Peugeot 306 (1993 - 2001) - 97 1.9TD Rough starting - Glow plug sooting up.

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Mon 12 Jan 2009 23:16
97 1.9TD Rough starting - Glow plug sooting up. - halcyondays
Hi,

I've been having trouble starting my Peugeot for a while now and I have all of the indications of glow-plug failure (rough running until warmed up a little etc). One specific glow-plug has been failing consistently on being changed (1 month or so) and has been giving the above indications.

On replacing the glow-plug I've noticed that the cylinder that it serves is very sooty and this soot, coating the plug, is what I suspect is stopping my glow-plug from functioning after around a month of use. I'm not sure what could be causing my glow-plug to fail so regularly but if the sooty cylinder is the culprit I have no idea as to what to do to rectify it.

Any ideas would be gratefully received.

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 12/01/2009 at 23:50

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Mon 12 Jan 2009 23:33
97 1.9 Rough starting - Glow plug sooting up. 1.9T - Peter.N.
The soot may well be occuring after the glow plug has failed as you will have unburnt fuel in that cylinder. Are you using good quality glow plugs? Is the engine running OK once it gets warm, no smoke or uneven running?
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Tue 13 Jan 2009 00:00
97 1.9 Rough starting - Glow plug sooting up. 1.9T - halcyondays
I'm using decent quality plugs (changed again last week) and the cylinder has just started to stutter on starting again. Once the car has moved around 100m the engine runs ok with no smoke or uneven running. On start you get some white smoke and the smell of unburnt diesel until the sooty cylinder kicks into life.

Friends have said that the sooty cylinder may be caused by defective fuel injectors or poor compression but my knowledge doesn't run far enough to assess these as instigators of the probs.
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Tue 13 Jan 2009 08:20
97 1.9 Rough starting - Glow plug sooting up. 1.9T - RichardW
Only fit BERU plugs on these - others can't hack the post start glow - and make sure you are using the specified plugs for the same reason. Exahust valve clearances closing up and giving poor starting is not unknown at >100k miles - this is reasonably easy to check. Doing a compression check requires a bit more kit, so it best left to someone so equipped if required.
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Tue 13 Jan 2009 09:45
97 1.9 Rough starting - Glow plug sooting up. 1.9T - halcyondays
Thanks for the help, I'll check the exhaust clearances. I'm at 110k at the moment.

Edited by halcyondays on 13/01/2009 at 09:46

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Tue 13 Jan 2009 10:40
97 1.9 Rough starting - Glow plug sooting up. 1.9T - dieselnut
Another possibility is a poor spray pattern from the injector on this cylinder.
Run a good concentration of injector cleaner through before you change the plug.
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Tue 13 Jan 2009 11:17
97 1.9 Rough starting - Glow plug sooting up. 1.9T - glowplug
From the symptoms I'd say the injectors need cleaning, shouldn't be very expensive and could improve MPG. Last time I had a set done (from a XM 2.5) it cost around £70 for the set of four.

Steve.
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Tue 13 Jan 2009 14:44
97 1.9 Rough starting - Glow plug sooting up. 1.9T - halcyondays
Steve,

I thought the same so have been putting injector cleaner into the diesel for the last few tanks. Before the last glow-plug change I emptied the fuel filter and filled it with neat injector cleaner to try to up the concentration/effect. Would this be very effective?

Cheers,

Andy
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Wed 14 Jan 2009 13:26
97 1.9 Rough starting - Glow plug sooting up. 1.9T - glowplug
Hi Andy,

Difficult to say really, some people swear by it and others don't. Some say it shouldn't be used too often because it can cause wear to the injector tips - I don't know if that's really the case. I suppose that if it was just deposits in the injector it could work but if the tip is worn it won't.

I guess it's a good, simple and cheap idea to try first before paying out for a proper service on the injectors. Give it a while and see.

Steve.
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