Hiya, I'm still sorting bits on my Saxo 1.5D and came across something a bit wierd.
When I turn on the ignition and don't start the car, the glow plug unit switches off the glow plugs after ten seconds or so which is fine.
However, when I start the car from cold (which starts and runs fine) the glow plugs stay on for well over a couple of minutes and it is draining my battery (which is why I first started looking for problems)
My old Xantia glow plugs only used to stay on for seconds rather than minutes, so is this normal or is the control unit faulty.
Also, when warm, the glowplugs don't seem to stay on very long which I guess is right. It's just the cold start.
Any info would be appreciated.
Cheers.
Saxo glow plug time
Moderator: RichardW
Saxo glow plug time
Saxo 1.5 XD 1998
(previously owned Xantia 1.9 TD sx 1995)
(previously owned Xantia 1.9 TD sx 1995)
Sounds normal to me, its done to reduce emissions as the engine warms up.
On my Xantia TD (later type with ECU control) the glow plugs were designed to stay on for several minutes after the engine was started from cold. They would switch off if certain conditions were met, either water temp goes above 60C, revs go above 3k (I think), or throttle position goes above a certain point.
On my Xantia TD (later type with ECU control) the glow plugs were designed to stay on for several minutes after the engine was started from cold. They would switch off if certain conditions were met, either water temp goes above 60C, revs go above 3k (I think), or throttle position goes above a certain point.
Last edited by nick on 11 Sep 2007, 09:18, edited 1 time in total.
Batteries can self drain rather fast if they have reached their end of service life.
A good indication is to look for collapsed battery cells - by checking the battery idle voltage (engine not running). After some 10-20min's the battery voltage should settle to some 12.6-12.8volts indicating a good battery.
As long as it stays a little over 12.3V its still useable but is not fully charged.
If the idle voltage drops down to some 10.8-11.0V - one of the cells have shorted out. Battery kaput then.
Checking the alternator charging is also rather easy. During idle - at least 5min's after starting the engine - the battery terminal voltage should read at least 13.8V - and max 14.4V. The perfect condition is just slightly more than 14.0V
If all these checks are good - try measure the current drain from the battery : be sure no consumers are running & ignition key removed.
Then disconnect the positive clamp from the battery terminal, and insert an ampere meter between clamp and terminal.
Anything below 25mA (0.025Amp) is neglegible. That would be clock and radio memory consumption.
If the reading gets closer to or beyond 100mA (0.1Amp) you shold look for any glove box, luggage compartment or engine bay lamps still burning.
If no luck, try remove the fuses from the fusebox - one by one - until the reading drops down to the smaller value for memory feeds.
Then you have isolated the current draining circuit.
A good indication is to look for collapsed battery cells - by checking the battery idle voltage (engine not running). After some 10-20min's the battery voltage should settle to some 12.6-12.8volts indicating a good battery.
As long as it stays a little over 12.3V its still useable but is not fully charged.
If the idle voltage drops down to some 10.8-11.0V - one of the cells have shorted out. Battery kaput then.
Checking the alternator charging is also rather easy. During idle - at least 5min's after starting the engine - the battery terminal voltage should read at least 13.8V - and max 14.4V. The perfect condition is just slightly more than 14.0V
If all these checks are good - try measure the current drain from the battery : be sure no consumers are running & ignition key removed.
Then disconnect the positive clamp from the battery terminal, and insert an ampere meter between clamp and terminal.
Anything below 25mA (0.025Amp) is neglegible. That would be clock and radio memory consumption.
If the reading gets closer to or beyond 100mA (0.1Amp) you shold look for any glove box, luggage compartment or engine bay lamps still burning.
If no luck, try remove the fuses from the fusebox - one by one - until the reading drops down to the smaller value for memory feeds.
Then you have isolated the current draining circuit.
Anders (DK) - '90 BX16Image