carbcoma wrote:
Hi I noticed i have p1261, I think I have ceramic glow plugs. I also noticed i have a pinging noise coming from the engine. Does this sound like a broken glow plug? what is my best course of action?
First; you need to pull and inspect the glow plugs to see if any tips that may have broken off; suspect is no. 1 with the p1261 DTC.
This is a good write up by Squeeto on how to test and / or R&R the glow plugs: > viewtopic.php?f=98&t=70159
Luckily for you no. 1 is the easiest to R&R, but if it has the OEM ceramics, they all need to be changed out to prevent future failure and possible catastrophic internal engine damage which may have already incurred on cylinder no. 1 if it has broken off and been ingested by the engine.
The ceramic tips on the glow plugs are made out of some super hard material:
Hardness of alumina ceramics is nearly three times that of stainless steel; silicon carbide is more than four times harder than stainless steel.
If a piece of the ceramic happens to fall into the combustion chamber, it can damage the valves, the injector, the cylinder head, the top of the piston, or cause one of the rocker arms to break, or all of the above!
