Hi guys
Got a 53 plate 1.9 tdi that when left for more than 12 hours wont start. turns over OK and fires only after a few mins of cranking. normally anything over night, never during the day i.e 8 hours at work just over night say, 5pm to 8am.

all suggestions welcome

thanks

it sounds like a problem with the glow plugs or the power supply to them,is your glow plug light operational?

The way I check glow plugs on diesels is thus:-
First off get a test light or multi meter, attach it to the glow plug wiring and earth, switch on the ignition and check if you are getting a feed to the plugs.
if your not getting any voltage it could be a fuse or relay
if you have got power it could be the plugs themselves

[quote name='mintalkin' post='5470' date='Sep 30 2008, 08:58 AM']it sounds like a problem with the glow plugs or the power supply to them,is your glow plug light operational?

The way I check glow plugs on diesels is thus:-
First off get a test light or multi meter, attach it to the glow plug wiring and earth, switch on the ignition and check if you are getting a feed to the plugs.
if your not getting any voltage it could be a fuse or relay
if you have got power it could be the plugs themselves[/quote]

not sure how the plugs on a ford are connected but disconnect ANY wiring or any 'busbar' connecting all plugs to the battery, the easiest way to test them is, get a length of heavy duty wiring and connect one end to the battery live terminal and flick the other end across the top of one glowplug, if u get a spark THAT plug is giving you a complete circuit so is ok, do this with the other plugs, if you get one that doesnt spark then that plug is a duffer. Also check the fuse associated with the glowplugs as that can sometimes blow due to a bad earth somewhere.