Removal Of Damaged / Faulty Heater Plugs

[gazhat]

Hi There, 2nd post.

My engine light has just come on and the diagnostics show that heater plug A or 1, can't remember, is faulty / damged or broken. Only last January I had all 4 changed but a friend of a friend at the local Toyota garage seems to think that only 3 have been swapped, although my mechanic insists he did all 4.

Although my Yaris is driving fine, I 'd like to get this sorted because as we all know it won't get through it's MOT with a dash light on, but apparently the only way to do this is to have it drilled out by a specialist and this involves God knows what and the bill is hitting the £500 mark. But I can't afford a new car and have to keep this for the next 3 years or sol while I save for an Auris.

Is there any way possible to get this broken / damaged heater plug out without resorting to this massive financial burden ?

Any help appreciated.

Cheers

Gaz H

[MikeSh]

as we all know it won't get through it's MOT with a dash light on,

I don't believe that is true. The MoT checks specific, safety related warning lights such as SRS, ABS, ESC, electronic park brake and brake fluid warning. An engine fault (obviously providing it runs and passes the emissions part of the test) shouldn't be a reason to fail.

Testers do vary a little (though they shouldn't in theory), so to be sure I'd go to the place you are likely to get it tested and ask. Might save you £500 - 3 out 4 glowplugs is usually enough in this country.

[gazhat]

Cheers for the reply mate. But running it on 3 plugs, would that not cause any further strain on the engine ?

[bathtub tom]

You probably don't need the glowplugs in this country. I found this out after winding out the plug and the thread of an ally head.

Modern DI engines only require heaters in very extreme conditions.

[MikeSh]

Cheers for the reply mate. But running it on 3 plugs, would that not cause any further strain on the engine ?

They are only for preheating to help with cold starts and aren't used while the engine is running. As Tom says, not really needed most of the time here as anybody who has started it without waiting for the preheat light to go out will have shown - SWMBO every time. Even if you need them (I guess Durham isn't the hottest place in the country) once the three heated pots have fired the fourth won't be far behind.

If you want to lose the indication there are two possibilities I can think of. One is that a suitable programmer may be able to reset the code/indication and program it to ignore the fault in future. Failing that, disconnecting the faulty plug and putting a suitable resistor or even another working plug on the lead - suitably mounted and protected - to fool the system.

[MEP's Yaris GS]

Cheers for the reply mate. But running it on 3 plugs, would that not cause any further strain on the engine ?

Nope, it'll either start or it won't. As others have mentioned in this country they're not essential. If you get starting issues, then turn ignition on, wait for heat lamp to go off, then turn off and let it do a second preheat before starting.

[alan333]

There's normally an 'afterglow', ie the plug stays hot after the light has gone off, so there's no need to switch the ignition off/on - just wait a few more seconds.

[TomdeGuerre]

I have a question about these glow plugs. n some diagrams it shows the tip of the plug actually in the fuel spray from the injector thereby the glowing plug vapourises and ignites the fuel, acting almost like a spark plug. On others it just shows the plug is there to help pre-heat the air (and by association the combustion chamber) as an aid to starting.