[Vwdiesel] how do I know I have a bad glow plug in newer TDI

[James Hansen]

Yeah, glow plug light flashes for burnt out brake lights on the newer stuff.
well to put that in perspective say the late 90's and up.

Flashing Mil is for stuff fatal to the motor like no oil pressure, overheat,
that sort of fun.

I read somewhere that a solid MIL is  to indicate an emissions fault.. all
things are in a way related to emission, glow plug not working, fuel tank
cap loose, boost pressure fault, etc.

On the newer newer cars, this may not be the case, thankfully , I haven't
had to tear into the newer stuff (yet), so aren't as acquainted as I am with
the earlier tdi's.

-james

 

From: thadddeus at gmail.com [mailto:thadddeus at gmail.com] On Behalf Of Tad
Sent: Monday, January 25, 2010 11:22 PM
To: James Hansen
Cc: Dave Cook; VW Diesel Group
Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] how do I know I have a bad glow plug in newer TDI

 

Isn't it the glow plug light that flashes(for super dangerous things like
the brake lights being burned out)?  Or are they both capable of it?

On Mon, Jan 25, 2010 at 7:50 PM, James Hansen <jhsg at sasktel.net> wrote:

> that if something else goes wrong you won't know because the light is
> already on and you'll never notice a difference, happily assuming it is
> only on because of the plugs.

Never fear because if something really goes wrong, the MIL lamp flashes to
indicate an immediate shutdown is necessary.  Steady light means there is a
problem that is not fatal, and is safe to keep driving.

DO NOT test any glow plug newer than a 1Z motor with 12v.  They use less
voltage and will burn out rather spectacularly.  Ask me how I know this....
They quickly get really white hot and look like a kid's sparkler, right
about the time your "Oh crap" alarm goes off, the festivities end. So if you
want to take pictures, be ready, it's quick.
Test them for simple continuity to ground. A test light clipped to bat + for
instance, and ground the pointy end through the glow plug.  I have never
seen one fail to ground, although then your gp fuse would be blown, and
master diagnosticians we all are would have checked that first anyway... :-)
-james



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