SMOOTH OVERRIDE

Regarding the query by Jon Morris about his VW Golf 1.9 TDI (‘Reluctant warm starting’, Help!, January 2017), I had the exact same symptoms with a VW Vento 1.9 non-turbo diesel. It would start on the first turn when cold, but was slow to start when the engine was warm. On two occasions I changed the coolant temperature sensor, but there was no improvement. I also double-checked the glow plugs and they were in perfect condition. I could not get to the root of the problem.

For the sake of convenience, I fitted a manual switch for the glow plugs. When the engine was warm, I would manually activate the glow plugs for three to four seconds and the car would start straight away. I was quite happy with this manual override arrangement and it worked perfectly for a long time. Then, after covering around 215,000 miles, the starter motor gave out, so I took it in for reconditioning. The engineer who rebuilt it remarked that he had uprated the starter motor and that it would be turning over faster than it had been. I refitted the starter motor and, from that day on, I have never had to use the manual override on the glow plugs – the car started perfectly every time, hot or cold.

I only retired the Vento after it had covered 360,000 miles. It was still running perfectly and not using oil, but unfortunately rust had taken a big hold on it. Michael Carty