Glow Plugs :(

[Bargain Bucket]

A well documented problem I know but I have a question anyway.

Got my 1.4.0 scanner this morning and it shows a fault on all 6 glow plugs. Coincidentally, it was cold enough this morning that they were needed (PRE-HEATING shown on the dash). It struggled to start and was really rough for a few seconds.

So now to my question. Is it likely that all 6 have failed? Or is it likely to be the relay/controller? If the controller is faulty, would I expect to see this recorded as a fault code?

Many thanks.
BB

[Sanj]

I don't have a reader but mine was sluggish when wanting to start and it was the battery. Only 2 years old!

Thanks x555!

You could put this down to plugs, relay, controller or the injectors.

If the idle is lumpy it could be the injectors. It was on mine.

Check the battery too though. Use the hidden menu.

[ITBarbie]

Crikey Sanj I didn't realise you had a problem with the battery. Only two years old bummer

[Sanj]

No hi-jacking here but yes, car got sluggish. You know how you get to know how the car behaves?

That's how I knew the car was not idling very well, very early on (hence one injector replaced). And then this issue with more than an immediate crank and start.

Researched here with the relay, plug and injector being likely causes but never thought my December 2009 Bosch Silver S4 was to blame. Discussed it with x555 and he was sure it was the battery. Jeegnesh was also telling me to keep an eye on the voltage through the hidden menu - we had his new battery to compare mine with on cold start, 4 hours later, etc.

In the end I stuck a charger on it and noticed very little improvement on the indicator after nearly 20 hours of charge. Straight down to Euro Car Parts with my receipt in hand!

They were good (in the end). Don't ever mention charging your battery! Plus mine never showed any deterioration in condition on their tester. But low and behold a new battery has never given me the same issue!

I know the cold weather has helped accelerate the issue but glad all is sorted now.

[X5Sport]

One thing to watch with modern batteries is that if the ever get 'deep discharged' for any reason then their life is seriously reduced.

Is there any way of actually testing these glowplugs? I mean can you physically test them for an electrical value of the resistance, or open circuit? I would expect there to be some resistance but I don't know the value. If they test as 'open circuit' then I would assume they're busted.

I've only ever had a controller 'fail on' on a Peugeot 309, on a dark, wet, cold night leaving Guildford southbound on the A3 and the lights went out! Engine kept running, but as soon as I pulled over and switched off, everything came back on. Glowplugs were permanently on (no warning light though) and the alternator simply could not keep up. Oh and the car was black too!

Given how trixxy these plugs are to get at, the obvious option of taking them out and seeing if they all glow is probably a non-starter (no pun intended). Hence wondering if there's a DIY check and someone knows the correct resistance values?

[Bargain Bucket]

The battery died again - after about 30 mins sitting in the car playing with the scanner. So stage 1 is to replace the battery and see what's what after that.