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Vauxhall Astra H - astra cdti fuel problem - frogmarch

Hi I have posted before about my astra 1.9 cdti120 but is still using a lot of diesel , I have cleaned egr but not tried replacing glowplugs yet , I put tenners worh of diesel in and trip on speedo said I had done 52 miles and the computer said I was getting average of 36.9 mpg , it was mostly town driving and one or two trips of 20 mile round trips , do not know what else to try .only codes coming up is p0380 glowplug error , any help would be appreciated thanks

Vauxhall Astra H - astra cdti fuel problem - hardway

Glow plugs pretty much ONLY used for starting from cold,

nothing to do with MPG.

Get it scanned for fault codes,

then if nothing get the injectors tested.

Vauxhall Astra H - astra cdti fuel problem - skidpan

37 mpg from a diesel used mostly in town is probably not that bad. Diesels are not at thier best in stop/start driving, more suited to motorway cruising. Our Mondeo TDCi 130 struggled to beat 35 mpg in those conditions and the C-Max TDCi that followed never beat 40 mpg in town. Once on the open road both would do the mpg figures you would expect.

Try a dcent run and then report back.

Vauxhall Astra H - astra cdti fuel problem - frogmarch

Hi thanks for replies have had it scanned and no fault codes apart from p0380 glowplug error but going to test them soon but looks a pig to get to , as it take a bit to start when cold and also when hot it won't start as it should .

Vauxhall Astra H - astra cdti fuel problem - elekie&a/c doctor

As I suggested in a previous post,there is no need to access the glow plugs directly to test them.

Vauxhall Astra H - astra cdti fuel problem - hardway

Might look "A pig" but book time for swaping all of them is around an hours labour.

Get a garage to quote you.

Vauxhall Astra H - astra cdti fuel problem - elekie&a/c doctor

Agreed,Probably is around an hour on a 16valve engine.8 valve engine looks a lot more involved.

Vauxhall Astra H - astra cdti fuel problem - frogmarch

Hi defence to testing glowplugs someone said you do not have to access glowplugs to test them how do you test them without getting to them,

Vauxhall Astra H - astra cdti fuel problem - hardway

Simple if you have the right tools,

in this case that would be an inductive Ampere clamp and a multimeter and measure the current draw.

But without those tools it's as easy to remove them and connect each across a battery and if working you can see why they're so named.

Bad plugs usually have a damp black tip,

good ones don't as they burn off any residue when hot.

Vauxhall Astra H - astra cdti fuel problem - Peter.N.

The cold weather is having a marked effect on the fuel consumption of both my 406Hdi, presently it is in the mid 40s in the summer its up around 60 mpg.

Vauxhall Astra H - astra cdti fuel problem - hardway

If I were you I'd be checking the thermostat operation and the coolant temperature sensor.

Vauxhall Astra H - astra cdti fuel problem - frogmarch

Hi thanks for replies I have been on a run of about 17 - 20 miles and reset computer and when I got back it read 46.9 mpg ,when I first got car it said over 50 mpg . I am going to have a look in a couple of weeks and look at glowplugs , also when engine is warm it takes a bit to start could coolant temp sensor be a problem.

Vauxhall Astra H - astra cdti fuel problem - frogmarch

Hi with reference to my thread about my fuel problem , I have cleaned egr and throttle body ,they was not that dirty but cleaned them till they shone , runs a bit better but juddering at 1500 revs is still there a bit , there is no codes only po 380 for glowplug error am going to change plugs in near future what else could it be thanks