My first propper engine problem

[John LE]

I've had my 2.2 DTi for about 2.5 years now and there has been the odd niggle (overboosting while towing...turned the actuator rod and cured it) but it has started to come up with the car/spanner light when starting.....sometimes.

If I were to start it now it would come on but then go off after driving a few yards. If I then shut the engine off and start it again it won't come on. However if I leave it an hour or so and then start it, the light will come on again and again go out after driving it.

It only goes off after I have driven a bit. There are no abs or tc lights on. The only thing I have noticed is that the screen seems to be dimming more than normal when turning the steering, possible alternator?

[Rapala]

You can get the symptoms you are describing if there is a fault with one or more of the glow plugs or the glow plug relay.

[John LE]

You can get the symptoms you are describing if there is a fault with one or more of the glow plugs or the glow plug relay.

That was one of my thoughts but even if I let the car idle it still won't go off until I move the car. I would have thought a glow plug fault would put the light out as soon as the engine had warmed a bit

[ditchp]

now then john, mine is doing the exact same mate and i have had the code read by rich a few weeks ago and it's saying glow plug fault, £52.00 for a set of 4 from vx so on my to-do list

[neilrobinson1988]

Same here mate just done mine, I could leave mine ticking over most times would not go off odd once or twice it did soon as I started moving went straight off. Cost me £40 for mine they where tight to get out and put new ones in could just be my car tho.

[John LE]

now then john, mine is doing the exact same mate and i have had the code read by rich a few weeks ago and it's saying glow plug fault, £52.00 for a set of 4 from vx so on my to-do list

Great, just what I need. I went to change the glow plugs in the winter and one of them had been cross threaded by a previous owner so the mission was aborted until it really needed them.

Looks like the heads gonna have to come off

[GazVXLINE170]

No John you can't call that engine trouble m8, you're not in with the 'My engines is acting like a pig." club because of this. You have a DTI remember, so it'll see at least 13times the worlds circumference. Unlike mine.

[Rapala]

Check the plugs while they are still fitted with a multimeter set to ohms. A glow plug in good working condition as you may know will have very little or no resistance to earth, maybe the cross threaded one is still working as it should.

[cont1204]

Great, just what I need. I went to change the glow plugs in the winter and one of them had been cross threaded by a previous owner so the mission was aborted until it really needed them.

Looks like the heads gonna have to come off

You think that's trouble? You're MORE than welcome to swap with my DTi for a bit! I was quite alarmed at the amount of CANBUS errors that came up when I plugged it in earlier. Mine's gonna need glowplugs soon too.

For now I'm just going and hoping nothing else goes balls up!

[GazVXLINE170]

You think that's trouble? You're MORE than welcome to swap with my DTi for a bit! I was quite alarmed at the amount of CANBUS errors that came up when I plugged it in earlier. Mine's gonna need glowplugs soon too.

For now I'm just going and hoping nothing else goes balls up!

If it's running fine then I would ignore them, Vecs always complain of them.