Renault Trafic 2003 Glow Plug Light

[Luckyphil]

Hi Guys & Gals

Here for my yearly visit for a heads up
On a small problem on the old Bus

I’ve not used the Van for maybe 3 weeks , did a quick pre mot check over , it had a sidelight Bulb out , nipped off to get a new Lamp for it , on the way back the Glow plug Light came on & stayed on , it’s been the same today after a 4 mile drive , oddly enough the Van passed with this light on - is that ok ?

I’ve booked the Van it to get it sorted but the earliest I can get it sorted is 21/1

Is it ok tho drive it as is ?
Is it a sign the Glow plugs are buggered
Could it be something else ?

It starts fine even on these cold mornings , though must admit it takes a bit longer to fire up maybe about 4 or 5 spins , it used to be 1st turn

The Van has done 150,000 on a 53 Plate , pretty please it passed with a few advisories

Cheers Guys
Thanks

 

[carmanmemoranda]

Not necessarily a glow plug fault, needs codes reading

 

[Luckyphil]

Not necessarily a glow plug fault, needs codes reading

Thanks , I’ll wait on the Garage check up

Cheers

 

[Luckyphil]

Quick update , Van was in the Garage yesterday , they tried 3 readers inc Snap On & Bosch to try get the codes , machines wouldn’t hook up with the Van !

So it’s booked in again and the Plan is to replace the Heater Plugs , my rationale is it’s recently started to be arkward on starting , always started 1st turn until about a Month ago , I’ve had the Fan since 2008 bought it with 45,000 on the Clock , it’s now got 150,000 on the Clock , we’ll see what happens on the 3rd Feb

is it a relatively easy job to replace the Glow plugs ???

Cheers

Phil

 

[Burnerman]

It shouldn't be too difficult to get them out, depending on how tight they are.
Easy enough to test them individually......pop off the electrical connection on the top, on with the multimeter to look for a reading of one ohm, maybe two.
John

 

[carmanmemoranda]

Quick update , Van was in the Garage yesterday , they tried 3 readers inc Snap On & Bosch to try get the codes , machines wouldn’t hook up with the Van !

So it’s booked in again and the Plan is to replace the Heater Plugs , my rationale is it’s recently started to be arkward on starting , always started 1st turn until about a Month ago , I’ve had the Fan since 2008 bought it with 45,000 on the Clock , it’s now got 150,000 on the Clock , we’ll see what happens on the 3rd Feb

is it a relatively easy job to replace the Glow plugs ???

Cheers

Phil

Certainly a good idea to replace them after that mileage.

The test Burnerman suggests is a good test, but it is not fail proof.

I cant reccall how easy or bad they are on this van engine though

 

[Luckyphil]

Hi Guys

Quick update , the Garage managed to get them out & replace all 4 , it’s not cold out but it fires up again like it used to BUT they couldn’t get their readers to hook up with the Van , so the Glow plug light is still on

I had problems about 2 or 3 years ago whem
I had a problem with the Key itself & I needed a new one , the Guy trying to hook it up, had to use a really old reader to hook up for the data , are the Readers for Keys the same as for Engine work etc , if they are I’ll try catch up with him ….. OR

is there anybody around the Manchester area you know of could hook up their Reader to switch off the Light ???

I’ve got a piece of black duct tape on it for now

Tia

Phil

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

so the Glow plug light is still on

Can you locate the glow plug relay? If you can, does unplugging it, put the light out?

Some of the relays, include a timer circuit, I'm thinking that perhaps the timer circuit has failed, locking the glow plugs on.

 

[carmanmemoranda]

Hi Guys

Quick update , the Garage managed to get them out & replace all 4 , it’s not cold out but it fires up again like it used to BUT they couldn’t get their readers to hook up with the Van , so the Glow plug light is still on

I had problems about 2 or 3 years ago whem
I had a problem with the Key itself & I needed a new one , the Guy trying to hook it up, had to use a really old reader to hook up for the data , are the Readers for Keys the same as for Engine work etc , if they are I’ll try catch up with him ….. OR

is there anybody around the Manchester area you know of could hook up their Reader to switch off the Light ???

I’ve got a piece of black duct tape on it for now

Tia

Phil

Sounds like it needs a different scanner.

I have access to 4 different (professional ones) and it's often a lottery as to which 1 works best on any vehicle

 

[Luckyphil]

Can you locate the glow plug relay? If you can, does unplugging it, put the light out?

Some of the relays, include a timer circuit, I'm thinking that perhaps the timer circuit has failed, locking the glow plugs on.

Hi Harry , thanks for the reply , I wouldn’t know where to look , I’ll check with the Garage later

Thanks

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Hi Harry , thanks for the reply , I wouldn’t know where to look , I’ll check with the Garage later

Thanks

Look in the handbook, they usually list fuses and relays in there.

If the light goes out, chances are the relay is faulty..

 

[Belle427]

You could try a battery disconnect for an hour see if it resets it, i cant really remember if it does.

 

[Luckyphil]

You could try a battery disconnect for an hour see if it resets it, i cant really remember if it does.

Tried that today ….. same as when repowered up , there was a Mobile Mechanic working next door and he had a Reader which he tried , initially it worked and he managed to hook up , and it read no codes , but he couldn’t get in any further to delete the GP lamp

So I’ve been given a Number of a Guy about 30 minutes away that only deals / services / repairs Trafics , so he’s my next point of call

Thanks for your input .

 

[Belle427]

Good luck, strange how multiple code readers are not able to work for you. Im guessing it initially connects to the car, if it didnt id be looking for the correct voltage on the dtc connector.

 

[robinbanks]

locking the glow plugs on.

A multimeter on the plugs' bus bar while the engine is running can be used to confirm this. It could be that the plugs are off.

If the plugs are remaining powered up, don't expect them to last long

If there doesn't come any other solution, a workaround could be to put a switch in the cab, in series with the wire that energises the plug relay, so the plug relay can be manually deactivated after the engine has started

I used to have a Pajero with a manual button for activating the plugs because the computer was knackered. Got used to the process fairly quickly..