Golf '95 not glowing

[$hitblast]

My Golf '95 TD, with 200000 kms on it, appears to have stopped glowing when told to. It's spring, relatively hot (10 celsius - Norway) and it's cranking for a minute or so, before starting. I can no longer hear the familiar click of the glowing relay when trying to preglow. The lights don't dim like they used to on the large draw on the battery. The glow-light shines like before when trying to glow. The plugs don't go discernably hot to the touch when glowing, even after repeating the glow. I pulled one plug and changed it; I could not easily get to the other three. It seemed fine, with no buildup of crud. My multimeter is still arriving by mail, so I have not been able to test them properly. With the new plug in, it's still cranking for about a minute before starting. I've checked the 50A fuse at the top of the relay board. It seems fine. I pulled out the relay (104) to look for oxidation or burns, but there were none.

It strikes me, when looking at the bus bar, that there are no thick wires connecting to it; only these two, thin red and white wires, which I find hard to imagine being able to carry about forty amps at twelve volts.

Image showing first glow plug with bus bar by the connector for water temps, disconnected for better view.

[gldgti]

its probably the relay is bad. It does have a temp sender input, but more likely its just worn out.

You can change all the glow plugs faily easily with a 12mm ratcheting spanner. You will need to remove the injector lines though, but thats not too difficult.

Also, the glow plug circuit doesnt run at fully 12V, more like 10V. If they get a full 12V they tend not to last as long as they should.

Once you get your multimeter you should be able to dinf the problem anyway.

[$hitblast]

Yes, I agree. I'm also suspecting the relay. What do you think of the thin cables to the bus bar, though? Are they enough to carry these forty or so amps to the glow plugs? I think I learnt in school that low voltage needs thicker cables.

[gldgti]

Well, the ones in your picture do look just like the ones I had on my old mk3 TD - I never had any problems. In 150,000km I only changed the glow plugs once, that was all.

see this page too:
VW Diesel Glow Plugs

[$hitblast]

Well, I got my multimeter. Battery read 12,5V. Just charged it off the wall socket. 12,3V by the glow plug relay. I can feel the glow plug relay clicking when holding my finger to it, but I cannot hear it. I hear a click-sound when I open the hood, have someone turn the key and listen from the moto-side. There is 10,5V between the bus bar and ground. Resistance for glow plugs counting from 1-4 in Ohms is: 2,5 2,0 1,5 0,9. The car is still a slow starter. After glowing a bit and trying to start for a few second, the battery read 12,4V. The engine is turning over at a respectable rate, I'm guesstimating above 300rpm.

[$hitblast]

I'm assuming I need to change the glow plugs. Looks like I have to unscrew the injectors to get at them. Anyone know the dimensions of the tools needed? I don't have much tools at where I am, so I have to buy the correct stuff.

[gldgti]

I'm assuming I need to change the glow plugs. Looks like I have to unscrew the injectors to get at them. Anyone know the dimensions of the tools needed? I don't have much tools at where I am, so I have to buy the correct stuff.

hey, sorry i missed your questions.

You don't need to undo the injectors to change the glow plugs.

Here is what you need:
> 17mm open ended spanner for the injector hard lines
> 12mm ratcheting ring spanner for the glow plugs.
> magnetic pickup tool (in case you drop a glow plug in behind the IP)
> 8mm spanner for the bus bar nuts

Remove all of the injector hard lines and the soft fuel return lines. You can now use the 12mm ratcheting spanner to undo the glow plugs.

Dont remove the injectors unless you really need to - you they have heat shields under them that should be replaced every time you remove the injectors.

[$hitblast]

Well, I changed the glow plugs, and it still didn't work. Took it to an experienced mechanic - forty years in the job, with no other hobby or wife - and after doing the same testing as I did, he found that there was no voltage on the bus bar. He opened up the relay, OK'd it and went on to pull apart the contact where the wires to the bus bar come from. He put silicone around the contacts, put it back together, and the car started just fine.