Advice and/or comments welcome...

[bgbazz]

After almost a week of very cold weather...mornings down around minus 10, or lower and the days never getting above 0 degrees, I've learned that my TDI is like me and hates cold starts...but only the first one of the day!

The glow plug light comes on as normal...stays lit for about 3 or 4 seconds and goes out...I turn the key and crank it over straight away, but it's taking 5 or 6 seconds to catch...a small cloud of fuel smelling smokey crap which lasts for a second or two, is very evident. The motor runs smooth and evenly from then on...subsequent starts are always normal and quick. This niggly situation doesn't occur when the outside temp is above 5 degrees, even when she's been parked up for a couple of days.

I'm wondering if it's possible to increase the time the glowplugs do their job, as 3 or 4 seconds seems a bit short.
The reason I'm even asking this, is because the big old 6cyl lump I had in my Nissan Patrol was the same in very cold weather...the main man in the workshop I use was able to adjust the length of time for the glow cycle and the problem completely vanished...many mornings where the temp was below 25 and she would fire up after a 1 second crank!! I don't really want to go crawling to this guy before I have explored everything...

As the heading says....

[LR5V]

switch the ignition on and off to give the glow plugs an extra heat cycle
- but this may not work as iirc the glow plugs are controlled by their resistance, hotter they get the lower the resistasnce

Personally with the conditions you describe, as long as it always starts I would be happy with a the long crank.

All my VAG cars have been petrol, but I used to have a diesel Mercedes that would take ages to start from cold, kept thinking it was burnt out blow plugs, but it was air getting into the fuel -there was a see through sectoin of pipe that you could see huge bubbles of air within the diesel on cold starts, on hot starts the air wasntnt their and it would always start hot. Never really got the bottom of it. the spill pipes seemed to be a constant problem.

[itavaltalainen]

Pre-glow twice, that should reduce cranking time significantly, also check the glow plugs. You might have one or two that are faulty (high reistance).

[bgbazz]

Thanks guys, I was sort of leaning towards the glow cycle...I'll try the double dip method this morning and see if it helps. It's going in for service later this week so can have it all checked out anyway.

Cheers

[bgbazz]

Further to the above...the double cycle worked and it only cranked for about 3.5 seconds before it started...no smelly smokey stuff either!


Will still have the glowplugs checked anyway...just to be sure. We are forecast for minus 20 or worse in the coming week.


Thanks again.   

[Nino]

For good measure i would get the glowplugs changed. I recently changed the glowplugs on my misses Mk5 TDI and two came out in a terrible state. When i was scanning her car i was getting an error for two of the glow plugs. I also put a new battery in as i noticed the battery fitted to her car was 380amps when a deisel requires more amp to crank especially when cold. Went to a local motor factor and was told her batt should be 780amp. Car now starts under 1 second everytime

[bgbazz]

Good advice mate...thanks. 

She is going in on Friday for a service and all will be checked out then...in the meantime all seems to be good.

Cheers