Long crank white smoke on start up

It has been a long time since I have been on these forums .
I have been having trouble lately with starting the car . It is getting worse .
I did the whole Timing belt ,wp, idler ,tensioner re+re after a near disaster 20,000 kms ago( may 2011) . I hit a bump and the tensioner ( weak ) dropped out and allowed the belt to skip one tooth. No start , but no damage either . This is my assumption based on what I saw when I opened up the timing cover .

Other details , the temp gauge will intermitantly drop out to "cold" stay off for 5 mins then snap back to normal . I can't find where the little bstrd is though.
All the glow plugs were replaced december 2010 about 35,000kms ago.

Now 9 times out of 10 when I turn the key the glow plugs will only turn on for a fraction of a second . The car will crank and crank and blow white unburnt fuel out the pipe. It takes 20 cycles of the key and 60 seconds of cranking to get it to finally catch and stay running.

This is becoming an issue , an embarassing smoky issue.

I humbly beg the gurus here for assistance .
all other mods are in my sig

Your temp sensor is on the back of the head at the gearbox end, on that flange part for the coolant pipes. It will be messing with your glow plug heating. You might also have a problem with the glow plug wiring harness, I'm sure there's a how to on it in here somewhere

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=569892

The other thing is a possible fueling issue, were the injectors setup originally when the sprints were fitted?

It might be worth checking for fault codes too, maybe it's a pump issue. That's about all I can think of off hand.

I have not pullded codes , the injectors were done by a trusted local independent VW AUDI haus . Das Auto Haus. they have been in service for 80k now .

Thanks for the link I'll check it out .

I was under the impression the coolant temp sensor was near the coolant glow plugs but I did not see it there.

I've been having very similar problems and can encourage you to unplug the CTS. It's honestly a bit tough to find, but if you know where to look based on photos, and move your head a tad closer to the windshield, it usually gives you a clear view of the green clip. Disconnecting it can be a pain at first as well, but if you have a very thin flathead, it will make short work of that retainer.

Now I've had people tell me the GP's won't even heat if it's above 50*, but I've had these issues in warmer weather lately as well. With the CTS unplugged, you should notice your GP light staying on for several seconds. It might still take a full cycle or two, but your car should start much easier, since you're improving the conditions for combustion. The real problem may lie elsewhere for you (I know my timing is way advanced and my IP maybe on it's way out) but this will act as a bandaid to get you from A to B while you're diagnosing the problem.

Don't forget to plug the CTS back in after you've started up! You might get a CEL but it should clear after another restart.

Ok so I found and unplugged the CTS . and instant Glow plug action and starts like it did before .

I will order a new sensor in the morning.
Thanks for the help.

Removed a black sensor and installed a green sensor .
No love . Once the car starts the temp gauge in the cluster no longer drop out but the glow plugs do not stay on long enough to fire the car up .

So what is the next step ?
I got a CEL after the coolant sensor install , Ill be able to pull the code tomorrow .
The Glow plug harness has no wiggle atop the plugs at all .
I will check the glow plugs for operation in the morning too.
Any thing else?

Over the winter my car developed a harder & harder cold start. To the point where I plugged the car in overnight thinking this would help. Thought it was a glowplug problem, replaced the relay. No help. Kept getting worse, would crank, crank, crank, crank - finally start......... run rough & smoke then clear out.

Finally!! I noticed some fuel on the fuel filter "T" fitting, the O ring had a slight crack causing fuel to drain back. Had to crank to build fuel pressure then was OK. Replaced it & has started perfect ever since.

My car had the exact same signs as yours, take a look at your fuel filter / fittings. Just an idea - good luck

Ive ment to ask , and I know this is a stupid question.....
Where is the glow plug relay? PICS?

TDI-JAY said:

Over the winter my car developed a harder & harder cold start. To the point where I plugged the car in overnight thinking this would help. Thought it was a glowplug problem, replaced the relay. No help. Kept getting worse, would crank, crank, crank, crank - finally start......... run rough & smoke then clear out.

Finally!! I noticed some fuel on the fuel filter "T" fitting, the O ring had a slight crack causing fuel to drain back. Had to crank to build fuel pressure then was OK. Replaced it & has started perfect ever since.

My car had the exact same signs as yours, take a look at your fuel filter / fittings. Just an idea - good luck

Click to expand...

How much fuel near the T fitting?

I've been keeping an eye on the filter, as I've heard this could be an issue, and it keeps getting a bit oily on top, but doens't really seem to be leaking.

In some cases the sending unit becomes plugged up due to dirt in the fuel tank. This causes a longer cranking situation and white smoke. The pump is starved for fuel due to line restriction at sending unit in the tank. Also your heating up your starter with the longer cranking, this will pull a lot of power through the fuse box on top of the battery and through the wiring harness. Those fusable links start to corrode after awhile. Those fuel tees are Chinese bump offs ,they have internal flash in the tees. You can lift up the backseat and remove the sending unit. They can be cleaned or replaced its just plastic with a fuel float and lines attached.

dieselg33k said:

Removed a black sensor and installed a green sensor .
No love . Once the car starts the temp gauge in the cluster no longer drop out but the glow plugs do not stay on long enough to fire the car up .

So what is the next step ?
I got a CEL after the coolant sensor install , Ill be able to pull the code tomorrow .
The Glow plug harness has no wiggle atop the plugs at all .
I will check the glow plugs for operation in the morning too.
Any thing else?

Click to expand...

Hi dieselg33k

Were you able to resolve the issue? I have a 2012 VW Passat 2.0 TDI and it has the same issues since last four months. Majority of this time it has been with an authorized VW dealer, however, they have not been able to diagnose the issue.
Until now we have replaced the glow plugs, crank shaft sensor and coolant temperature sensor, but the issue still persists. It takes about 10 seconds of cranking to start.

GA64TDI said:

Hi dieselg33k

Were you able to resolve the issue? I have a 2012 VW Passat 2.0 TDI and it has the same issues since last four months. Majority of this time it has been with an authorized VW dealer, however, they have not been able to diagnose the issue.
Until now we have replaced the glow plugs, crank shaft sensor and coolant temperature sensor, but the issue still persists. It takes about 10 seconds of cranking to start.

Click to expand...

fyi, this thread is 10-11 yrs old with a completely different engine than yours. but what your dealer is doing sounds like typical throwing parts at it without diagnosis... just another day in paradise!

burpod said:

fyi, this thread is 10-11 yrs old with a completely different engine than yours. but what your dealer is doing sounds like typical throwing parts at it without diagnosis... just another day in paradise!

Click to expand...

Thanks! I am going to the dealer today to check the diagnosis. Would you be able to tell me what all parameters I should check in this case. Long crank, white smoke during first start of the day, sometimes the temperature gauge stays stuck at 0 for the first 5 minutes.
I am a novice at this, I started researching after the dealer has not been able to diagnose it.

I did see the below two during diagnosis:
Temp sensor for EGR after cooler - 270.64 degree Celsius
Heat delivery temperature in cooling system - 273.14 degree Celsius.

270C is 570F.
Are you trying to burn pizza's ??

It is -ve 270.

So it making ice cubes??

It should be lack of fuel (diesel or air) or it's out of time.
Outside possibly a small wire working intermittently..