Fuel for Thought

Glow Plug Issue

The culprits were somewhere between the six glow plugs and the glow plug module. I ended up changing all the parts, and now the van starts smoothly and runs without setting off the check engine or glow plug light.  It started early in the summer when I finally had a continuous check engine light and an occassional glow plug light. Hoekstra’s in Grand Rapids, Michigan scanned the vehicle and showed a bad number five glow plug. The weather was warm enough to not need the glow plugs, so I waited until the fall when I could double up the job with other vehicle servicing. A week ago Friday I returned to Grand Rapids for a transmission service and the glow plug job. The timing was good, because the last couple cold starts were rough. The rescan showed a faulty number five glow plug and glow plug module, so I had them replaced. Quick job. As I was leaving, the check engine light returned. The shop reset the light, and it didn’t return for the rest of the day after I left. My next cold start was smooth, but the check engine light relit. The shop was closed for the weekend, so I ran the week and returned to the shop on Friday. After the first smooth cold start, all cold starts were rough. The shop’s scan showed a bad module and five bad glow plugs. They replaced the week old module under warrantly and we guessed that the five glow plugs were a fluke, because it seemed unlikely that all five would go bad in one week. The van threw no codes and ran good the rest of the day. First cold start Saturday morning was rough and lit the check engine light, gave a short glow plug light that went out after a couple minutes. I stayed out of service and started my Monday at the shop. The scan showed five bad glow plugs, so they changed them all. This morning was my first cold start since this summer without a check engine light. I’ll wait another week before declaring total victory.

eb