[Vwdiesel] Offical Rant: Stupid German Engineers! and more

[Sandy Cameron]

At 10:54 PM 04/01/2007 -0800, you wrote:

>
>Finally, I figured out why the car didn't want to
>start when cold.  All four glow plugs are burnt out! 
>I removed one and it looks very normal, so I don't
>think the injectors are to blame.  I am more than sure
>it is the relay that would turn on and off very
>quickly.  I thought it was the relay until I swapped
>one from another car.  


I have observed that, in engines which have sat for a while (like a year or
more), the glow plugs will all go open on the first start attempt. 
I can'tspeculate the reason, but it has happened on 2 different engines I
have that sat around for a while without being run.

The whole set, having been OK when the cars were stored, blew when it was
removed from storage. Not sure how quickly, or wether they went open while
at rest, but when attempts were made to re-start, all plugs were open.

In a cutaway photo, it looks like the heater coil is just a pressure contact
to the inside end of the Iconel tube..

It's also bedded in white powder, some of which might migrate in to the
contact area and stop current flow.

I have a couple of duds here, I think an autopsy is indicated.

Sandy