P0380

hello fellows,
my CEL came on recently
went to dealer for a read
they wanted me to make an apppointment
went to autozone instead
the code read was P0380
code was cleared
came back 2 days later
did some reading...
checked the GPs, they seemed to be fine
all 4 from 0.4 to 0.6 ohms
helps please...
TIA

There is plenty of 'history' on this problem. Likely search terms might be GLOW PLUG RELAY J52 16764 HARNESS ECT.

The official factory repair manual has a troubleshooting protocol listed for P0380/DTC:16764.

Howdy VUN,
That P-Code (P0380) translates over to DTC 16764.
Glow Plug/Heater Circuit (A): Electrical Fault in Circuit.

You can start by a simple connection check. By ensuring that each of the 4 glow plugs connectors are fully seated onto the plugs.

thanks for the inputs guys

hopefully it is not the harness as it seems that the replacement one does require some 'invasive' surgery

i will do some more troubleshooting this weekend

oh, regarding safety inspection, will my car pass with the CEL on?

took the GP voltage this morning
(with the ECT connected.) 0.32V on all 4 GPs
uh, shouldnt they be around 12V?
i think i've located the ETC sensor as per Cooling System - 101 thread but i could not figure out how to disconnect it? how many conductors/wires does this ETC sensor have?, it seemed as if i located something else instead IIRC this one has at least 3 or more wire

On the '01 it's sorta hard to see when just looking at it. But, look at the top of the engine, look at the right end. The round disk thing bolted on the end of the cylinder head is the vacuum pump. Down slightly you will see a coolant connection that has (if this is a manual) 3 2"long 'pins' sticking up with a single electrical connector on each. These are the coolant glow plugs. Behind these and pointing towards the passenger compartment is the coolant sensor.

As I remember it does have more than two wires on it.

PS: its +65o today in Ashburn. That's too warm to activate glow plugs, except for perhaps afterglow, unless you pull the sensor connector. Then you'll only get about 20 seconds.

On the '01 it's sorta hard to see when just looking at it. But, look at the top of the engine, look at the right end. The round disk thing bolted on the end of the cylinder head is the vacuum pump. Down slightly you will see a coolant connection that has (if this is a manual) 3 2"long 'pins' sticking up with a single electrical connector on each. These are the coolant glow plugs. Behind these and pointing towards the passenger compartment is the coolant sensor.

As I remember it does have more than two wires on it.

PS: its +65o today in Ashburn. That's too warm to activate glow plugs, except for perhaps afterglow, unless you pull the sensor connector. Then you'll only get about 20 seconds.

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">weedeater, thanks,
mine is an auto
i think i located the ETC sensor
but i did not know how to disconnect it
and i was afraid that i'd break something if i just pull on it
may be i should wait for a colder day to check the GP voltage
PS
im still negociating with the wife on getting the VAG-COM and the Bently CD

I was taking a long hard look at mine last night while fixing (swearing, mostly) at other things. As with most all the connectors in this car, there is a thingy you must squeeze (ahem) in order to release the connector. Then it slides off.

The actual sensor itself is held in the pipe apparently with a clip.

Mine is a manual, so 'your mileage may vary'.

Had the same problem removing the connector, check out this link...

http://forums.tdiclub.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=17&t=005294&p=

Read this current thread also... http://forums.tdiclub.com/NonCGI/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=17;t=006288
By the way, it's the same as code 380. One is VW's code,the other is the OBDII standard code, but they are exactly identical!

[ November 11, 2002, 12:49: Message edited by: Cosmic Green ]

thanks for replying,
i will try again this weekend

Hi vun,
The glow plug resistance check can screw once in a while. I had a P0380 on my Golf. I put power to each individual glow plug and measured the amperage through each one. All were around 20 amps excpet #1 which was under 1 amp...but the resistance check was fine. Don't drive yourself too crazy before checking the glow plugs carfully.
Joe Rappa

Hi vun,
The glow plug resistance check can screw once in a while. I had a P0380 on my Golf. I put power to each individual glow plug and measured the amperage through each one. All were around 20 amps excpet #1 which was under 1 amp...but the resistance check was fine. Don't drive yourself too crazy before checking the glow plugs carfully.
Joe Rappa

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Joe, thanks for the tip, I will find something that i read up to 20A to check it out

Hello guys,
did not do anything this weekend,
came down with a cold
anyways, my younger brother who happens to own a porsche shop reset the CEL for me, and it has stayed off for 2 days

for code p0380 , check glow plug resistance first , then replace glow plug harness. don't ask me why. but , many people solved problem by replacing harness.

Probably because the glow plugs use a huge amount of current, and the harness is made from cheezy little wires. If this happens to me, I plan to fabricate a SERIOUS harness.

But start by checking the resistance of the plugs. Just use an ohm meter. Pull the harness off the plugs, and check the resistance between the external tip of the plug and the cylinder head. If one plug is screwy, it'll throw a code...and you must replace ALL of the plugs as a set.

-mickey

FYI,
since my younger brother reset it, the CEL has stayed off (for exactly 1 wk)
strange, i did not do anything besides checking the GPs resistance (twice)! may be i somehow "cleaned" the GPs contacts while doing it
why ask why, im glad that the CEL stays off
have a good Thanksgiving, everyone

Probably because the glow plugs use a huge amount of current, and the harness is made from cheezy little wires. If this happens to me, I plan to fabricate a SERIOUS harness.

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">funny you should mention that. On my last car, the glowplugs were connected in parallel by a copper strap about 1/2 inch wide. The cable going to it was probably 8 guage and it used a 130amp fuse.

guess what? I did not fix it
the CEL came back on today
oh well, back to square one

I've had this code for a while now and can't seem to fix it. I tested the resistance on plugs - all 0.6 ohms. Changed the harness and reset code, still came back 100km later? I have read hundreds of posts on this subject to try to correct the problem myself but nothing I have done seems to work? In all those treads though, they all mentioned checking/replacing the 4 engine glow plugs/harness/ but no mention of the coolant GP's. Is it possible for these to also throw the P0380 code? Should I check them as well and if so, are they the same resistance (0.6 ohms) as the 4 engine GP's?

wingnut wrote:

I've had this code for a while now and can't seem to fix it. I tested the resistance on plugs - all 0.6 ohms. Changed the harness and reset code, still came back 100km later? I have read hundreds of posts on this subject to try to correct the problem myself but nothing I have done seems to work? In all those treads though, they all mentioned checking/replacing the 4 engine glow plugs/harness/ but no mention of the coolant GP's. Is it possible for these to also throw the P0380 code? Should I check them as well and if so, are they the same resistance (0.6 ohms) as the 4 engine GP's?

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">wingnut,
my car is an automatic. it does not seem to have the coolant GPs, only the manual ones have them, I think