Glow Plug Replacement?

I'm a Golf TDI owner Los Angeles - my check engine light is on due to the fact that my glow plugs need to be replaced.

Does anyone have any advice on how crucial it is to replace these immediately? I've been told it will cost a couple hundred dollars and am currently a grad student without much extra cash, but I also don't want to endanger the overall functioning of the car.

I haven't had great experiences with the VW dealership here and am wondering if anyone knows of a good, reliable mechanic on the West Side of Los Angeles.

Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions. Have a great day!

The glow plugs do not come on at all when the temp is > 50 degrees. Since you are in LA, you should have little trouble keeping temperatures above this.

Glow plugs are not hard to replace. Search the forums, they will tell you how to do it. Since you are a grad student you should have plenty of time to learn to do this.

If I was in your shoes I would just not take the car north or to the mountains for a few years.

Glow plugs are rather easy to replace. Quite similar to changing spark plugs on a gasoline car.

You can get a set of glow plugs on the web for around 35$ (for Bosch), around the same price at any Napa, autozone, etc. store.

If you're not mechanically enclined, ask a friend who is.
JP

do the glow plug 101 first that wing nut has in his how to section and just replace the ones that are bad, no need to replace them all I have just over 203 k km's on my car and just replaced 1. doesn;t matter what kind you put in, also will need someone with vag com or local parts store to clear the code after. and they are real easy to replace

Dieselgeek.com has the complete set for only $60. I replaced mine within the last year and couldn't find any locally for less than $40 each. Let me know if you need any help, since I'm also on the west side of LA, kinda, but better since I breathe ocean fresh air. Also, did you use a multimeter to diagnos the problem or are you guessing that it's the plugs? Sometimes it is the harness. Definitely check out Wingnuts 101 on glow plugs and PM if you need my help.

hank miller said:

The glow plugs do not come on at all when the temp is > 50 degrees. Since you are in LA, you should have little trouble keeping temperatures above this.

Glow plugs are not hard to replace. Search the forums, they will tell you how to do it. Since you are a grad student you should have plenty of time to learn to do this.

If I was in your shoes I would just not take the car north or to the mountains for a few years.

Click to expand...

Hank you're right. Here are some pics from my excursion to change the GPs in my 2001 Golf.



Family pictures:




Individual GPs





New plugs:





So my questions now:

1) Is that soot or what on the old GPs?

2) I put in Beru (sp) GPs and the original ones were Bosch....any MAJOR difference or just the name or price? I know you should'nt replace only 1 of the 4, so I did all 4 at once.

3) I had gotten vag-com'd and got teh message: 16764 G/P Heater Q6 Circuit Malfunction. P0380-35-10---Intermittent. As a curius TDIer, with a connection at a dealership, I installed both the new GP harness and GPs....when I get vag-com'd again, and clear the check engine light, will I have anything else wrong?

4) What's the avg life of glow plugs. I have a 2001 TDI Golf that I took delivery late in the calendar year.


Thanks for 'any' help.

Welcome to the TDI-Club !!!!

What type of car are we talking about here?? Please put that in your profile... I'm guessing that you don't have a 2004 or newer (different, much more expensive glow plugs there...)...

Often, the problem's corrosion in the glow plug harness... In any case, in L.A., you don't really need the glow plugs, so don't worry... Look at Glow Plugs 101:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=749854

For future reference, one of the top TDI technicians in the country is in Fullerton... when you need some SOLID advice, diagnosis or repairs (timing belt ???), please look up Leonard Harview at Wild Rose Motors,
(800)341-1012... I assure you you won't get better service anywhere else in the region !!!!!

All the best,

Yuri.

and there are no issues wuth just replacing the bad ones, in 204k kms I have replaced one glow plug and it was a different make that the origional.

Average life of a glowplug? My car has 190k kms (over 100,000 miles) and I have replaced 2. I would be surprised if all your glow plugs are dead. Usually its just one.