Glow plug question

[John B]

Hi, the old veg oil is making the terrano a little hard to start from cold so could anyone tell me if the glow plugs only heat up to sart the truck or do thay stay heated until the car reaches a certain temp :nenau. Thanks :thumbs

 

[zippy656]

they keep getting warm after the glow light has gone off in the dash. not sure for how long though

as we said on the phone. to start on a cold day with 100% veggie your plugs need to be in tip top working order,

 

[solarman216]

you may have one or two not working, if you have a clamp meter then when on they should draw around 80 amps, they draw around 20 amps each so if one is down you will only see 60 amps, if you do not have a clamp meter then you will need to remove the wires and test each plug with an ohm meter short is good open is bad, but it is not entirely reliable, the last method is run a small link lead from battery positive to each plug in turn you should see a good flash as you touch each terminal, Rick

 

[John B]

you may have one or two not working, if you have a clamp meter then when on they should draw around 80 amps, they draw around 20 amps each so if one is down you will only see 60 amps, if you do not have a clamp meter then you will need to remove the wires and test each plug with an ohm meter short is good open is bad, but it is not entirely reliable, the last method is run a small link lead from battery positive to each plug in turn you should see a good flash as you touch each terminal, Rick

Rick your a true gent thanks again, I've got a multimeter is that the same thing ??

 

[solarman216]

Rick your a true gent thanks again, I've got a multimeter is that the same thing ??

yes you can set your multi meter to ohms and check the individual resistance of each plug zero ohms is what you are looking for, Rick

 

[rustic]

The Td circuit and the way the glow plugs are controllled are totally different to the Tdi.

The Td uses a dropper resistor to limit the current after initial starting, and the Tdi uses pulses, which is probably more eficient, but both do the job well.
Provided of course that all 4 glow plugs are working.

1 fail = lumpy running for a minute or two, some smoke seen when close up.
you might not really notice if one has gone, if the weather is mild.
2 fail = very lumpy running and more stuborn to start when cold, slight grey smoke.
3 fail = takes a long time to start, could flatten a poor battery if really cold, lots of smoke, very rough running for a few minutes until warm.
4 fail, I hope you have a good battery as you are more likely to flatten the battery whilst trying to start it.

Don't wait until the temperature drops to freezing, check them now, quite an easy job. They usually last 4-5 years or more, depending on their use and number of cold starts. I'm probably on my third set in 18 years, NGK in my opinion are the best and last the longest.

TIP:-
The glow plus are vulnerable to snapping off so use a " T " bar rather than a single ended bar, to reduce sideloading, which can snap them off :doh

best regards,

Rustic

 

[John B]

The Td circuit and the way the glow plugs are controllled are totally different to the Tdi.

The Td uses a dropper resistor to limit the current after initial starting, and the Tdi uses pulses, which is probably more eficient, but both do the job well.
Provided of course that all 4 glow plugs are working.

1 fail = lumpy running for a minute or two, some smoke seen when close up.
you might not really notice if one has gone, if the weather is mild.
2 fail = very lumpy running and more stuborn to start when cold, slight grey smoke.
3 fail = takes a long time to start, could flatten a poor battery if really cold, lots of smoke, very rough running for a few minutes until warm.
4 fail, I hope you have a good battery as you are more likely to flatten the battery whilst trying to start it.

Don't wait until the temperature drops to freezing, check them now, quite an easy job. They usually last 4-5 years or more, depending on their use and number of cold starts. I'm probably on my third set in 18 years, NGK in my opinion are the best and last the longest.

TIP:-
The glow plus are vulnerable to snapping off so use a " T " bar rather than a single ended bar, to reduce sideloading, which can snap them off :doh

best regards,

Rustic

Thank for you help again. :thumbs. John.

 

[Peasgood1]

I have a Cabstar with the 2.7TD engine. Smokes like Hell until warm.
When I say smokes I mean full scale chimney fire type smoke.
Perfect once warmed up and in hot weather doesn't smoke anything like as much.
Starts easy enough though and changing the plugs made no difference. :nenau

 

[solarman216]

I have a Cabstar with the 2.7TD engine. Smokes like Hell until warm.
When I say smokes I mean full scale chimney fire type smoke.
Perfect once warmed up and in hot weather doesn't smoke anything like as much.
Starts easy enough though and changing the plugs made no difference. :nenau

have you checked they actually get power, Rick

 

[Peasgood1]

Yes, and the power stays there for a while after starting.

 

[solarman216]

The Td circuit and the way the glow plugs are controllled are totally different to the Tdi.

The Td uses a dropper resistor to limit the current after initial starting, and the Tdi uses pulses, which is probably more eficient, but both do the job well.
Rustic

Did not know that Rustic, very useful info thank you, Rick

 

[solarman216]

Yes, and the power stays there for a while after starting.

What colour smoke? Rick

 

[Peasgood1]

Whitish, greyish blueish. lol
Smells of unburnt fuel

 

[solarman216]

Whitish, greyish blueish. lol
Smells of unburnt fuel

then I would say your injector pump timing is out, do not know about cabstar is it TD or TDi, Rick

 

[Peasgood1]

TD. The engine came out of a Mistral after the original blew up( they are not bombproof!)
Been like it since the engine was fitted a few years ago but didn't do it in the Mistral.
By time you reach 2.5k rpm in second gear it stops smoking.
Other than that it goes very well and pulls like a train, certainly feels a lot pokier than my TDi Mav.

It's a very minor inconvenience if I'm going up the road in it but a lot more noticeable when I go down the fields and have to stay in first.

 

[solarman216]

Mistrals are auto but you sound like a manual, confused, Rick

 

[Peasgood1]

Why is that confusing? Swapped the engine not the gearbox.
Are they not supposed to fit?
I didn't do the fitting but I did remove and supply the replacement engine.

 

[solarman216]

Why is that confusing? Swapped the engine not the gearbox.
Are they not supposed to fit?
I didn't do the fitting but I did remove and supply the replacement engine.

Did not think the bell housing was the same, also fluid flywheel would have to be changed for a clutch version, but more importantly for you the pump configuration will be different, auto expect to rev higher at low speeds due to the torque converter losses but clutch is direct drive, Rick

 

[Peasgood1]

Dunno Rick, I know where the engine came from because it was me that took it out after driving the donor vehicle home.
Maybe that's the consequence of fitting an auto engine into a manual.
As I say, smokes when cold but soon stops and is fine thereafter.

 

[solarman216]

All I know at this stage is that the auto has a different torque curve to the manual, and as a TD this can only come from pump differences, not sure if you have a ecu or not, you have no maff so doubt it but I do not have a TD to check, if you still have the blown engine then you could swap the pump, Rick