Hello

Every previous diesel I've owned had a key and you had to follow the old "ignition>>wait for glowplug light to go off>>start" routine. Which I haven't been doing cos I only got the car a week ago and drove a petrol for years prior, so I... um... forgot! 😄

The manual for my Mk3 Focus (2011) isn't particularly clear on this. I know I can switch the ignition on without starting the car by NOT pressing the clutch, but when I do that various lights come on as expected but I'm not seeing the glow plug "curly wire" light anywhere.

So... bit confused. Do you still have to wait for glow plugs on these things?

6 minutes ago, Darkman said:

So... bit confused. Do you still have to wait for glow plugs on these things?

Not in summer.

When temps are much lower, the engine won't turn over immediately as you press the button.  Keep the clutch down for a couple of seconds and it will start when it decides the plugs have been on long enough.

If you want you can press the button without the clutch down to switch the ignition on, then press again with the clutch down when the plug light goes out, but there's really no need.

Don’t know when you last had a diesel and if it was electronic or mechanical injection. I live on south coast. On my fiesta 2015 diesel the number of times the glowplug light stays on for more than a split second is probably less than 5 per year , that is in the coldest part of winter. They don’t seem to ‘need’ glowplugs these days to start. (I think they might still stay on longer after light gone out to help emissions /smooth running when engine cold).