Audi A4 seems a bit dead!

Just a yank tank/steaming turd with wheels.

That's not yours, no back seat stuffed with haggises scream at the top of their lungs for someone to call the RSPCPPGWFH

I dont think they wear out. They are in any case only there for very cold starts

If my diesel engine is cold then the glow plugs get energised when you open the drivers door for a few seconds. It's why even in cold weather you unlock it, get in, foot on brake and hit the button and turns over immediately once and starts. On a few very cold mornings or when it's cold but I've not tried to start within seconds of opening the door, a message saying pre-heating or such comes on the LCD and there's a delay of a few seconds before the engine cranks.

My old HiLux had a glowplugs active light when you turned on the ignition. Wait till it went out and then it would turn and start. Always started even when it was -13C with a few cranks. It was slow to turn but with two 12V batteries in parallel it was going to start.

That's not actually true for modern, direct injection diesels.

While they do still use them for starting on cold days, they also turn them on while running for quieter running and for emmissions reduction. From experience, they can have an effect on running on cold days too.

I used to have a Focus TDCI and had two glow plugs fail. It was winter and they made it a little harder to start. I ordered replacements, but they arrived the day before we were travelling to Ireland for Christmas and so I decided to fit them while we were there, as I was too busy getting prepared to go.

We travelled with five of us in the car and towing a trailer. A number of times, the car was pulling poorly, while driving up hills. Once the glow-plugs were changed, the problem went away completely.

The alternator voltage reads 13.8V at its terminal. Engine revs do not seem to vary this by much, At the battery it reads 13.3V.

The battery was on charge for 8 hours yesterday whilst disconnected from the car. The terminal voltage under charge is 12.2V. It was then disconnected all night and now reads 11.7V.

It's now out of the car and back on charge. Currently taking between 7A and 8A.

Am 11.02.2023 um 11:30 schrieb Grumps:

Both too low. IMHO.

Battery is knackered, get a new one.

I can find no refence that says that that is otherwise

I can find no reference that confirms that

I drove a diesel lorry with one car on tow and one on the trailer. It was pulling poorly, while driving up hills. To the point where a tank on a trailer overtook us. I put in a fresh tank of diesel, and the problem disappeared.

The guy paying for the trip had filled it up at a 'cut price diesel station' that he knew of...

Sorry, but I think you are talking out of your arse.

Is there any way that the headlights could have been left switched on?

That was my first thought. But the switch was set to OFF. Normally it is on AUTO but it had just had an MoT/Service.

Ah, that's what 40 10 means. Thanks. That makes it the original battery. Time for a new one.

Then you are not looking well enough. I found all this out at the time and such information *is* available on the internet. You can find information on glow-plug manufacturers web sites, car maintenance forums, etc.

See above.

It clearly happened. I was still running on the same fuel for some days after the plug change. It remained cold (or even colder) ... it started snowing while I was changing the plugs! The problem never recurred.

Remember my car starting OK and going shopping. In daylight. Battery dead in the carpark, about an hour later. New one sorted things.

If failing through use is wear, then they certainly wear out.

In practice the tips can burn out, and some of the fancier ones with non-linear heating characteristics can fail in all sorts of ways.

Look harder. They deteriorate, and they will run when the engine is cold to reduce emissions.

So probably wasn't diesel. Even supermarket fuel comes from reputable sources.

The man who says glow plugs don't wear out is talking out of their arse.

I think it should be stressed that the average life of an average OEM cooking battery is 3-5 years, and really, like timing belts, regular replacement is good preventative maintenance.

Otherwise it WILL let you down one frosty morning.

The information I found CLEARLY states that whilst gloplugs are enabled for up to 6 minutes after a cold start to reduce emissions and get better power, THAT IS ALL THE TIME they are on. After that, they *are not on*. No fully warmed up diesel engine requires or uses glo plugs thereafter.

Ergo whatever you think happened, was not what actually happened.

hahhahahhhahahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

So I read that when fitting a new battery, "most vehicles require registration to your vehicle's onboard computer." This is on Halfords' web site, and also mentioned in my Audi manual. Is this 100% necessary?