Fuel pump problems
After nearly 300,000 miles, this 2004 Vauxhall Zafira 2.0 diesel was starting to get a little tired. As soon as the engine started to hesitate, the owner had to weigh up whether or not it was time to invest in a newer vehicle. By the time it cut out completely, the owner had almost made up his mind that he wasn’t going to spend another penny on it.
The Zafira was towed to our workshop, where we had a quick look and read off the fault codes, including ‘P1634 – Fuel injection pump malfunction’. We suspected the ECU on the top of the injection pump was going to be the problem and were pretty confident that we could make an economical repair. Because the ECU is mounted on the pump, it suffers the jolts and vibrations of the engine, which often cracks the tiny soldered joints in the ECU. With a little patience and a hot soldering iron, new life can often be breathed into the ECU by dabbing each visible solder connection.
Alas, on this one, we will never know as the owner declined our offer and sent the Zafira to the crusher.