[Vwdiesel] Voltage drop when glowplugs working !

[Val Christian]

> Just for fun I did a voltage check and saw that when the 'plugs are heating,
> the voltage in my battery drops to about 9.2volts.   Seems kinda low.....

It is low.  My guess is that your battery is marginal.  You'll find out
this winter. (grin)

10 V would be about the lowest I'd expect, and then on a battery that's less
than optimal.  My 92 has a two year old $60 battery (group 41?) and reads
11.6 to 11.8 when glowing.  I don't have the luxury of having had voltmeters
on all the cars to have a broader base.  Hence, I tend to usually see
voltages when I have a problem I'm working.

On glow plugs...On my second Rabbit, I went to pull glowplugs and the
#1 one broke.  The 12MM hex end broke from the body.  I used EZouts and
tried for days to extract it.  Couldn't get it out, and didn't want
to damage it so that it wouldn't seal.  275K miles later, I took the
head off, and the valves and that broken glow plug were replaced.

That car started just fine with three plugs.  My experience is that
three plugs work fine, except that in cold WX (less than 10F) there's
a fair amount of white smoke, until the cold cylinder gets up to temp.
At the same temps, it's nearly impossible to start with two plugs.
The speed of your starter (and the charge of your battery) come into
play.

Best luck.

Val  n2epo