dyvyd
Active member
Sorry . . . i'm new & read through FAQs, troubleshooting, &c., just not sure where to dive into an existing thread or add mine, though i found lots of info on check engine light problems. So . . . forgive me if there's a better place for this.
i have a '98 Jetta TDI w/137,000 miles; bought the car a couple years ago w/114k miles, all 4 engine glow plugs were replaced in Spring 04.
CEL comes on approx. 30 seconds after starting, no variation in cold or warm weather, no other symptoms at all, car runs fine, fuel economy is pretty consistent. My mechanic has a scanner & initially got error readings about glow plug monitoring & cooling system, i don't have the exact error info. He replaced the 3 cooling system glow plugs, reset the system and it was fine for about 2 weeks. Local dealer advised changing the glow plug relay. Did that, no change, CEL still comes on religiously.
Mechanic said there is also a relay for the cooling system glow plugs but the idiots at the local dealer could not even ID the part for him much less order. As in troubleshooting info in FAQs, he also checked resistance between glow plugs and block. About the only thing he didn't do is replace the glow plug harness. So . . .
1) am i better off just having him replace the harness & then try to reset the CEL? or,
2) Should we try to find this cooling system glow plug relay and replace it?
Basically my mechanic did everything the error readings prescribed and anything the mechanics at the dealer suggested that seemed to make sense.
Any other suggestions? Sorry for the long post . . .
dyvyd
i have a '98 Jetta TDI w/137,000 miles; bought the car a couple years ago w/114k miles, all 4 engine glow plugs were replaced in Spring 04.
CEL comes on approx. 30 seconds after starting, no variation in cold or warm weather, no other symptoms at all, car runs fine, fuel economy is pretty consistent. My mechanic has a scanner & initially got error readings about glow plug monitoring & cooling system, i don't have the exact error info. He replaced the 3 cooling system glow plugs, reset the system and it was fine for about 2 weeks. Local dealer advised changing the glow plug relay. Did that, no change, CEL still comes on religiously.
Mechanic said there is also a relay for the cooling system glow plugs but the idiots at the local dealer could not even ID the part for him much less order. As in troubleshooting info in FAQs, he also checked resistance between glow plugs and block. About the only thing he didn't do is replace the glow plug harness. So . . .
1) am i better off just having him replace the harness & then try to reset the CEL? or,
2) Should we try to find this cooling system glow plug relay and replace it?
Basically my mechanic did everything the error readings prescribed and anything the mechanics at the dealer suggested that seemed to make sense.
Any other suggestions? Sorry for the long post . . .
dyvyd