Hi,

Does the heating element only operate whilst the light is amber or do the plugs continue to heat up long after the amber light has gone out?

Reason l ask is that l recently had new ones and its been starting great, last few days l am having to crank it long after the amber light goes out and it eventually starts in a cloud of smoke then runs fine until the next long period of it not being used, typically overnight or between arriving at workand 8 hours later to go home.

Will be able to get it to a garage in next couple ofdays but was unsure if l could leave the plugs warming long after the amber light before cranking.

Nat.
Hi,

l was able to start the car by leaving it around a minute after the amber light went out and so was able to make my appointment and then the garage where they have now replaced the plugs.

Many thanks for peoples replies and a PM from Mike.

Hope this question is of help to others in the future.

Nat

Pre-heat systems can be quite complicated these days.
The warning lamp alone can be connected to several different systems & can double up as a general electronic failure lamp.

The timing of the heater plugs themselves is usually done in one of two ways.
By the use of a pre-heat relay or by a load relay where the timing of the plugs is controlled elsewhere.

The plugs will always stay on after the lamp goes out & in some cases (post heating type) can stay on for about 1.5 minutes.

Your problem may be due to a few reasons.
Relay/timing device stuck in a ruined the new plugs
Plugs have gone due to low quality ones being bought.
Plugs not being fed in the first place because of faulty relay/timing device/bad wiring etc.

Without it being checked or having the knowledge to check it yourself, u can not give an accurate answer.

Yes
the glow plugs continue to work for some time after the W/L
goes out
this is to help lower the emissions
produced by a cold engine

hope this helps