V50 Engine D5 : D5204T5 D3 Glow plug woes.

[Bigchewie]

Afternoon all,

to start this thread a wee bit of my glow plug history, I got the car a little under a year ago, not long after was having some issues one of which was 2 failed glow plugs, these were replaced and all was well until in the Autumn, I was a fool and stuck a tank of Petrol in the car, and in one of the things that became apparent after apart from a melted DPF temp sensor was poor starting, it starts struggles to idle, and will die unless throttle is blipped, I found 4 failed plugs, so these so I changed in November with new bosch glow plugs SEE HERE

over the last week or so, I have noticed that the car was getting lumpier at startup (1st start of day) and over the last day or two showing the same symptoms, as before, so i got time today to pull the plugs, checked the resistance 4 are toast and to be honest the 5th prob ain't too clever.

This got me thinking about why this is happening, when I pulled out the glow plug my multimeter was dead so had to go borrow my old mans, we checked the fuse for both the glow plugs (70amp #6) and the 10 amp(#34) control module, fuse both fine, I later then pulled and checked glow plugs as mentioned.

Also I scanned for codes with my handheld wee code reader and no codes found
My next port of call is the relay, I didn't have time today to pull the bumper and get at it(according to Haynes LHS for 5cylinder diesel (mine is a 2010 car btw), so here are the questions i have...

- theoretically if the relay was open all the time could/would this cause the glow plugs to burn out? has this happened to anyone
- Anyone have a part number for the relay as if I am replacing plugs again and dropping bumper I may just be as well to stick one in (2010 V50 D3)
- Any other suggestions or causes for this to happen, I don't want to be replacing glow plugs every 3 months or so

Cheers

[cheshired5]

It's not uncommon for parts suppliers to think all D5 glow plugs are the same and supply incorrectly so where are you getting the glow plugs from and what is the part number you have fitted?

[m4verick]

Hi Chewie. Using a BSR PPC3 I previously had DTC codes that said "Glow Plug Relay", but after much research, turned out to be the plugs themselves. Each code was for the position of plug in the block (cylinder num).

I discovered that the plug relays rarely, if ever, go (from main Volvo & a trusted specialist) at £150ish from Volvo. Also, that plugs should always be tested by resistance not voltage (sounds like you did resistance each time). On the Bosch website, for the later plugs (which are a 2-stage design - something like 4v, then 12v) you WILL damage the plugs if you apply 12-14v (the old 'easy' method was to wire them up to a battery and watch the glow/cool down to determine if they're knackered).

Not much use to you unless someone did a voltage test, but hopefully will stop someone else blowing good plugs.

If so, I'd recheck the resistance. On my plugs, there wasn't as big an ohmage difference as people were describing on here, as were getting on the old single-voltage type plugs (I can't remember the readings I got). But I got a regular enough reading to determine that 3 were knackered.

Also - for those who haven't changed glow plugs before, always run the car till the engine's at full temp (things expand) this reduces the risk of plugs snapping and needing an expensive removal of the leftover part by an engineer!.....

Chesired5 - agreed. I forgot, When I originally did my research and bought a Bosch plug that SHOULD have fit my previous 2007 D5 185bhp, according to one supplier, but when I removed one. it turned out mine was the 2008 spec 2-stage type. If Chewie takes out the old one, the part no is usually readable on the old plug. SiRobb - thanks for all your YooToob vids & posts, VERY helpfull!!

[Bigchewie]

Guys Cheers for the feedback,

Originally Posted by cheshired5

It's not uncommon for parts suppliers to think all D5 glow plugs are the same and supply incorrectly so where are you getting the glow plugs from and what is the part number you have fitted?

the first set of glow plugs I got fitted I believe were sourced from Dingbro but not 100% on that, as they were sourced and fitted by local(ish) volvo Indy. second set were Bosch from ECP using there number plate details dela., I do remember checking the part numbers against each other when I got them. I shall need to investigate what what the correct ones are then.

Originally Posted by m4verick

Hi Chewie. Using a BSR PPC3 I previously had DTC codes that said "Glow Plug Relay", but after much research, turned out to be the plugs themselves. Each code was for the position of plug in the block (cylinder num).

I discovered that the plug relays rarely, if ever, go (from main Volvo & a trusted specialist) at £150ish from Volvo. Also, that plugs should always be tested by resistance not voltage (sounds like you did resistance each time). On the Bosch website, for the later plugs (which are a 2-stage design - something like 4v, then 12v) you WILL damage the plugs if you apply 12-14v (the old 'easy' method was to wire them up to a battery and watch the glow/cool down to determine if they're knackered).

Not much use to you unless someone did a voltage test, but hopefully will stop someone else blowing good plugs.

If so, I'd recheck the resistance. On my plugs, there wasn't as big an ohmage difference as people were describing on here, as were getting on the old single-voltage type plugs (I can't remember the readings I got). But I got a regular enough reading to determine that 3 were knackered.

Also - for those who haven't changed glow plugs before, always run the car till the engine's at full temp (things expand) this reduces the risk of plugs snapping and needing an expensive removal of the leftover part by an engineer!.....

Chesired5 - agreed. I forgot, When I originally did my research and bought a Bosch plug that SHOULD have fit my previous 2007 D5 185bhp, according to one supplier, but when I removed one. it turned out mine was the 2008 spec 2-stage type. If Chewie takes out the old one, the part no is usually readable on the old plug. SiRobb - thanks for all your YooToob vids & posts, VERY helpfull!!

A few points to address there, I did check them for resistance, not voltage, though I am sure when i first had them changed at an Volvo Indy, he did bench tench them and one did explode, I also watched SiRobbs video on the subject.

Most of the resistances were into the hundreds of Ohms and also tell tale they weren't working is they were caked in carbon, when I had my failed ones in October/Nov, the good one was 'clean'

I agree relays can generally be reliable, I a mate whos french car burnt down as a relay locked in one positon and overheated/caused a fire so I know it can happen. I appreciate the info re voltage as i want to try and the read the voltage as the plug should have 'switched off' after car is started I had read 30seconds after but unsure if this is correct. I am not sure it it would be possible to do by probing the glow plug lead with a mulitmeter with car running Also I am not getting an error code (admittedly basic code reader) so I am not convinced it is the relay.

I know this link is Mercedes but they talk about the relay as a failure point
https://mercedessource.com/problems/...w-plug-failure

2. Glow cycle too long. This could be due to an incorrect relay installed, a sticking relay, or a feedback circuit not turning the relay off soon enough. In the case of a manual conversion, it could be due to consistant unnecessary long pre-glow times. See Kent's manuals on glow plug system troubleshooting for your specific model to learn more.

3. Glow relay not turning off. This is not that common but it does happen. It is usually caused by a failure inside the relay. When this happens, you may also notice your battery is not able to charge properly due to the high current drain on your electrical system. To check for this condition, start the engine and after a minute of running test the glow plug circuit with a meter or 12 volt test light. If you have voltage showing up at the wiring connnections on the glow plugs it means your relay has NOT turned off and will need to be replaced.

[Bigchewie]

Originally Posted by cheshired5

It's not uncommon for parts suppliers to think all D5 glow plugs are the same and supply incorrectly so where are you getting the glow plugs from and what is the part number you have fitted?

So i was lazy there, I have a glow plug i removed from the car in the garage but checked my email for click and collect from ECP, i got the ECP part number Link Here and in the engine option there is no mention of D3 so I wonder if i was sold parts from a 4 cylinder. need to go get the bosch part number

[Bigchewie]

According the Bosch online catalogue (which is really good, and Febi has an good one too) THIS is the correct glow plug

as seen below

[cheshired5]

Originally Posted by Bigchewie

According the Bosch online catalogue....... is the correct glow plug

..... and is that what you've fitted?
Ignore the ECP part number as that isn't the Bosch number, it's more about what is printed on the plugs and packaging so 0250603008

[Bigchewie]

Originally Posted by cheshired5

..... and is that what you've fitted?
Ignore the ECP part number as that isn't the Bosch number, it's more about what is printed on the plugs and packaging so 0250603008

Yeah i know ECP part numbers are useless, does my head in when ordering parts, I need to pull a glow plug to check, hopefully get some time to do it tomorrow, if not Friday or Sat. the number does ring a bell though

[cheshired5]

You say your engine code is D5204T5 but Vida doesn't show that combination so can you verify it please?

[Bigchewie]

yes the engine code is correct

Also I found one of the glow plugs i removed in November, and it a different Bosch PArt number, 0 250 403 001

this was the glow plugs fitted by local Volvo specialist, and I think iirc that i checked the part numbers were the same when I changed them after stupidly filling tank with petrol, so that would assume ECP sold me the same ones, therefore i would assume that the current plugs are all the wrong type, once the snow passes I will hopefully get them out and check tomorrow or the weekend, if thats the case correct plugs will be ordered.

Cheers for the feedback guys.