[Vwdiesel] UPDATE: Dying Glow Plug Relays???

[paulr]

Val,

What model year is your car?  Mine is a 2000. My GP relay
*always* operates when starting (or is supposed to). It
runs for 3 minutes to reduce noise and smoke. The glow
plug light just says when I can turn the key. Otherwise
it's the same.

Don't know about the 1999.5 and earlier cars.

Funny, my car starts fine above 40 degrees with no glow
plugs at all, cold, warm or hot engine.  Ask me how I
know :-(

Wonder if there's something else thats temperature sensitive
causing your trouble?

Paul



Val Christian wrote:
> I'm struggling with a different problem.  I had one GP go bad, under 
> warranty.  So they replaced it.  You'll know when a plug goes bad, because
> the computer senses the current differential between 1&2 and 3&4.  
> The problem with the setup is that the computer polls the GP harness,
> and if you have a transient or intermittent condition, it may trip
> things.
> 
> The problem I'm working is that the car will not start at temps between
> 45F and 80F, without several seconds of cranking.  The manual says that
> there's no glow power applied at those temps.  Intuition tells me 
> that they really apply 3 seconds or so of power.  And because I'm not
> getting that, I'll wear out my starter sooner.  (If anyone can 
> measure theirs, I'd appreciate it.  I don't have access to a second TDI.)
> 
> At 0F, or even 32F, the car starts just fine.  And when the engine is 
> hot it will start fine.  Go figure.
> 
> Val
> 

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Paul Reich                Electrical Engineer

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