to be fair to the garage, they've done the right thing

rather than throwing parts at it in trial and error, they've thrown their hands up and said its beyond them.

diagnostics goes way beyond code readers, not to mention fault codes.

to be fair to the garage, they've done the right thing

rather than throwing parts at it in trial and error, they've thrown their hands up and said its beyond them.

diagnostics goes way beyond code readers, not to mention fault codes.

Fair point. I've known dealers to throw parts willy nilly at cars in the hope ''one of them will fix it''.

You would have thought they'd at least have read the codes for her though.... and if they couldn't then I'd have thought they'd think twice before accepting diagnostic work.

Just my opinion though. :)

maybe thought they could, but then found their machine doesnt communicate with this particular car..

seen this happen many times

im in the trade, like you, i get astounded how many garages get involved with diagnostics when they have limited knowledge, its a very specialised field...so to hear a garage admit defeat rather than bill you for ££££s in guess work, think deserves credit.

favourite part of the job, invested thousands to help me with it, but i too am still learning and know my limitations...nothing has beaten me yet, but it will happen one day. especially if i dont carry on investing in the right equipment..something people should bear in mind when they question the cost of plugging in.

Diagnostics successful!! :D It's the "Glow Plug Module".

They are ordering the part tomorrow and having it fitted Friday morning.

£130 + VAT

Diagnostics successful!! :D It's the "Glow Plug Module".

They are ordering the part tomorrow and having it fitted Friday morning.

£130 + VAT

Exellent! :D :D :D

Diagnostics successful!! :D It's the "Glow Plug Module".

They are ordering the part tomorrow and having it fitted Friday morning.

£130 + VAT

Nice result. As I said before my knowledge (to now) is not great on Fords. However, on Vauxhall's diesels I've worked on it's just a relay that takes a few minutes to replace. :)

maybe thought they could, but then found their machine doesnt communicate with this particular car..

seen this happen many times

im in the trade, like you, i get astounded how many garages get involved with diagnostics when they have limited knowledge, its a very specialised field...so to hear a garage admit defeat rather than bill you for ££££s in guess work, think deserves credit.

favourite part of the job, invested thousands to help me with it, but i too am still learning and know my limitations...nothing has beaten me yet, but it will happen one day. especially if i dont carry on investing in the right equipment..something people should bear in mind when they question the cost of plugging in.

I'm in college still learning but I think there's lots that the DIYer can do now also, especially with the net and youtube and stuff. If I wasn't looking to go in to the industry I'd defo get a code reader for home.

One thing you say (about spending money on the tools)... I didn't realise until I got in to a conversation with my teacher that even big garages/dealers would expect you to provide your own tools. I can understand independent garages doing that but big dealers too. Lucky I've built up a bit of kit over the last few years but still thought that was strange. Interesting! :)

It took them a while, but were confident once they had found what it was - relief! :)

Thats good news they have found the problem , and hope you don't have any more problems .

Now thats sorted you will have to start our endless list of modifications to your car :)

Told ya it was likely something to do with glow plugs,(is there a difference between a glow plug relay and a module?) ;)

Would love to do some mods Preee, just need to save a little money first! Would like to change the bumpers and and headlights.

So glad you asked Stoney..... you know I am hitting Google right now! Hahahaha

Here you go :P

A normal glow plug relay only controls the function of the glow plugs. A glow plug control module is a requirement for emissions regulations. It communicates with the power train control module (PCM) in addition to its normal duty of controlling the glow plugs. The glow plug control module senses faults in the glow plug system or individual glow plugs, and sends the data to the PCM, where it can be read with diagnostic tools.

Here you go :P

A normal glow plug relay only controls the function of the glow plugs. A glow plug control module is a requirement for emissions regulations. It communicates with the power train control module (PCM) in addition to its normal duty of controlling the glow plugs. The glow plug control module senses faults in the glow plug system or individual glow plugs, and sends the data to the PCM, where it can be read with diagnostic tools.

Clever stuff - so if one glow plug fails the PCM knows which one, but it may send the car into limp home mode

On my "antique" all the glow plugs are wired together in series, if one blows the ECU/ OBD scanner does not know which one,

but - the engine will start (a bit lumpy/ smokey at 1st) then run good once it warms up - and it does not go into limp home mode, the relay for the glow plugs is probably cheap too - progress....

Mine is extremely smokey at the moment, and has been in limp home mode since last Friday........ Can't wait to get it in the garage - certainly does not feel like a sport at the moment!

A sport isn't a sport on a focus diesel lol, glad its getting sorted, might be wise to prepare yourself for a change of glowplugs too once the new part goes on, but fingers crossed they will be ok for a while to let your purse fill up again haha. All these parts are common to go wrong on the focus, glowplugs, related relays, modules and the wiring loom related to the above. Keep us informed of how it goes.

Glad to hear you've made progress!

Done well to be driving in limp mode all this time :p

Hmmmm Mike77 - not sure now others drive their 'diesel Sport' but mine was very responsive ;) so are you saying that I am now in for a whole host of problems now that the glow plug module has gone? Really hope not, have had it less than a year and have been really happy with it up till now.

Had a 2.3 Saab 93 before this and although the focus was not as powerful it was much more responsive...

Loz Cheung - not happy driving in limp mode :( Worry about damaging, but have been told by two garages that as long as I keep it to between 1.5 snd 2,000 rev's that I should be ok. The main problem I could encounter is that the car just won't start.

Roll on Thursday night when I take it into the garage!

Hmmmm Mike77 - not sure now others drive their 'diesel Sport' but mine was very responsive ;)

Mines pretty responsive too, them again I do drive it hard.

Glow plugs are only there to help with cold starting. The piston compresses the air in the cylinder past the flashpoint of the diesel, the diesel's then injected and ignites. The glow plugs are a heater element that helps with the heating of the air.

If you have no glow plugs working the only issue I can see is it not starting.

If you can start it then I wouldn't be concerned about running it.

UNLESS (as I think another member mentioned) the glow plugs in your car do more than just help with cold start. This is a pure guess but if they help with burning unburned fuel (which I think was what was mentioned before) and they're not currently working that could be where your performance issues are coming from as the various sensors in your car may be receiving dodgy readings and inputting the wrong air/fuel mixture.

Can anyone confirm if my guess is right or wrong?

Either way I can't see any ''damage'' being done other than if it's in limp mode it may be a bit dangerous from a lack of acceleration point of view.

HTH

modern engines allow glow plugs to continue to heat for a short while after engine has started, talking in seconds rather than minutes...all to do with fuel economy whilst engine is cold

Its not just to do with helping the engine while its cold, they will operate whenever the cars brain senses they need too. Old skool diesels, they just had glow plugs for starting ONLY. But not nowadays. All to do with emissions.

And NO, I'm not saying your in for a massive surge of parts that need replacing lol, fingers crossed everything will be back to normal after new part is fitted. Only reason I mentioned it was, the machine that mine went on for diagnosis was an expensive piece if kit, but couldn't pinpoint the specific part of the glowplug system that was at fault. Just gave me a starting point, so I went for the cheapest first, and got lucky. So just hope your garage has got it right.

And mine is quite sporty too lol, more so after the remap. But in all honesty it was a bit of a waste of time for me, as with age, I'm driving a little more conservatively haha, though I have seen an improvement in MPG, at 36 years of age, I'm almost ashamed to admit that publicly haha.

mike.

not sure where you got this information re glow plugs, but at most, glow plugs will continue to heat for a maximum of 5 minutes at reduced voltage from cold start, for lower emmission purposes, after that, they would be no benefit of switching plugs on and off

It would be good to clarify exactly what their roles are. My understanding was they were literally just there for cold starts (but I don't mind being wrong... the other half tells me I am often enough :D )

I can certainly see the logic of them burning unburned fuel on the exhaust stroke and the performance issues that could follow if it didn't do that. I'll do some research.

mike.

not sure where you got this information re glow plugs, but at most, glow plugs will continue to heat for a maximum of 5 minutes at reduced voltage from cold start, for lower emmission purposes, after that, they would be no benefit of switching plugs on and off

It is my understanding that the glowplugs will operate anytime the brain senses it needs too. Your theory is basically saying that the car will only have reduced emissions for 5 mins max. Don't forget, on the 1.8 tdci they do not have the benefit (thankfully) of a DPF, to futher help with emissions. Hence the reason other things had to be done to qualify it for its euro 4 classification. I stand to be corrected on this, but from my research, this is how it works.