flashing glow plug light

[lee1977]

i have a 2006 2.0 tdi superb ( i know anout the oil pump, the bloody thing went and i've had the engine recon'd) coming home from work this evening the car beeped and engine workshop come up on the dash and the glow plug light is constantly flashing is this just a case of new glow plugs needed or something more sinister? any help greatfully recieved

[BJM]

How many miles?

If around 80,000 (or multiple of thereof) the DPF fluid tank probably needs refilling - budget for approx. £200 to refill.

[lee1977]

its done 135,00 i bought it on 100,000 is that a defo then on the fluid?

[oh_superb]

• need someone with vcds to plug into the car and read the error code
  

[Penpusher]

I had the same problem a few years ago in Italy. I went to a ?koda agent in Trieste and it turned out to be a faulty sender unit in the fuel tank. They didn't have one in stock and they said they'd no knowledge of the V6 diesel as it wasn't sold in Italy. I was careful to fill up at regular intervals and not rely on the fuel guage and got it fixed when I came home.

[KenONeill]

This might sound odd, but are the brake lights working? If all 3 units appear to have failed, replace the brakelight switch, and buy a genuine upgraded one from a Skoda dealership.

[Gaz]

This might sound odd, but are the brake lights working? If all 3 units appear to have failed, replace the brakelight switch, and buy a genuine upgraded one from a Skoda dealership.

+1 on this one - I managed to snap the plastic locating unit that fit in the rear of the brake pedal arm on a B5 Passat. The brake light switch was okay, but coz it's fbw it caused all sorts of problems. Pig to get the old one out, doddle to get the new one in.

Gaz

[stephenb]

I had this problem last summer driving in France on the autoroute.

Typically after about an hour of driving, I got Engine Workshop + glowplug light. If you take a rest stop, turn off the engine for a few minutes it clears the warning, but then it comes on again about another hour later.

The DPF needed topping up. It looks as if you get a fair amount of warning before the DPF will eventually clog up, as I drove another 1000 miles with no problem.

VCDS is the only reliable way to be sure with the diagnosis though.

Car had done 65,000 miles then, so the 80,000 quoted can be optimistic. I do a lot of city driving.

[alfredjohn]

i vote for the brake pedal unit.

mine didnt even throw up a problem with

brake lights

[lee1977]

all the brake lights are working fine will i have to take it to skoda for the diagnosis then ?

[SomersetSkodaSuperb]

I had a similar issue and took it to the Skoda dealership in Bath and got them to look at it during a major service and they identified the DPF fluid needed topping up. I have to commend the honesty of the garage as they said it could possibly take three bottles of it but one would suffice for now, I think they had an issue sourcing it and possibly another reason. I will have another bottle put in during the next service. Each bottle cost around £100 including VAT. No flashing light after that!! Heaven....The easiest thing to do is get the codes read but do it sooner rather than later.

Good luck

[BJM]

I have to commend the honesty of the garage as they said it could possibly take three bottles of it but one would suffice for now, I think they had an issue sourcing it and possibly another reason. I will have another bottle put in during the next service. Each bottle cost around £100 including VAT.

I would question rather than commend the honesty of your stealers.

It's readily available, but most Skoda dealers don't appear to stock it as only the one engine / car combination in the Skoda range (ours) uses it and it is ordered in JIT and usually arrives the following day.

It takes 4 x 1 litre bottles to fill, and takes about 15 minutes tops, although it is simply a case of pugging in the bottle and going away whilst it empties.

Each bottle is (or was in Nov. 2012) £45

So £100 seems to be a rip-off, not generosity.

[lee1977]

had it put on a computer today it is the dpf fluid so i have ordered it at £45 a litre. Many thanks for all your input!

[lee1977]

went to volkswagen to pick up the fluid and the guy made some more inquries after i had left yesterday and said i could use vw ad-blue instead of the dpf fluid which worked out at £12.34 for 4 litres insted of £45 a litre. I asked him if this would wreck my car and he said "no its fine you can use the ad-blue" so thats what i did havent put it in the car yet as its raining but gonna do it tomorrow i know people on here have said dont use ad blue but this is from VW itself

[KenONeill]

I don't know if you can use AddBlue instead of DPF. What I do know is that AddBlue is basically urea (not urine), so at least you know what you're trying to find out whether DPF is or not.

[BJM]

NO

NO

NO

DO NOT USE ADDBLUE

Regardless of what the VW guy told you, AddBlue is a totally different material from that used for the 2.0 PD , and is not intended for your engine. It will screw up the DPF.

Take it back, get your money back and buy the proper stuff.

[lee1977]

but lots of people from vw told me its fine thats what they use now. this stuff is not blue either i looks like water completely differnet from the ad blue we put in the lorrys at work

Edited 30 May, 2013 by lee1977

[Superblade]

Hi, I work for VW Uk. I can confirm that Ad blue is not the same. Still trying to find how to top it up on a Superb our techie states that you need the proper tool

[lee1977]

ok i'll change it for the other dearer stuff mine has the tank under the spare wheel i was told by a skoda master tech guy as mine has no access inside the car undo the 3 10mm bolts under the car and the tank should drop down then undo the filler cap and pour the stuff in !

[lee1977]

changed the ad-blue for the dpf fluid today. Easyist job in the world to do. Undo 3 bolts on the cover over the void where the spare wheel sits from the under side of the car remove the cover and you can see the tank. This is held in place with 3 more bolts undo these and the tank drops down open the fillier cap poor in the dpf fluid (liquid gold the bloody price of it) do up the filler cap and refit the tank easy peezey. I'm shocked how easy the job was after what i read on here. The light has gone out on the dash as well now !

Edited 1 June, 2013 by lee1977

[Skoda_Doug]

I have this same issue but when I took it to my local independent VAG specialist they checked the tank and said it was full. The brake lights are all working. So what is causing this? I notice that once I drive it for a while on A class roads the light goes out and the computer displays the average MPG as going up from low 40's to high 40's!! Weird.

[jimbof]

I have this same issue but when I took it to my local independent VAG specialist they checked the tank and said it was full. The brake lights are all working. So what is causing this? I notice that once I drive it for a while on A class roads the light goes out and the computer displays the average MPG as going up from low 40's to high 40's!! Weird.

Well if you've done many miles since it was last filled it shouldn't be "full" - are you sure it is being injected?

 

There is the appropriate guide from VW for our age of car here:

http://www.volkspage.net/technik/ssp/ssp/SSP_330.pdf

Page 12 shows the components of the system.  If the tank is "full" and hasn't been being injected into the fuel then your DPF would be pretty clogged depending on driving style...

 

The purpose of the additive is to increase the exhaust temperature to the point where the soot particles can be burnt in the DPF to prevent clogging.  So driving at higher engine RPM would also have a similar effect (but I don't know how hot it needs to get).  

 

It could also be a sensor fault - I think there are pressure sensors that detect the state of the DPF.

 

This just brings back nightmare thoughts of my old Peugeot 307 which had the most complicated system I have ever seen.   Those nightmares were enough for me to seek out a 1.9PD without a DPF... 

Edited 2 August, 2013 by jimbof

[Skoda_Doug]

Well if you've done many miles since it was last filled it shouldn't be "full" - are you sure it is being injected?

 

There is the appropriate guide from VW for our age of car here:

http://www.volkspage.net/technik/ssp/ssp/SSP_330.pdf

Page 12 shows the components of the system.  If the tank is "full" and hasn't been being injected into the fuel then your DPF would be pretty clogged depending on driving style...

 

The purpose of the additive is to increase the exhaust temperature to the point where the soot particles can be burnt in the DPF to prevent clogging.  So driving at higher engine RPM would also have a similar effect (but I don't know how hot it needs to get).  

 

It could also be a sensor fault - I think there are pressure sensors that detect the state of the DPF.

 

This just brings back nightmare thoughts of my old Peugeot 307 which had the most complicated system I have ever seen.   Those nightmares were enough for me to seek out a 1.9PD without a DPF... 

Much appreciated. very detailed read albeit by a non mechanically minded person. Makes things a bit clearer for me. I have booked in a diagnostics check on Friday at a local specialist. So hopefully if it needs it they will do a forced DPF regeneration to clean out the DPF filter. £60 + VAT. There may well be other faults that they will clear/report/fix. I hope to sell the car in a month or so to help finance a new Octavia I have ordered. Cheers again. I will report back after Friday.

[Skoda_Doug]

Much appreciated. very detailed read albeit by a non mechanically minded person. Makes things a bit clearer for me. I have booked in a diagnostics check on Friday at a local specialist. So hopefully if it needs it they will do a forced DPF regeneration to clean out the DPF filter. £60 + VAT. There may well be other faults that they will clear/report/fix. I hope to sell the car in a month or so to help finance a new Octavia I have ordered. Cheers again. I will report back after Friday.

Got the car checked through a diagnostics checker and the garage confirmed that the scanner reported an issue with the tank being empty. I asked if he could double check as another local VAG specialist had told me that it was full. He dropped out the tank and told me it was nearly empty. He said that ties in with the glow plug light coming on and off. When the fluid is sloshing round the almost empty tank the sensor flags empty when the liquid leaves the middle of the tank. I then spoke to Skoda who quoted me £52 per litre for the additive. I have booked it in with them to refill. I have been quoted a max of £100 to top it up.

[Skoda_Doug]

Got the car checked through a diagnostics checker and the garage confirmed that the scanner reported an issue with the tank being empty. I asked if he could double check as another local VAG specialist had told me that it was full. He dropped out the tank and told me it was nearly empty. He said that ties in with the glow plug light coming on and off. When the fluid is sloshing round the almost empty tank the sensor flags empty when the liquid leaves the middle of the tank. I then spoke to Skoda who quoted me £52 per litre for the additive. I have booked it in with them to refill. I have been quoted a max of £100 to top it up.

Update on this. I got my Skoda dealer to top it up. They said it actually took longer than they quoted for but honoured the £100 quote. This should do the next owner of the car for a year or 2.