]

Headlight and fuel pump are both on the same sam box connector. If one pin is melting, there are good chance to have an effect on the pin just beside. But on my car, the sam was good and the connector too. With my test light I saw the power on the 10th pin of N-11 connector when ignition "on". So the sam made it job but I expect the wire is cut or corroded somewhere between the carpet and the floor. As we know, the electrical system of this car wasn't realy desinged to work in canadian climate. Mainly the harness!!But you know Alex, I drove 45km to go to work and an other 45km to go back home this evening and... no codes so far. The car drive and performed as same as before I modified the fuel pump electrical feed. Which is the code who create the limp mode? I don't want to use the sam box anymore to drive the fuel pump if it's possible. The sam box could make some other electric issues and allow me an other trip on a towing. No thanks! The next time I'll have some problem with the fuel pump, I'll know perfectly where to look because I'm the desinger of the fuel pump electrical feeding. I'll not have to deal with this unreliable sam box. N-11 get enough to drive the headlamps!

[Alex 21]

It does throw a code and limp mode. When my SAM developed the problem I just gave it key-switched power from one of the accessory outlets as I thought it could be constant on with the key too, but I discovered otherwise very soon. Something about anomalous fuel pressure reading. Only during heavy engine braking, I don't know exactly the trigger RPM and duration. A local steep hill will do it, 3500 RPM for less than 1 minute is enough.Toss in a relay switched by the SAM if you're concerned about the load.

[dieselkiki 7]

Hmm... it's kind of strange but thank you for your advice Alex. I'll test tomorrow to try to fall in limp mode. That will be difficult because I don't drive so often above 2800rpm. But as you wrote, in the worst case, I'll drive my relay by the 10th pin of N-11 connector.

Edited August 9, 2013 by smart142

[tolsen 630]

I've been running for a couple of days with a test lamp connected in parallel with power supply to the diesel feed pump, hot wired after relay for feed pump. Have so far observed that the feed pump runs continuously when engine is on even when going down hills using engine for braking. The low pressure line goes to high pressure pump. Excess fuel is returned through an orifice in high pressure pump housing. There is no pressure sensor in the low pressure system so I can't see what would trigger a fault code.I therefore see no reason why you can't wire up your feed pump such that it runs whenever ignition is on.

[dieselkiki 7]

That's exactly what I expect Tolsen. There's no pressure sensor on the low pressure side of the fuel system so how the ECU can know the pressure variation? Then as you wrote, the overflowed fuel go back the the fuel tank.Today when I drove to the job, I rev the engine about 3500 RPM under charge in 5th speed then yes, the limp mode occure. There was a DTC code. The code was P0238 and it's a normal code for me because I adjusted the vaste gate of my turbo a little more tight to be sure to get more boost pressure as possible until 3400-3500 rpm to avoid smoke due to remap. With this adjustment I can reach 16 psi from 3000 rpm and I can get as far as 18 psi until the limp mode occure at 3500-3600 rpm. It's fast enough for a diesel anyway. Could it be the same for Alex? What was your dtc code Alex?So, nothing abnormal for me since I modified my electrical feed for the fuel pump. I'm more happy then tuesday!

[Alex 21]

I swear I had a code and limp mode consistently, coming on after heavy engine braking. Had it reset twice and it came back. The second time I was suspecting it was engine braking that threw the code, and it did indeed show up on the first throttle application after a steep hill, probably peak RPM of 4100. It may not happen below 4000. I wrote it down as code P0202, which is injector #2 on most references Google can find, but the text I saw with Eddy referred to anomalous fuel something value. Using Flying Tiger's DAS to read and clear.Went away and didn't recur after properly repairing the SAM to restore fuel pump power switched in the SAM. In retrospect, it appeared the first time I engine braked at high RPM after giving key-switched power to the fuel pump, and has not re-appeared since restoring correct SAM operation. Definitely related.Dieselkiki should have the same car as mine, Canada spec, Tolsens is a bit older I think. '02?

Edited August 9, 2013 by Alex