my 1994 caravelle took offence during the very cold weather and refused to start without being jump started, and even then she took ages to go, since the warmer (ha) weather has come back she still starts, sometimes first time, whereas yesterday i had to jump start it. today was the same, first time turned over but didn't "catch", then as i try to start again it's draining the battery.
there is only one click when i allow the glow plugs to heat up, if it doesnt start first time, i don't get another click from the heater plugs, and it instantly drains the battery when i have to keep turning the engine over, does this mean my plugs or the relay is at fault, don't fancy the job of putting new plugs in but if needs be.
or could it be the battery?
none of which have been replaced in the time ive had it,and the plugs are possibly original knowing the previous owner. the van is now around 125,000 miles so it's still got lots of life in it yet and i'd like to be able to rely on it! once it's started it'll not do it until the next day. my husbands diesel did this and it was plugs hoping it's the same....??
any help would be much appreciated.
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How old is the battery? Battery capacity is very important for starting diesels in cold weather. Modern batteries are capable of starting in nornmal weather conditions with very little of their capacity left but given extreme conditions will not have the power to turn the engine fast or long enough. If its over three years old its suspect, over five I would say definitly needs replacing.
If the glow plugs need replacing it will generally not start on all cylinders and will missfire and smoke for the first minute or so, if it starts running evenly and on all cylinders they are probably OK.
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the van doesnt misfire or smoke, it runs well, just getting started can be a drag! it's a Varta battery which is a modern make, ive ordered everything to do a service on the van and the glow plugs, just need advice on the best way to fit the pligs as it's not an easy engine to do anything with!
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See this thread, right to the bottom. It's all to do with massively reduced battery CCA capacity with ageing batteries in cold weather. That's probably why it starts with a jump.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=4&t=82...8
..........ebt
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thank you. i'm going to try the plugs first, got some advice on fitting from the VW boys suggesting i remove the top bolts of the radiator to move it out of the way. if still poor i'll change the battery. the battery got charged (or rather didn't need it-went straight to equalise/float, but charged it anyway) before trying another day didnt make any difference.
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Why don't you test the glow plugs before replacing them?
If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
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Yes, very easy to do. Connect a wire (better with an eye fitting clamped around it so you can use the small tightening bolt) to the top of a plug and connect it across the battery. (Polarisation isn't an issue).
Within 2-3 seconds it will start to glow red, after about 5 seconds, the whole bottom half should be red hot.
Please be careful some time after this as it'll burn you are anything you let it touch !!!!
Why don't you test the glow plugs before replacing them?
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I'm not sure, but I believe that just because a battery can get to full charge and go into float/maintemance mode, that it proves that the CCA capability isn't seriously degraded due to age or low temps.
Maybe there's an auto-sparky out there that can comment ?
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If the battery is low on capacity it will indicate a full charge very rapidly, maybe a few hours rather than twenty four, this is because what is left of the active material gives it a much lower capacity, in fact if you multiply the hours on charge by the charging rate (amps) until the charge rate drops to very little, this will give you roughly the amper-hour capacity of it.
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thanks for all your advice. think a new battery is the first thing i need to change. thanks for the tip on testing the plugs... that's what i like about this site, straight answers! cheers everyone, will keep you posted!
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No need to remove the plugs to test them.
Disconnect the connection at each plug and measure it's resistance to the head/block/ground terminal on the battery.
Anything more than zero or a few ohms and the plug needs replacing.
Removing plugs can be a fraught experience. I've cried tears of frustration at watching a spiral of aluminium come out with a glow plug being very carefully removed!
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If you have a decent meter and can make good contacts they should read just under one ohm, much more than that and they will have a reduced output, they should all read pretty well the same if good.
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put a new battery in on thursday went first time on friday. however today with it being really cold here again, it turned but didnt go first time, then starter made a noise like it'd jammed briefly then the van started fine!?!
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wondering if the starter could be on the way out too, every so often the stater sounds like it's jamming, the bushes may be on their last legs?
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