White smoke from diesel engine on startup

What could make a diesel engine produce white smoke? Can bad diesel cause white smoke? Why does diesel engine produce black smoke on start-up? What makes a diesel blow blue or white smoke? One reason for white smoke is very common and completely harmless.

The white smoke is due to unburnt fuel caused by improper heating. Diesel engines need high compression and heat for fuel combustion. White smoke occurs in a diesel engine when the diesel fuel goes through the engine and reaches the exhaust without having been burned. This typically occurs due to the engine being too cool to burn the fuel , often resulting from low compression in one cylinder, problems with the fuel injection timing or a defective fuel injector.

Why Does My Diesel Smoke So Badly Part 1: Great Example Shown. But mostly, it is the incorrect injector timing in the cylinders. What is the difference between White Smoke From Exhaust Diesel Engine and Petrol Engine ? White smoke from exhaust diesel and petrol engine may be the signal of different car problems. Condensation that accumulates inside the exhaust pipes, converter and mufflers can produce a puff of white smoke upon diesel engine start-up.

In very cold temperatures, the heated exhaust can freeze into minute fuel droplets when exiting the exhaust and produce a more prolonged emission of white smoke for a very short period of driving time. In many cases, white smoke emanating from the tailpipe (often at idle once the engine reached operating temperature) typically means a worn out injector. Now this isn’t always the case, but after some trouble shooting we’re usually the go-to shop when diesel drivers need refurbishe rebuilt, or new injectors. Use of our Flushing Oil Concentrate and FTC Decarbonizer address these respective problems. Water entering combustion spaces will also create white smoke.

Normally, it would happen at startup in cold weather with lower compression engines and retarded timing. White smoke can be caused by either excess fuel or an internal coolant leak in your engine. This is because the two stroke engine have back up oil which normally enters the fuel chamber to lubricate the piston. This is a case where you’ll probably want to call in the diesel pros, but here’s a diagnostic tip: While the engine is smoking, hold your hand over the exhaust outlet for seconds or so.

When the engine is cold or has cooled back down I get a lot of white smoke at startup. White smoke in a diesel is caused by one of two things: engine burning coolant, or poor burning of fuel. An engine burning coolant can be easily determined. First question, do you have to regularly add coolant? The commonest cause of white smoke is likely injector pump timing.

In order to function properly, a diesel engine needs precise timing of the injector pump and high pressure. So, any decrease in the pressure or delay in the fuel delivery to the combustion chamber will result in incomplete combustion, leading to white smoke. Usually, white smoke indicates that the diesel fuel is not burning correctly.

Unburned diesel fuel will make its way through the exhaust completely unused. Be careful of white smoke as it will irritate your eyes and skin. If white smoke occurs during a startup in freezing temperatures, then goes away, it usually indicates frozen deposits of soot which expanded around the rings then burned away once the engine warmed up.

If your car has a diesel engine , then the white smoke might be indicating that there is a problem with the fuel pump injection. When the fuel pump injection timing is off, it is difficult to determine the root cause. Since this is a boat and marine diesel forum, an white smoke seems to come with the territory, I’ll first start by giving you about twenty years of personal experience with white smoke.

Has the engine got a fuel pre-heat system for starting in cold weather? If the pre-heat ceases to function it can be like electing a pope for several minutes until the engine warms up.