2006 Mazda 3 1.6 TS Diesel cutting out.

[charlysays]

I'm new here- this looks like a great forum. My background lies in classic cars and 1990s/ early 00's Mercedes diesels but I have the job of trying to fix this mazda!

The symptoms are that the engine cuts out, just stops. Usually whilst driving but apparently it has happened in neutral before. It has apparently been doing this for a few years now but has got worse over that time.
It is a one owner from new car and has been to the mazda dealer a few times for diagnostics and according to them there is nothing wrong with it. No fault codes.
Apparently it improves for a while after changing the fuel filter.
I drove it back 15 miles to my workshop last night after the owner telling me it had cut out twice in 1 mile with her the same day. However I drove it incredibly gently keeping the revs below 2000rpm and using the gears a lot to avoid making it labor and it did not cut out once.
There is suspicion that it could have a clogged fuel pick up in the tank- this has never been investigated. The fact it drove fine when driven very gently along with the fact it has been getting gradually worse as well as it improving a bit with a new fuel filter supports this idea. Maybe its clogged with diesel bug and its historically had intermittent use.

Has anyone got any suggestions of what could cause these symptoms, and also how I get to the tank strainer? (Guessing there will be an access panel under the rear seats?).

Many many thanks in advance

Cheers

Charlie

 

[concept]

Could it also be electrical? I am not familiar with diesel engines, but I have had experience sudden engine cut off because of a bad ignition coil. The other load-related issues I have encountered was a crimped/bent fuel line and a blockage in the fuel line. Now that I think of it, my old RX4 died, one time because of a bad fuel pump.

 

[stjohans]

Could it also be electrical? I am not familiar with diesel engines, but I have had experience sudden engine cut off because of a bad ignition coil. The other load-related issues I have encountered was a crimped/bent fuel line and a blockage in the fuel line. Now that I think of it, my old RX4 died, one time because of a bad fuel pump.

When you say ignition coil do you mean spark plug coil pack? If so that is definitely not the problem here since a diesel engine does not have spark plugs. A diesel engine has glow plugs which heat up to help the engine start and then after that will continue to run so long as there is a proper air/fuel mix. No electricity required.

 

[concept]

I had a feeling that was the case! I have never owned a diesel vehicle. Here in the US, diesel fuel is often much more expensive than regular fuel.

Have you ruled out the fuel pump (if there is one....)?