Skoda Felicia gli 1.9 diesel 1999

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Tue 15 Oct 2002 12:39
Skoda Felicia gli 1.9 diesel 1999 - jj
I have a problem,when we start the car in the morning we have to turn on and off a couple of times to get the heater light to come on.It then goes off after 5 seconds and starts ok.When car has not been used for about a couple of hours you switch on and the heater will not come on and then takes a while to start.Could this be a fault in the relay or glowplugs as runs fine? thanks JJ
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Tue 15 Oct 2002 13:17
Skoda Felicia gli 1.9 diesel 1999 - blank
Have you recently bought this car?

With my 1997 Polo Diesel, when the driver's door is opened and closed, the glow-plug heater circuit is activated. Therefore, if I get into the car and take a few seconds before I turn the key, the glow plugs are already warm, so the light doesn't come on and the car starts fine.
If this feature is carried onto later VW group cars, could this explain part of your problem?

I presume that if you've had the car a year or more what I have written is of no use!

Andy
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Tue 15 Oct 2002 13:49
Skoda Felicia gli 1.9 diesel 1999 - Emerson Fittipaldi
JJ,

It's worth checking your glowplugs. I had to fit a new set of them into my old Peugeot 106 1.5 D when I had it. It was displaying similar problems to the one you mentioned above. When I removed them, I found that at least 3 out of 4 were badly burnt on the end. After replacment, everything was fine again, although I do not know how accessible they are on this type of engine.
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Tue 15 Oct 2002 14:12
Skoda Felicia gli 1.9 diesel 1999 - madf
My Audi A4TDI diesel with the same engine had no heater light and no delay. Just started when key was turned.

Something strange surely ?
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Tue 15 Oct 2002 16:29
Skoda Felicia gli 1.9 diesel 1999 - jj
I agree,I will have to get an avo and check them.Its the first diesel we have had so was a bit unsure of the problem but running through other questions on this site I think I now have a better idea.Thanks to you all.
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Tue 15 Oct 2002 18:25
Skoda Felicia gli 1.9 diesel 1999 - AndyT
I totally agree with what Andy S has mentioned regarding the drivers door. Both the '94 Seat Ibiza and 2000 Skoda Felicia that I have owned used this set-up.

The next time you get into your car, if the glow plug lamp is not illuminated by the time you turn the key in the ignition, just try and start the engine and you will probably find that it starts okay. Either that, or leave the door open while you turn the key and you will probably see the light, so to speak!

When I bought the Ibiza new, I too was concerned and approached the dealer who thought that there was a problem with the heater plug circuit, and had the relay replaced. This was before they discovered that it was supposed to work like that.
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