What does Coil light staying on mean

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
View Threaded
Thu 20 Nov 2003 12:10
What does Coil light staying on mean - Garyw
I have Ford Galaxy 1.9TDI (S reg) and the Coil light is staying on. At the same time this happened a rear light bulb failed. What action should I take? Is it safe to drive the car?

If its a garage repair can you recommend a good local diesel specialist in the North West London / Watford area. Ford want £100 just to diagnose the problem.

Regards ... Gary
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 20 Nov 2003 12:31
What does Coil light staying on mean - Ivor E Tower
Firstly, visit www.fordgalaxy.org.uk and join us!
Secondly - check the operation of your brakelight switches, and change the duff bulb. The illumination of the "glow-plug" coil on the dashboard is a known quirk that is NOT expensive to fix; you should be able to do it yourself.
Good luck!
Ivor.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 20 Nov 2003 14:07
What does Coil light staying on mean - bertj
Replace the bulb; if the glow plug warning light (it's not a Coil light) goes out, then OK. If the light stays on it almost certainly means a brake light switch failure. Are your brake lights working? The brake light switch is quite easy to replace and fairly cheap. A Ford and/or VW dealer (yours is the same vehicle as a VW Sharan) should have the diagnostic equipment to check things. Apart from the obvious danger of driving without brake lights there is a safety link to the engine management system. Briefly, the brake light switch sends a signal to the engine ECU, to prevent the engine reving if the brakes are on. Check ASAP, if not sooner!
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 25 Nov 2003 00:21
What does Coil light staying on mean - mark999
Not sure about the Galaxy, but on some diesels an illuminated glow plug light means water in the fuel filter.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 25 Nov 2003 21:33
What does Coil light staying on mean - Leon on Derv
I'll second that - Leoness's TDI Golf had the Glow plug light on static, on running diagnostics it showed as damage to the fuel quantifier (somewhere in the fuel pump). Service manager (sound and honest bloke) told me common cause was water or contaminants in diesel. He cleared down the fault memory and problem has not re-occurred. Still buying fuel from same supplier.

Leon
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?