question about coolant heater plugs?

B

branforddiesel

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 26, 2016
Location
CT
TDI
2001 '01 golf TDI 4dr 5speed
I noticed this the other day and having a hard time pinpointing exactly what they are and what they do. I think they are coolant heater plugs and I have no clue why they would be mangled up like this. Any thoughts? Thanks, Jeff


Ok......can't figure out how to upload an image. any way they are 3 spark plug looking things. the one closest to the bumper is completely cut off. the middle one is connected and the third looks like its been soldered on. No idea
 
B

burn_your_money

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2012
Location
Missouri
TDI
99 Beetle, 96 B4V, 05 Passat wagon
Use imgbb.com to upload pictures.

Do you mean on the side of the head right above the transmission?
 
G

Genesis

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 26, 2003
Location
Sevier County TN
TDI
'03 Jetta Wagon
Yeah there's three of them sticking out of the flange housing on the driver side of the engine right under the vacuum pump. They're notorious for being inop on a lot of vehicles too, frequently due to the electrical side literally falling apart.
 
Powder Hound

Powder Hound

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 25, 1999
Location
Under a Bridge, Crestview, FL, USA
TDI
'00 Golf 4dr White 5sp, '02 Jettachero 5sp, Wife's '03 NB Platinum Gray auto(!)
I found that when I went to upload photos on this site, there is a gray strip in the lower left of the screen. It doesn't show as anything, but if you click it, it will let you upload your photo file as part of the photo uploading process for posting them.

Good luck,

PH
 
B

branforddiesel

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 26, 2016
Location
CT
TDI
2001 '01 golf TDI 4dr 5speed


Any ideas as to what their purpose is?

is something that should be addressed?

could this be related to some othe electrical issues I've been having

Thanks, Jeff
 
B

burn_your_money

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2012
Location
Missouri
TDI
99 Beetle, 96 B4V, 05 Passat wagon
Those plugs don't do much of anything and I doubt you'll be able to tell the difference if they are working or not. Your car also won't know the difference. I'd put them at the bottom of the priority list for when you have extra time and money.
 
Vince Waldon

Vince Waldon

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
Yup, those are the coolant heater plugs.. one disconnected, one with some after-market repairs. :)

"coolant glow plug" is probably a good search term.. quite a bit of discussion.

Long story short... they are there to (very slightly) improve winter warm-up times on TDIs with manual transmissions. Not monitored by the ECU, won't generate any trouble codes if burnt out or not hooked up, and generally cause no issues unless they physically start to leak.

Most people won't notice if they are working or not.
 
G

Genesis

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 26, 2003
Location
Sevier County TN
TDI
'03 Jetta Wagon
Considering the cost were I to actually bother "fixing" this on mine I'd make up something with tinned wire and use liquid electrical tape to seal anything that would be exposed. You can easily make up three of those pigtails for $10 worth of material .vs. $100 for three of those bad boys (plus the pinning tool if you don't have it already)
 
J

JB05

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 20, 2005
Location
Il.USA
TDI
Golf,2005,anthracite blue
These coolant glow plugs are controlled by two relays which in turn are monitored by the ECU. When the engine glow plugs are on the middle coolant gp turns on; when the engine gp's turn off the middle coolant gp is off and the two end coolant gp's turn on; and finally all three turn on. I don't know the duration of these events.
Those equipped with coolant gp's, manual transmission only, come with a 120 amp alternator.
 
crawdaddy

crawdaddy

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2008
Location
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
TDI
03 Jetta Wagon TDI/5spd swap
branforddiesel said:
Ok......can't figure out how to upload an image. any way they are 3 spark plug looking things. the one closest to the bumper is completely cut off. the middle one is connected and the third looks like its been soldered on. No idea
Click to expand...
I have found that if I use Firefox my photo won't upload, I use Google Chrome.
I've also found that if I use anything other than photos ending in .jpg it won't work.
 
Last edited:
Geobmx4life

Geobmx4life

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2009
Location
Kananaskis Alberta Canada
TDI
2005 Golf Malone tuned VNT 17, FMIC
branforddiesel said:
I noticed this the other day and having a hard time pinpointing exactly what they are and what they do. I think they are coolant heater plugs and I have no clue why they would be mangled up like this. Any thoughts? Thanks, Jeff
Ok......can't figure out how to upload an image. any way they are 3 spark plug looking things. the one closest to the bumper is completely cut off. the middle one is connected and the third looks like its been soldered on. No idea
Click to expand...
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=286691&highlight=post+picture
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top