Diesel GlowPlugs - Vauxhall Cavalier

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
View Threaded
Tue 30 Nov 2004 20:07
Diesel GlowPlugs - Vauxhall Cavalier - brettandgenna
Hey! I've got no resistance between ground and my common rail on my Isuzu engined Cavilier. But when I test to the REMOVED feed lead I measure insulation there. There is only 0.9ohms of resistance between the feed side of the glowplug, and the grounded part which screws into the engine. Is that normal? I removed the plugs and tested them on a battery connected onto the feed thread (12V) and to the mounting screw (0V). They lit up lovely! The common rail is NOT touching any part of the engine. Please help! New to diesels and not sure on the characteristics of glow plugs.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 30 Nov 2004 21:12
Diesel GlowPlugs - Vauxhall Cavalier - Number_Cruncher
As you have 4 glow plugs at 0.9 Ohms each in parallel between the bus-bar and earth what resistance would you expect to measure?

number_cruncher
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 2 Dec 2004 18:11
Diesel GlowPlugs - Vauxhall Cavalier - brettandgenna
Ah! Oh course! Have changed the glowplugs now and success, but think I may need to have my inlet valves shimmed.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 2 Dec 2004 18:42
Diesel GlowPlugs - Vauxhall Cavalier - Number_Cruncher
Shimming the valves is quite easy.

Rotate the engine such that the appropriate cam is on the base circle. Then, get a friend to open the valve using a biggish flat screwdriver on the outside rim of the bucket follower, taking care to leave no burrs. Then, using a small screwdriver and magnet, you can get the shim out. A micrometer or vernier is then required to measure the thickness.

IIRC, the inlets should be 6 thou, and the exhaust, 10 thou.

If all of the clearance has been taken up, then you may need to go round the process twice, to get the shim right.

number_cruncher
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 2 Dec 2004 19:11
Diesel GlowPlugs - Vauxhall Cavalier - brettandgenna
Cheers Cruncher man. Could well try the job myself. Thanks for the advice.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide