Galaxy Tdi Starting/running Faults

[Guest Mercwarrantyman]

Right guys..

 

My wifes 1998 Galaxy TDI possibly has 2 faults or 1 bad one...

 

1: -Glow plugs will not light up & light on dash goes out almost immediately.

There is no power to the switched live at the glowplug relay under dash - if you give this a 12v feed they work ok , also if you disconnect the temp/coolant sensor closest to the head , behind the plastic breather pipe they glow nicely but for a long time.

The car will fire up but is a bit lumpy to start with tho..

Where does the feed for the relay come from ? powertrain control module ?

Can any one mail me a wiring diagram as "working blind without one"

 

 

2:- When it runs , after a while it cuts out dead , but if the clutch pedal is dipped and released it fires up again - also when it cuts out plumes of blue smoke come from the exhaust...

 

I know by reading here that these suffer from brake light switches and maf sensor problems- has any one else experienced these faults ?

 

Cheers chaps..

ps any advice on merc problems given - not much use on here tho !!

[dulux72]

Hi there

 

Point 1 is normal. The glow plugs only come on when the outside temperature is below a set temperature. As the weather gets colder you will notice the glowplug light will stay on more and more.

 

The reason that the light comes on if you remove the temp sender is that the ecu thinks that the engine is freezing and therefore warms the glowplugs. If the ecu thinks that the engine will start without the need for the glowplugs it will not power them up.

 

Hope this helps

[Guest Mercwarrantyman]

Thanks for the reply - however I am led to believe the glow plugs work in "after glow" situations in addition to the cold start function - as do most CDI engines , to help combustion/soot particle burning etc.

I have renewed the temp sensor/swapped them all about and still no joy at any temperature.

 

Is there only 1 ecu with an intergrated glowplug control unit ? Is it the one behind the cluster , as I am confused by the power train control module business - or was someone pulling my plonker ?

 

Having now read through the related section on glowplug failures and starting problems this seems quite common but with no real solution !

 

Has anyone actually fixed this problem ? and could the cutting out be another issue with the ecu ?

 

Bl**dy cars , the garage it's been in all day cannot find or fix these faults and told me to go to Fraud...

 

Where all the Ford Technicians ???????

[Fencourt]

Mercwarrantyman.

 

I think you're trying to hard to find a fault. This may or may not work, but both my suggestions are cheap to do and you can do them yourself. Firstly I have glx tdi for about ten years with the mileage around the 350,000 and have come across most things mention on this website, so here goes.

 

If the engine runs and then just stops, say during a journey try replacing relay 109 in the fuse box, you may be able to repair it by opening up the relay and re soldering the connection that has freed itself, hence the situation you leave the car for a while and it works fine (relay cooled down and re-soldered its own connection!)

 

Second area to look at, this one drove me nuts but got there in the end. Symptoms, engine would start then stop after 2 or 3 seconds, drivers door alarm light would flash quickly for about aminute, then go out.

 

Disconnect the battery, remove the plastic covers around the steering console, pull out the plug which lead from the key column ( left handside of steering column as you sit in car) check plug for dirt or damp replace making sure of good connection, I put a plastic tie around it to stop it moving again and insure good connection, replace battery, start engine, replace plastic console, go down pub and rejoyce, it's that easy.

 

Hope it helps.