Glow Little Glow Plug, Glitter, Glitter...

e010584 · **Posted:** Mon Feb 01, 2010 9:49 pm

After having bought one of the only CRD's available in our area some time back, I ended up quickly finding out that I got snookered. The less than reputable seller was selling the vehicle for a friend and seemed to leave the vehicle running a lot when we looked at it. Unbeknownst to me at the time, the seller was apparently clearing a glow plug DTC and we found out too late. Given the price on the vehicle, we couldn't complain too much and I figured a glow plug is a pretty easy fix. After struggling a bit finding one, I finally ordered one through Rock Auto and started the install. Fortunately it was one of the easier glow plugs to access (#1) so, after removing the alternator I got my first visual only to find the connector hanging in the breeze. After an initial jubilant though that all that may be wrong is a loose connector, I was confronted with the harsh reality that the glow plug had been broken off. As if this wasn't enough, I also found that someone broke off an extractor in an attempt to remove it! After practicing my best attempt at impersonating a dentist, I managed to remove the extractor and glow plug while experiencing all of the pain a dentist might inflict on a patient for such an operation.

With my biggest problems behind me (I thought), I ended up shortly thereafter getting a DTC on the #2 glow plug. I ordered another glow plug and by the time I went to replace it, I found a portion of the #2 glow plug had broken off in the cylinder some time prior to removal. With no noticeable loss in performance and a fair amount of time having transpired since the initial indication, I figured any damage was already done and the ceramic fragments were spit out. I went ahead and installed the new glow plug, which gave to no indication of problems for a couple days and then flashed the same DTC. I removed the glow plug and replaced it with the previously dead unit as a plug until I could figure what caused the problem. A visual inspection of the glow plug showed cracking of the tip without much fragmentation or loss of material. Although hard to tell, the damage looked more like it occurred from over amping rather than from any impact with fragments (FOD) or the like.

So here's my question? Would running with one bad glow plug cause the failure of other glow plugs? Short of removing the head is there any good way to inspect the cylinder for damage (compression check, adapters, boroscope)? Is the glow plug tip in close proximity to other mechanical parts (valves etc.) that could cause the damage? Would a bad voltage relay/regulator only cause problems on one glow plug?

Not that glow plugs are particularly critical in the desert southwest, but the lack of one in our high country (possibly combined with other problems -e.g. CAC hose leak) make for some more difficult starts after cold soaking over night. The heater blanket seems to remedy the start problem though.

Any help on the topic is greatly appreciated.

linewarbr · **Posted:** Mon Feb 01, 2010 10:04 pm

Another member, ATXKJ, was having a similar issue. I think he replaced 12 glow plugs in a short period of time.

The issue is the glow plug harness - or rather, what the ECU is telling the glow plug harness to do. The harness says "Bosch 4 zyl." on it, (yes that is how it is spelled) and it is located behind the battery and in front of the brake booster. Chrysler issued a TSB on it some time ago and the recalibration of the glowplugs was caught up in all the F37 stuff. You may therefore have a silver lining to this cloud - if the flash for glow plug recalibration was not performed, then there is a really good chance F37 was not performed on your CRD either.

Let me do some looking around in the forum and see if I can come up with the TSB for the glow plug recalibration.

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Tue Feb 02, 2010 8:01 am

Glow plugs have been addressed in several TSB's before and after F37 so don't get your hopes up about being non f37. As I recall from GDE the lateset engine flash addresses glow plugs.

linewarbr · **Posted:** Tue Feb 02, 2010 10:07 am

Hmmm, I forgot about GDE having the new glow plug flash built into their tune. That may be the best way to go, OP.

ATXKJ · **Posted:** Tue Feb 02, 2010 10:30 am

There is a glow plug module - it's cheap ~$30 and should be a suspect if you've had more than one gp die.

I ran for a year with glow plugs dying regularly, ran rough at startup, even in warm weather -
but was never hard to start - you might want to have the battery stress tested

Mine turned out to be the head - however prior to changing that - Chrysler changed all of the wiring and all glow plugs
on the assumption that it was a voltage spike
I don't know if they really had a logic to that - other than wiring was cheaper than pulling the head.

Regular boroscopes are too large - the gp hole is ~6mm (someone found one that should fit but it was ~$4500)

The test that decided mine was pressurizing the radiator overnight - the pressure leaked down and there was antifreeze on the glow plug.

When you say you found a broken extractor - how large? and how long did it run? - there's not much clearance in the head

BBB · **Posted:** Wed Feb 03, 2010 9:14 am

I currently have a code showing for the #3 glow plug. I have to make the time :roll:

and I'll check the connectors and resistance to make sure it is indeed the #3 location in the block as others have reported having the wiring harnesses reversed from the factory. Not looking forward to replacing it but it has been starting normally for at least a few months now without any other glow plug failures. I could be running on borrowed time if it fragments :shock:

Glow Little Glow Plug, Glitter, Glitter...

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