[Audi-VW-Diesels] RE: [Vwdiesel] Occasional hard starting, ideas?

[James Hansen]

David confesses:

When I went to test drive it, the first time I turned
the key, as the glow plugs cycled, all that really
happened was smoke came out of the engine compartment
and the area near the relays. (I presume the GP
Relay.)

I discovered that the little fuse box for the GPs was
shorted against the block.  (I've never screwed it to
the firewall... [sheepish look on face])

I quickly fixed that and finally got around to putting
in an actual fuse.  [another sheepish look]

________


The trouble will be with the relay David.

When the wires touched the block, it let the smoke out of the glow plug
wiring harness, and drained the glow plug relay's smoke reservoir, that
replenishes the wiring harness smoke supply.
When this happens, you need to go to a good automotive supplier, same guys
that sell the high grade silicone blinker fluid. You may have to special
order this, but the parts counter guys usually keep a can or two of Wynn's
Liquid Smoke under the counter.  Carefully remove the cap of the glow plug
relay, locate the smoke tank, and refill.  It's a tedious job since the
funnel needed is pretty small, and the smoke is quite viscous and runs
slowly, but refill this tank and all should be well.  If they have DOT-5
liquid smoke on hand, use that, it operates at much higher temperatures, and
will stay in the components much longer than the standard OEM DOT-3.  Read
the warning labels and be careful with the stuff, wear gloves and eye
protection.
Hope this helps.
-James


scroll down..







You have no power to the glow plugs at present.  Your have a minor starting
issue, but when there is a dead short at the end of an unfused circuit like
you described, everything from the battery + post to the grounding point
(Where your glow plug fuse holder was swinging in the wind and touched the
block)  gets hot.  The glow plug circuit from the battery + to the relay is
not fused, there is only a fuse after the firewall connection to protect the
circuit.

The thinner the wire, the hotter it gets. The relay, the relay plug, spade
connectors within the relay plug (socket), the wires to the glow plug relay
are all now suspect.  DISCONNECT THE BATTERY, remove the relay panel, and
inspect the wiring before your car catches fire again.  There can be wires
with the insulation partially melted just patiently waiting to short circuit
and let the smoke out of the rest of the car. I would strongly suggest you
do this before trying to drive it again.
-James


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