"Tim+" wrote in message
...
No, its the engine management just killing the engine if the revs drop
too
low. I suspect very low revs can induce damaging resonances in dual mass
flywheels. Ive experienced it in many modern diesels.

I've not experienced engine-killing on any other diesel engine than the VW
PD engine: Peugeot 1.9 XUD, 2.0 HDi, 1.6 HDi, Honda 1.7 (in 2002 Civic),
Honda 1.6 (in CR-V), and various others - none of these suffer the engine
dying if the revs drop below a certain level due to insufficient fuel or too
much mechanical load. which causes a very sudden stop within a fraction of a
second as if the ignition had been turned off.

The 1.6 in the CR-V seems to run short of turbo pressure if the engine revs
drop too low for the mechanical load: I find I need to be in at least one
gear, maybe two gears, lower than in my Pug 308 (1.6 HDi) when accelerating
out of roundabouts and T junctions, or when going up hills - and once the
engine fails to pull, it needs a much lower gear than it would normally do
in that situation to get it to pull again - maybe the engine needs to rev
faster than normal to produce enough exhaust to spin the turbo to generate
more inlet pressure. Normally I think "I'd take this roundabout in third in
Pug, so I need 2nd in the Honda" but occasionally I forget and it bites me
in the bum and I have to try to change down *smoothly* right when I want to
accelerate, without overcooking it and surging forward.