“The flashing” glow plug warning light started

Andy Stothert Travel writer

Over the last couple of years, our ’van has been taking a few more turns of the engine to get it started. At first, I thought it was an air leak in the fuel filter casing but, of late, it has become obvious that a glow plug (or more) was probably faulty.

They sometimes go on for years like this, without getting any worse, so the bonnet, and my wallet, remained reassuringly closed.

But this last Christmas, we went away in the truck, and not only did it take a lot more churning over to start, but the glow plug warning light started flashing. And then the message on the screen appeared – check glow plugs.

Still not a huge problem really, thinks I. They’re a bit like a spark plug; you just make some space to get at them, and whip them out with a socket. I know this because the last time I changed a set (on a diesel Peugeot 205) was simplicity itself.

But a friend (retired mechanic) told me to let a ‘professional’ sort it out. So, I took it to a local garage who changed the glow plug control unit, “because the fault code said it was that,” but the reluctance to start was unchanged. “It must be the glow plugs,” it said, hastily adding the words “as well”.

What amazing detective work, and after trying to loosen one of them, which was tight, its then washed its hands of it, stating it would have to go to a specialist.

Not best pleased (the £200 was still payable), a search of the internet revealed what a potential horror story this could turn out to be. And that is what happened.

The glow plugs all broke, the injector retaining bolts broke, so here we are, nearly £2,000 lighter, but with not a lot to show for it. That two grand isn’t all lost, though (he says, sobbing into his wallet), as the injectors could now be removed if one of them packs up soon-ish, and a few other parts were replaced as a matter of course when an engine is dismantled to this extent.

After 15 years of spending very little dosh repairing our truck, something like this was bound to crop up, but what a waste for something that should be so simple and cheap.

Now, thankfully, we are heading somewhere warm and sunny to recover from the trauma.