Heater Plugs Need Changing

[shamswahid]

Hello,

I just acquired a Citroen Xantia recently but unfortunately it recently hasn't been starting up when I turn the key. When I turn the key I can hear the engine turning but it won't go all the way and actually start.
Anyway the breakdown chap that came along said that he thinks it is the heater plug relay that needs changing/fixing.

My question is this, is it a difficult job to do for someone who isn't familiar with cars and will it save me a lot of money if I can do it myself?

Also I need to find out for sure if this is in fact the actual problem as the breakdown guy wasn't entirely sure, anyone know how I can find this out? Someone at a Citroen garage that I called up suggested it could be the glow plugs, is this the same thing as a heater plug and if not is this easily fixed or does it require specialist attention?

Hope someone can help me,
Anyone? :o

Thank you,
Shams.

[DickieG]

The heater or glow plugs (same thing) would be a good place to start. Changing them is just a little more difficult than changing spark plugs due to the connecting wire being attached by nuts rather than push on/pull off.

Take a look at the engine and you will see on the front of it, a black wire running left to right attached by small nuts onto the four glowplugs. Behind these nuts are the four glow plugs.

Changing three of then will be relatively easy, just use a deep reach socket on each glowplug after removing the small nuts and wire. The tricky one is behind the pump, get hold of what is called an "Offset ring" spanner and it makes the job bearable rather than impossible!

A good tip is to hold a magnet near to the small nuts as they are removed as they are prone to dropping off then NEVER ever being seen again :o

Buy new glowplugs from either GSF or Euro car parts, make sure you get "Beru" make ones as they last MUCH longer than other cheaper makes, they are also the original part.

[shamswahid]

Ok cool thanks a lot for your help DickieG, I've had a look so far and I found a black wire running across the engine as you mentioned, it goes into 2 places as far as I can see but I'll investigate further tomorrow hopefully.

Also as I'm not sure as to what the problem is, is it possible to tell by looking at the heater/glow plugs that they need replacing?

Thank you,

Shams

[DickieG]

In extreme cases you will see a visible difference between old/new glowplugs, but in the majority of cases one will just look old with soot on it, the other, new.

[cobra427]

Just changed My heater plugs this week - well 3 of them I just could'nt get at the 1 behind the injector pump. I'll have another go when My knuckles have healed up

[shamswahid]

Hello,

Well yesterday I had a look around the engine and I think I have found the heater plugs.
If what I found are in fact the heater plugs then they are located around a component that has a plactic dome cover and looks like the pump that DickieG was talking about, is this correct? This pump is located slightly to the right of centre inside the bonnet. There are two heater plugs towards the front of it and one behind it, they all seem to be positioned vertically and have coloured plastic connectors.

The thing is while I was looking for the fourth one (which I cannot find, maybe these aren't the heater plugs at all then?) I noticed that on the [b]side[/b] of the pump, near to the heater plug I found at the back, there was a connection without anything attached to it. So I decided to have a look around for any loose cables which maybe were supposed to fit into it and had come off.

I did in fact pull one up from lower down inside the bonnet, but it does not fit the connection on the side of the pump and I do not know where it is supposed to connect. I found it further to the right of the pump inside the bonnet. As an example to what the connector on the end of this cable looks like, it is the same as that of one which is located directly underneath the windscreen washer cap (I have a 1.9 TD automatic Xantia).

So now there are 3 issues I have:

1. To find out where this cable that I pulled up connects to.
2. To find out if any cable is actually supposed to fit onto the side of the pump and then locate and reconnect it.
3. To locate the fourth heater plug if after resolving points 1 and 2 above the car still does not work.

The car also makes a whirring/clicking sound now too when I turn the key in the ignition and I am afraid this may be due to the new loose cable I found, I am getting the feeling I may have accidentally pulled it out myself, although I did not feel it disconnect.
The other thing I forgot to mention in my initial post was that the orange ABS light (icon shows a car skidding) stays on after turning the ignition on.

If anyone would like to help but I have not explained things clearly please let me know, I could explain further if needed. I took some pics as well if they might help.

Thank you,
Shams.

[DickieG]

From the sound of it the dome you are talking about would appear to be the fuel filter, I take it its made out of black plastic? The glow plugs attach to the cylinder head, i.e. a silver coloured (aluminium) section above what is more than likely the rusty (iron) engine block.

Its quite normal to find extra connectors around the engine bay as the wiring loom is made to fit various applications (different engines + extra equipment) so inevitable there will be a few spare wires/connectors.

If you think you have knocked any connectors off then apply common sense and allow the wire/connector to take its "natural path", i.e. If the wire is allowed to hang loose, are there any connections nearby? Are any of them clean (recently disconnected?) etc. If so do they fit and are the wiring connections similar?

As far as the ABS light, its more than likely that you have a faulty connection wire. Are you able to uses an OHM meter? If so then let me know and I will give you a way of diagnosing the fault for free. Failing that then if you are not too far from Heathrow then I could plug in my fault code reader and give you a full diagnosis and show you where the glow plugs are :D