Hello all.

 

Skoda Superb Mk3 tdi se

 

Day after a long journey 200 miles, the EMS light has come on on the dash.

 

Car seems to be driving ok with no apparent loss of power.

 

Have ordered an obd reader to see what fault is and pencilled in an appointment for later in the week.

 

Wondering whether it may be the egr being clogged, and wanted to ask if anyone has used the spray egr cleaners on a similar model and to what success.

 

Will update thread based on obd reading etc.

Apologies, ECS light (Emission control system) not EMS

Plugged in ODB2 reader.

 

Fault is P0671 - Cylinder 1 glow plug circuit/open.

 

Will try gently replacing the glowplug myself and if can't release it I'll take it to the local mechanic.

My car is the same year/model.  I had the same fault.  Despite my greatest fears I replaced the glow plug myself.  I soaked the surrounds with penetrating fluid overnight and luckily it came out easily the next day.  I used the "gently as you go" method although I've been told the correct way is to "shock" it by giving it a sharp turn.  That's too risky IMHO. Equally I've been advised to extract the plug when the engine is hot.  I see the logic, but that was not the way I did it.  Good luck!

5 hours ago, MChris said:

My car is the same year/model.  I had the same fault.  Despite my greatest fears I replaced the glow plug myself.  I soaked the surrounds with penetrating fluid overnight and luckily it came out easily the next day.  I used the "gently as you go" method although I've been told the correct way is to "shock" it by giving it a sharp turn.  That's too risky IMHO. Equally I've been advised to extract the plug when the engine is hot.  I see the logic, but that was not the way I did it.  Good luck!

 

Cheers MChris

 

Yes, did it all yesterday morning with very much the same method you outline above. 

 

Used a compressed air gun to clear out dust and debris from plug recess, soaked the plugs in penetrating fluid over night, replaced the caps and took the car for a run in the morning to get warm,  then gently gently and the all came straight out no fuss.

 

Will put a longer description with photos and what I used in due course but all good now, car happy and fault has not returned.

As promised, longer description of process and materials used to fix the issue.

 

Items purchased:

1. TOPDON Artilink400 OBD2 Code Reader - Source: Amazon.co.uk Price: Approx. £29 with voucher
2. 3 X Bosch glow plugs for Skoda Superb Mk3 2.0 TDI - Source: Halfords.co.uk Price: Approx. £11 each with discount
3. Shall 11-Piece 3/8" Torque Wrench Set, (5-60Nm)  - Source: Amazon.co.uk Price: Approx. £28 with voucher
4. febi bilstein 26712 Grease for fuel injectors / glow plugs, pack of one - Source: Amazon.co.uk Price: Approx. £12
5. Penetrating release spray - Source: Halfords.co.uk Price: Approx. £3.99

Additional items used (already owned):

1. Ratchet kit
2. 3/8DR 6PT Deep Socket 10mm (this is the socket for glow plugs 1,2, & 4)
3. Long nosed pliers
4. Compressed air pump (we have one for blowing up balloons for parties but with a tube attached, this works just fine for blowing away any dust and debris)
5. Multimeter
6. Small paper cone made from a rolled up utility company letter

OBD2 reader, deep 10mm socket, Torque Wrench, ratchet set, compressed air machine, penetrating spray and tube, old removed glow plugs, glow plug grease, paper cone, long nosed pliers

 

 

Youtube video tutorials followed:

 

1. Skoda Superb Mk3 2.0 Glow Plug Replacement by Rob Camper - "youtu.be/vE6rQomb2Nk?si=C94e-Z0Sdl9v_jan"
2. Skoda Superb 3 glow plugs change by Golf Wagen - "youtu.be/5BVmd3aORDk?si=PXq30STYC56RE0YW"
3. Replacing Glow Plugs - Audi/VW/SEAT/Skoda 1.6TDI CAYC Engine Code - Audi A3 8P by Auto Knight - "youtu.be/cGh3dXYoC4w?si=x3i61M4kpSaIVIS4"

 

 

 

All props to these guys, I've taken images below from their videos too

 

 

Step 1 - diagnosing the fault

 

- With ignition OFF, I Plugged in ODB2 reader.

- The connection is under the drawer to the right of the steering wheel. Mine is a purple colour.

- Turned on ignition (but not starting car), this will allow the OBD2 reader to access the onboard computer and read faults.

- Fault shown was "P0671 - Cylinder 1 glow plug circuit/open. " - this means that the first of the glow plugs has an error.

 

location of the OBD2 connector

 

Step 2 - understanding the job

 

- The car has 4 glow plugs

- They run from left to right on the top of the engine, under the engine cover, and each has an electric connector attached to the top of it.

- Plugs 1, 2, and 4 are normal glow plugs with no sensors and can be bought for between £10 and £17 each. They are removed with a 10mm deep socket

- Plug 3 is a special plug with a pressure sensor. These cost a lot more. I've seen them from between £150 - £250.

- As there is no fault with plug 3, I decided NOT to replace that one, but as the others were relatively cheap and were coming to the end of their lives I decided to replace all of the others (1,2 and 4)

 

 

still image showing location of the 4 glow plugs with electric connectors attached

 

 

Step 3 - prepping for removal

 

- Took the car for a short journey to get the engine warm, returned home and parked where it would stay over night.

- With gloves on (as the engine was now hot), popped the bonnet and removed the engine cover.

- Unclipped the black plastic holders holding down the wires (you can see these rectangular clips above the coloured circles in the picture above). This just gives you a bit more slack on the wires to unplug them.

- Using the long nosed pliers, unplugged the electric connectors from plugs 1, 2 and 4

- As you can see from the photo above, plug 1 is down behind some pipes and wires and is the most tricky to get at, so had to be patient and ensure I didn't damage anything with the pliers.

- The electric connectors take some pulling to disconnect

 

Glow plug electrical connector unplugged

 

- when connectors were off, I used the compressed air machine with a tube to blow all dirt and debris out of the recesses where the glow plugs were (see image below). I spent some time on this to ensure there was no loose dirt or debris in these recesses.

- I then soaked the plugs in the recesses with penetrating release spray and left them for a couple of hours.

- I went back and reapplied the penetrating release spray after 2-3 hours, left the connectors off, but put the engine cover back on, closed the bonnet and left them to sit overnight in the release spray.

- In the morning I popped the bonnet, removed the engine cover and reconnected the 3 electric connectors and the rectangular wire clips. Each of the connectors needs to be pushed down firmly onto the glow plug, and there is a definite "click" that can be felt as the connector latches onto the plug. Make sure they are down firm and you feel this "click"

 

plug in recess

 

 

 

 

Step 4 - plug removal

 

- Took car for a drive to get the engine and plugs hot.

- Returned and parked, turned off engine, opened bonnet, removed engine cover.

- Unplugged electrical connectors from plugs 1,2, & 4 as above

- Reapplied release spray to glow plugs

- Used a ratchet with a long vertical bar and the deep 10mm socket shown below.

- As MChris has mentioned above, I used a "gently as you go" method rather than a sharp turn. Gently applying pressure in a counter clockwise motion and gradually increasing pressure but not by a lot. With all of the steps above and this gentle pressure the plugs came straight out without any issue.

 

 

Step 5 - new plugs prep and install

 

- Using my Multimeter I tested the old plugs. (Watch Auto Knight's video listed above on how to do this). The plug from cylinder 1 definitely had an issue.

- I tested all of the 3 new plugs I was putting in to ensure there was no problem before I put them in.

- I then Applied febi bilstein 26712 Grease for fuel injectors / glow plugs to the new plugs around the thread and body but not the glow end, and not above the thread. (Again. watch Auto Knight's video listed above on for this)

- As I had applied grease I needed a way to ensure the grease would not pick up any dirt as I was sliding it in. To do this I made a rudimentary paper cone (shown below) from a letter, and secured it with tape. I then cut the bottom of the cone so that the plugs easily passed through.

 

- I positioned the paper cone into the recess of plug 1 (shown below) and then slid the greased glow plug in via the cone. This way, if the plug touches anything it touches clean paper and the grease doesn't pick up any dirt.

 

 

- I repeated the above step for plugs 2 and 4, making sure I wiped any grease out of the cone between each plug going in.

- Once all 3 plugs were in, I removed the cone and used the socket and vertical bar to initially gently hand screw the plugs in to ensure the threads were biting properly, and then used my Torque Wrench to tighten the plugs to 17 Nm.

- I then replaced the electrical connectors, making sure they were pushed down firmly and the "click" was felt signalling the connectors latching to the plugs.

- I reconnected the rectangular clips holding the wires, and replaced and sealed the engine cover.

- With ignition OFF, I Plugged in ODB2 reader.

- Turned on ignition (but not starting car), and read faults.

- Cleared Fault "P0671 - Cylinder 1 glow plug circuit/open. "

- Turned off ignition and removed OBD reader.

 

Took the car for a good run and all fine, warning light has gone and not reappeared.

 

Hope the above helps.