Glow plugs last a year and die

ytk

Active member
Joined
Dec 6, 2014
Location
IL
TDI
MK3
Hi, car is an older 96 VW Taro it has an IDI engine.
About every 30K miles all the glow plugs die at once, one morning it starts up perfectly and the other they are all dead and it takes a lot of cranks to start.
This has been the case for the last few years, all the glow system components (relays,resistor,timer) have been checked and are good.
I have my thoughts of what might be the problem but I add this photo hoping someone might be able to point out what usually causes this kind of damage to a glow plug and why do they all die at once?
Thanks!
[/url][/IMG]
 

Vince Waldon

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
Most like those tips are being eroded by worn injectors that are streaming and thus acting like tiny cutting torches. :)

I'd be inclined to pull the injectors and have them professionally pop-tested... if this is in fact the case it will be easy to detect.
 

ytk

Active member
Joined
Dec 6, 2014
Location
IL
TDI
MK3
Thanks guys , it does explain this erosion but why would they all go at once?
Is it possible that the first one to go somehow causes the others to follow?
In any case I will have the Injectors serviced...
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
i can just imagine how the tops of the pistons look if the glow plugs are this jacked after a year.
 

1.4TDI PD

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 12, 2017
Location
slovenia
TDI
2.5TDI V6, 3.3TDI V8,3.0TDI V6,1.9TDI PD100
Maybe the glow plugs are too long and they melt because injectors are spraying them with fuel i heard from a few guys that that can happen.
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
but the piston gets sprayed just as much! makes sense it would be a pattern like melting the piston stuff, but being to long? id like to see some data on this, never heard that one before but sounds plausible.
 

Vince Waldon

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
A great example of a whizzing sideways injector here:

https://youtu.be/PLe75LDLP38

And look where the injectors actually spray on an IDI engine... the "I" in "Indirect":




Now all you need to do is imagine that all the nozzles are going to degrade at about the same rate over the years. :)
 
Last edited:

T-Roy

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2010
Location
Virginia
TDI
'92 ECOdiesel AHU
I pulled these glow plugs out of my IDI Rabbit when I bought it about 7 years ago - the injectors were very worn.
 

Vince Waldon

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
Well, those *are* Champions... chances are they were dead Year 1 anyways. :D:D

Great shot... thanks for posting!
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
the crazy part, is that you dont need glowplugs unless its really cold outside, like anything lower than 35F. If i had issues like that, id pull the glow plugs and put the old dead ones back in, swap them in the winter and get 6x the life out of them!
 

Vince Waldon

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
So at least we have a sacrificial glow plug and not piston;)
Exactly. :)

That said, all that excess concentrated heat can loosen the inconel prechambers that are pressed into the aluminum head... and if they drop loose boom goes the head.

All this is to say... as you've already surmised... the sooner you service your injectors the better. :)
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
the crazy part, is that you dont need glowplugs unless its really cold outside, like anything lower than 35F. If i had issues like that, id pull the glow plugs and put the old dead ones back in, swap them in the winter and get 6x the life out of them!
Once again, a useless post that does not apply to the OP's problem.

The IDI VAG diesels MOST CERTAINLY need the preglow system functioning all year round. :rolleyes:
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
The problem is, I feel I need to point out to others reading as well as the OP when these false information posts come up, otherwise the whole thread could send someone on a wild goose chase over nothing.

I realize that incorrect information is not necessarily done with ill intent, just ignorance, but this particular Mongler fellow seems to do this over and over again, thus offering no useful input whatsoever. I do not feel there is ill intent here, either.
 

Vince Waldon

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
Yup, agreed, the balance between "it's the internet just let it go" and "but now the whole thread is headed towards an iceberg" is a personal struggle. :)

At the end of the day I guess no kittens get harmed?! :D

Oh and sorry to drag your thread off topic OP... was out in the garage the other day and found my assortment of IDI injector shims. Ah, the memories!!
 

joetdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2008
Location
Midwest
TDI
2-2002 Jettas W/Auto
I realize that incorrect information is not necessarily done with ill intent, just ignorance, but this particular Mongler fellow seems to do this over and over again, thus offering no useful input whatsoever. I do not feel there is ill intent here, either.
Ya, I hear ya he was arguing with me on another thread and just won't quit. I would be way to embarrassed to post any more.

I see he doesn't bother you, want did you do, threaten him.
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
ah, just the place i love to be, where most people hate me, but idgaf
joetdi is wrong, but cant admit it and oil hammer just calls sh** out to be Jackfff
yea i saw his sig and the pic and immediately said some dumb ill informed stuff about glowplugs. His sig is a mk3, i jumped the gun and thats why i'm wrong.
Calling my 20 some years of car experience and knowledge (useless) and (threatening) and such, its all just you guys trolling from behind your keyboards. I'm sure if we all got to a meet up we would be friends, if not, well, that's too bad for you as it means your probably a bad person.
my AHU has not had glow plugs in it for years. you don't need them unless its cold, but OP does.
You got a problem with me, message me, don't be a sour apple in threads about me. When i am in fact wrong i have no problem admitting it. Jesus dude's i didn't know there were folks like you both who are perfect! guess you don't need a back space or an eraser!
 
Top