Hi

 

Ive put about 3k miles on the clock since i replaced my head gasket and for the most part all has been well since then. 
 

The car would start with no issues with 1-2 cranks. However the last couple of months its been really struggling. Every time i try to start it, hot or cold, It turns over probably 6-10 times before it eventually starts. 
 

Ive seen some people say it could be the battery going, but there seems to be plenty of juice there when its trying to turn over, i.e. its fast & not slow when turning over. Although today and yesterday the tone of it did sound slower than usual.

 

I think occasionally i do see a bit of smoke out the back when it starts& then after that theres nothing, not sure if thats related at all or just normal?

 

4 hours ago, Thompa021 said:

I think occasionally i do see a bit of smoke out the back when it starts& then after that theres nothing

White smoke, smelling of DERV? I've got an idea and the answer to this will confirm or deny it.

I wouldn’t be able to say what it smells like as ive never been round the back of the car when starting it, but yes, whenever i catch the smoke in the wing mirror/rear view it looks like white smoke. Only as soon as its started and ive revved it once or twice, then it stops as far as im aware

1 hour ago, Paws4Thot said:

White smoke, smelling of DERV? I've got an idea and the answer to this will confirm or deny it.

I wouldn’t be able to say what it smells like as ive never been round the back of the car when starting it, but yes, whenever i catch the smoke in the wing mirror/rear view it looks like white smoke. Only as soon as its started and ive revved it once or twice, then it stops as far as im aware

2 hours ago, Thompa021 said:

I wouldn’t be able to say what it smells like as ive never been round the back of the car when starting it, but yes, whenever i catch the smoke in the wing mirror/rear view it looks like white smoke. Only as soon as its started and ive revved it once or twice, then it stops as far as im aware

 

I wouldn’t be able to say what it smells like as ive never been round the back of the car when starting it, but yes, whenever i catch the smoke in the wing mirror/rear view it looks like white smoke. Only as soon as its started and ive revved it once or twice, then it stops as far as im aware

The smell (if any) is very diagnostic. If you have the DERV smell, then you have either failed glow plugs or they weren't reconnected properly when you changed the head gasket. The fact that it clears fast is a comment on how fast the TDi (any tune) head warms up.

Come to think of it, the glow plug light on the dash did come on twice soon after the gasket change, but just went off again. I just thought nothing of it as the car seemed to be running fine.

may be a silly question but how do you install glow plugs incorrectly?

will i have caused any damage because of this if it is due to the glow plugs?

9 hours ago, Paws4Thot said:

The smell (if any) is very diagnostic. If you have the DERV smell, then you have either failed glow plugs or they weren't reconnected properly when you changed the head gasket. The fact that it clears fast is a comment on how fast the TDi (any tune) head warms up.

 

1 hour ago, Thompa021 said:

Come to think of it, the glow plug light on the dash did come on twice soon after the gasket change, but just went off again. I just thought nothing of it as the car seemed to be running fine.

may be a silly question but how do you install glow plugs incorrectly?

will i have caused any damage because of this if it is due to the glow plugs?

 

No damage but you can easily test them with a multimeter without removing them.

11 hours ago, Paws4Thot said:

The smell (if any) is very diagnostic. If you have the DERV smell, then you have either failed glow plugs or they weren't reconnected properly when you changed the head gasket. The fact that it clears fast is a comment on how fast the TDi (any tune) head warms up.

 

Highly unlikely at this time of year even in Newcastle but what shoots that theory down is:

 

21 hours ago, Thompa021 said:

Every time i try to start it, hot or cold, It turns over probably 6-10 times before it eventually starts. 

 

 

Finally got round to testing the glow plugs. All of them read 1.9 ohms. Im assuming this is round about about what they should be if they’re all the same?

 

glow plug light came on & was flashing yesterday before i left work. Cleared the fault codes with an obd, glow plug light went off and when i turned the key it started on the first crank. The fault code that came up i believe was p0727.

 

after i filled the car up tonight i went to start and again it started on the first crank, and has just done it again now when starting the car to check if the fault code is still there or not, which it isnt. 
 

Could this just be a case of not clipping the loom onto one of the plugs properly by mistake? The car is still warm at the minute so will see how well it starts in the morning.

 

 

You do not need the glow plug’s to start the engine until the temperature gets down to 5deg.C anyway.