WIF light come on again,(2nd time in two months)

vegiH · **Posted:** Mon Jan 26, 2009 5:45 pm

How often do you guys drain water out of fuel head?Is there a retro fit pull plunger for water removal?I liked the one on my old cummins reach down pull,smell for diesel.......done.I love our CRD but its a PITA to get my self under that thing in winter..........

ATXKJ · **Posted:** Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:25 pm

67,000 miles - never, ever, drained water
never had a WIF light either.

all you probably have to do is removed the sensor and it'll drain out
but you need to figure out why it's happening.

blake1827 · **Posted:** Tue Jan 27, 2009 11:17 am

I have a CAT filter installed but with 20K the OEM filter I never got a WIF light.

However w/ it disconnected and zipp tied to the firewall I've seen it light up twice for a few seconds pulling outta the car wash. So I know it works...

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Tue Jan 27, 2009 12:05 pm

I've been using pump diesel for just over 30 years in lots of VW's and have never found more then a drop of water in the filters. I notice by your signature that you may be using vegie oil of some type. As I understand it the reason some engine manufacturers only sanction 5% bio is because of unknown quality and one of them is water :shock:

007husky · **Posted:** Tue Jan 27, 2009 1:02 pm

If you r not geting water from your fuel...

Check your wif sensor connector at the botom of the filter. ?

For some reason after washing my truck one time, i got a wif light. (right after i washed it and considering it was a recently replaced filter, so was clear where the water came from).

Unplugged, used a can of duster to move the water away, pluged it firmly... wif never came back.

gmctd · **Posted:** Tue Jan 27, 2009 1:37 pm

The fuel filter element has two sections - the WIF section is media which will pass fuel, but not the denser water, plus it is a centrifugal filter of sorts, where the heavier water component cannot navigate the corners, thus precipitating out and illuminating the WIF indicator - water is electrically conductive - Diesel fuel is electrically insulative

However, fuel can have water component where the ratio of water to fuel is not conductive enuff to trigger the sensor module - you will also know when the w\f ratio becomes excessive by the engine's response: ruff-running, black smoke: water quenches the combustion flame - also, water, at 20000psi, is as damaging as solid particles to the ucron-finished CP3 internals, solenoids, COV valves, and injectors

If you shut it down with no WIF indication, then start it some time later with WIF indication, the water has had time to precipitate out and trigger the alarm, and requires draining - if the alarm retriggers at start-up, you've likely picked up a load of contaminated fuel - if the drained fuel is clear, not cloudy, it can be reused after removing the water from the bottom of the tank - murky fuel is not a keeper

The lift pump pulls fuel from the bottom of the tank

Don't fergit to flush the fuel lines and filter cannister, and replace the filter

vegiH · **Posted:** Tue Jan 27, 2009 3:07 pm

I know its not the WVO,because it has a completely seperate fuel system,and goes thru its own racor set-up.My diesel tank is only 5 gallons,and i have been keeping a extra 5 gallons in the shed,maybe its condensation from plastic container?How much water does it hold before light goes on?know that i think of it the condensation makes sense,i will try storing in a heated area,and see if that was it.What is the average life of those fuel filters?,might be time for a new one..................h

ATXKJ · **Posted:** Tue Jan 27, 2009 3:18 pm

"What is the average life of those fuel filters?"

typically 15-20K , but 1 bad tank of fuel can kill it.

UFO · **Posted:** Tue Jan 27, 2009 4:42 pm

I'm a big fan of vacuum (or pressure) gauges on the filter head to indicate when the filter needs changing. If you have good fuel, there is no reason to change it at the service interval. Just when it needs it.

nursecosmo · **Posted:** Wed Jan 28, 2009 4:51 am

vegiH wrote:

I know its not the WVO,because it has a completely seperate fuel system,and goes thru its own racor set-up.My diesel tank is only 5 gallons,and i have been keeping a extra 5 gallons in the shed,maybe its condensation from plastic container?How much water does it hold before light goes on?know that i think of it the condensation makes sense,i will try storing in a heated area,and see if that was it.What is the average life of those fuel filters?,might be time for a new one..................h

Ah hah. because you have a split tank you probably don't have the optimum pickup point for your pickup tube. The factory tanks do not usually pick up from the very lowest point but rather from somewhere near the bottom. All fuel tanks but especially metal tanks will get condensation in the bottom which gets mixed up and goes into solution once the vehicle starts moving down the road (only free or suspended water is detrimental to the IP. Water in solution is not harmful). If the tank has the suction tube at the lowest point in the tank, when the vehicle is started in the morning it gets a chug of water into the filter canister. If you add a small amount of Diesel 911 or even HEAT, it should be enough to prevent the water from pooling.

I have only gotten "bad" fuel a handfull of times in my life, and every time it was nasty looking with either rust or scum clearly visible in it.

05crd · **Joined:** Wed Jun 27, 2007 2:54 pm **Posts:** 47

Water will tend to condense in the tanks that sit on the farm and I've bought bad fuel and it isn't fun at all. If the unit is working correctly you can drain it out the bottom. Since your tank is only 5 gal it may be best to do as gmctd said and get it out and replace with fresh, clean fuel. In the northern areas icing up is a problem as well so we only fuel up from reliable truckstops where the fuel is rotated out frequently.

WIF light come on again,(2nd time in two months)

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