Diesel owners , Glow Plugs

[cbrpaul]

I checked my glow plugs operation this am , as i noticed she seemed to take longer cranking in cold conditions,

I removed and tested them all and all, yes all the glow plugs were open circuit

Couldnt beleive it , each one had gone

I guess they are nearly 8 years old and I should have checked them before now !!!!

Strange thing is no fault code !!!!

Anyway , check your glowplugs, ready for winter

[mobitune]

After reading a few threads over on TDiClub it has opened my eyes about how careful you should be when removing them. Even the slightest of sideways pressure is enough to dislodge the hexagon part from the long cylindrical piece, then you will need to spend more than just a few minutes changing/testing glow plugs. This will also happen if the plug threads seize to the head.

Be careful, be very careful! and dont forget to put some sort of anti-seize compound on the threads when refitting.

I personally would not remove the plugs to test them, instead I would check current draw / continuity in situ.

In extreme cases you could (cowboy method) just remove the bus bar/wires to the plugs and touch the top of the plug with it while the ignition is on the pre-heat position. If there's a spark there's a good chance the plug is ok.

Don't get me wrong CBRPaul - Great idea to check your glowplugs coming into winter, just I wouldn't recommend taking them out to check


Pete

[onzarob]

Easiest test is disconnect bus bar, use a multimeter between top and engine, if it reads about 1ohm all is good anything else its dead

[cbrpaul]

After reading a few threads over on TDiClub it has opened my eyes about how careful you should be when removing them. Even the slightest of sideways pressure is enough to dislodge the hexagon part from the long cylindrical piece, then you will need to spend more than just a few minutes changing/testing glow plugs. This will also happen if the plug threads seize to the head.

Be careful, be very careful! and dont forget to put some sort of anti-seize compound on the threads when refitting.

I personally would not remove the plugs to test them, instead I would check current draw continuity in situ.

In extreme cases you could (cowboy method) just remove the bus bar/wires to the plugs and touch the top of the plug with it while the ignition is on the pre-heat position. If there's a spark there's a good chance the plug is ok.

Don't get me wrong CBRPaul - Great idea to check your glowplugs coming into winter, just I wouldn't recommend taking them out to check


Pete

Some good points worth mentioning to anyone not having not done this sort of thing before ,

Maybe i should have worded my post abit better though (ala removed bus bar 1st to test ) ,

I tested my plugs exaclty as robs post below , they were then only removed due to being faulty , there is no need to remove to test , quite right Rob

Easiest test is disconnect bus bar, use a multimeter between top and engine, if it reads about 1ohm all is good anything else its dead

This is the first step in testing the plugs before removing
..........



Having worked on many cars over the last 30 years or so , My post was just m intended to just make peeps aware of potential problems in winter with glow plugs , not a " HOW TOO " as such ,

So if you are not familiar with doing this sort of thing , take it to someone who is !!!!

As mentioned above , damage can occur !!!

[Crasher]

The reason you don't get a fault code is the ECU has no way of knowing if the glow plugs are working or not. If they snap off it is a nightmare to get them out.