1995 Golf 1.9 TDi starting difficulties

[stevehammond76]

Hi - hope someone can help with this one:

Am having problems starting my car. Am finding it takes about 10-15 seconds of turning the engine over for the car to start. The problem is worse the colder it is. Once it catches the car runs completely fine. Also it starts no problem when the engine is warm. I suspect something is going wrong with the heat/start glow system.

It worked fine one day and now does this every time so it's not something that's gone wrong over time.

Any ideas? Can I fix this myself or do I need to take it in?

[kenney]

Check your glow plugs,

[Alun]

Replace your glow plugs amd check the condition of the alternator and battery.

To replace the glow plugs you'll probably need to take it into somewhere unless your quite handy and have the right tools. Just had the glow plugs replaced on mine and they are extremely fiddly and a pain in the **** (I was watching the mechanic work on the car). Cost me £40 to have them replaced but I bought the parts myself.