Glow time... - TDI Engine -General Info - VWDiesel.net The IDI, TDI, and mTDI source.

• Glow time... by nokivasara on 05 Aug, 2007 11:08
• How long is a 1.9TDI -98 supposed to glow when it´s 20deg C outside? I just came home after testdriving a Golf IV TDI and the glowplug light was on for approx 5sec when I first started it.
  That is the same as my IDI Passat, I´m new to direct injecton diesels and I thought they hardly glow at all unless it´s colder outside.
  Do you think thats due to a faulty temp sender, or is this a common, more expensive, problem on VW-TDI´s?
  
  Otherwise the car was in really good condition, despite 230k km on the odo and a TB-change coming up, but I´m pretty sure I can change that myself.
• #1 by jtanguay on 05 Aug, 2007 14:07
• has that problem just recently come up?  sounds to me like an effort to reduce cold starting emissions & smoke.  my car took roughly 3-4 seconds
  @ 25C.
  
  i'm unfamiliar with MK4 TDI's, but maybe someone else is!
• #2 by MacGyver on 05 Aug, 2007 16:58
• What elevation are you located at?
  TDI's have an altitude compensator, they glow longer the higher you are, to make up for less air to compress.
• #3 by Slave2School on 05 Aug, 2007 18:36
• At sea level, mine does not glow at all till it gets to around 10C or less.  If someone has played in vag-com you can adjust when/how long it comes on as well!
• #4 by nokivasara on 06 Aug, 2007 06:32
• I live at sea level, so no altitude compensation here! The old lady who owns the car said that she hadn´t noticed when the glowplug light started to stay on longer, she just gets in the car and starts right away.
  It might even be a loose connection at the sender, so the car thinks it´s really cold outside..
  Oh well, I don´t think it´s anything major, ´cos the car started and ran great, I´m not sure if I´m gonna buy it though...it´s a little too pricey for my taste
• #5 by nokivasara on 18 Aug, 2007 11:21
• My fiancé bought the car, and today I checked the temp sender, or at least made sure it wasn´t loose or corroded. There´s 4 wires going to the sender, how can I test it? It´s an AGR engine by the way.
  
  Then I found out that 3 of the glowplugs where dead, I used a testlight connected to bat+ and the tip of the plug to test them.
  Could this cause the GP-light to stay on longer, as some sort of varning that something is wrong?
• #6 by hillfolk'r on 19 Aug, 2007 19:04
• i thought that tdi's would blow a fault code if a glow plug goes bad
  my dads 03 golf does
  and my moms old 98 did too
  but the later ones will tell you which plug is bad
  you need a vag-com or equivalent to tell you though
• #7 by Slave2School on 20 Aug, 2007 07:45
• They do tell you.  It says the cylinder on later cars, but they are numbered backward lol.
• #8 by nokivasara on 21 Aug, 2007 10:29
• I´m sure it tells you, but I don´t have vag-com so I solved it the old fashion way
  4 new plugs went in, I saved the one that still worked for later, might come in handy sometime.
  Actually the GP light in the dash is still on for 5s or so, either the fault code need to be erased or the temp-sender is faulty.
  Does anyone know wich terminal at the sender I should get the ohm reading from, there´s 4 pins on it.
  
  It´s not that important, the plugs wont do any damage even if they are on 5s at every start...