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Ha, so much for the easy fix! Relay was not at fault, no earth from terminal 5 (pin 85 on relay) so it looks like the thin black and white wire from the ECU could be snapped. Great time of year to be looking for faults like this, why the hell couldn't it of happened during the summer? :(
All done and up and running again. Found out it was the black and white wire from ECU to earth terminal 5 on fuse box for relay 109. Luckily it had snapped at the front of the engine, if it had been deep in the bowels of the wiring loom it would have been a nightmare to find and fix! Happy days, back on the road again. T:
 
hi there, i'm currently having a problem with a t4 2.5tdi 102bhp.... weve previously done the wiring in the engine bay from the 109 relay to the ecu and all was fine. weve now got a problem that we do not seem to have 12v power to the 109 relay location? any ideas?
 
Hi, been having cold starting problems with my 2.4d.
Got fuel so know solenoid working, plenty of unburnt fuel and white smoke.
Dash lights come on, flow light stays on then goes off, clicking relay, so should start in theory. Nope.
Thought it may be coolant temperature sensor, but the glow light comes on which I guess tells that's calling for glow plugs.
Finally got trusty old test light out today as the old girls getting too addicted to easy start.

Started by pulling fuse board down for easy access

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Turned on ignition, relay clicks glow light on. Under bonnet with test light on glow plug fuse, no power

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Discovered after probing about that there was no feed going to yellow plug which is the red cable going to glow fuse

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The 10amp fuse which feeds this had blown. Changed that, but still had no power at glow fuse in engine bay.
So guessed it must be a break in red cable. Continuity test said other wise.
Pulled of yellow plug to examine spade connector

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squeezed blade connector to make better contact, put back together and hey presto, power

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This turned out to be a flook. Check glow fuse again and no power. Started to drive me nuts. Sometime a live at glow fuse then not, then no power at yellow connector then there was. Bleeding bloody blimey I thought.
While testing for power at yellow connector for the umptheenth time, sometimes working others not, and after cycling through the other relays I'd bought previously, I decided to bend the blades on the relay so they'd make better contact.
It was while I was forcing this into its housing that the test light intermittently went on and off, When I had the relay seated the light went out, pushed it slightly to one side and it came back on.
And that was it. There is obviously a slight contact problem in the housing. It was getting on by now so I improvised with this

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A piece of cardboard wedging the relay to one side. I have power to the glow fuse

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and she started just like that.
been out a couple of time, giving it time to cool and everytime she starts.
I can't believe it was something that simple.
Ill try in the morning, but have every confidence that this is the problem.
 
AN update to a problem I had.

T4 very late 2.5tdi (2003 !)
stopped at side of road. turning over but not starting and had to be recovered. Problem then became intermittent, then went away before becoming finally permanent.

Symptoms were

  • ECU unreachable
  • No 12v at the fuel shut off valve
  • glow plug light not on
  • only error in ECU (it was removed and tested) was shut off valve grounded

My problem were breaks in other wires (NOT the black and white wire - which I looked at) within the engine loom.
If I had of tested the integrity of every wire, then we would have caught it. Instead I had to wait nearly a month (mind you Christmas was in the way) for someone to come out and do that, and then to rebuild the offending part of the loom.

Hope this helps someone else.
I know I read several topics on the forum, in the 6 weeks this took to resolve.
 
This thred looks like it has been around for years, thats probably how long it would have taken to find the foult without help. A massive thanks, like so many others, the earth from 109 had rotted, over around 30mm right at the front of the engine. Took 2 long nights but got it. had the van for 8yrs this is the first probem. Been al over europe, scotland, and it faled in the garage :)
 
Hi All,
I've just found this Forum and this thread.

I'm just a simple 2000 Audi Avant owner but share the 2.5tdi engine and no glow plug light/non starting issue! Rather than spend a fortune on auto electricians, we decided to buy another model in the meantime - 1998 2.4 Avant with only 78k miles. So far so good, but on the strength of the advice hear I'll attempt to apply the wisdom and fix the problem on the oil-burner myself - oh and the central locking/alarm gremlins........

Will let you know how I get on!
 
I'm sure it's been asked before I have the same problem tried replacing 109 relay no difference looked for any obvious break in wire and couldn't see any although it seems quite tricky as in a big loom of other wires tried the wire trick on relay and hey presto all up and running my question is there any long term damage caused if I leave it this way thanks for any help
 
I have similar problem described by cyclist Rob ... intermittent glow plug light and when light is poff engine won't start.
So I bought a 109 relay and then looked in fuse box and there isn't a 109 relay there , and putting in new one made no difference.
Van is 1.9 TD ABL engine X reg (2000)
Any ideas where to look next?
Any pointers to a decent wiring diagram?
 
more looking and found problem .... ignition switch, connection from 30 (+12V) to 15 was intermitant jumped it with piece of wire and glow plug light comes on strong and engine starts.
Once started can take wire out and it keeps running ..... can't understand that ?
 
THis is a very long thread and I haven't had time to read it all. Maybe someone has already stated this and it looks like burntofferingsabove ended up fixing the problem the same as I did. Any way I had the turning over but no start problem. I'd already replaced the glow plugs a year before so doubted that was the problem. A mechanic suggested the turbo injectors. What it turned out to be for me was slightly corroded pins on the relay. I'd tried checking voltages, looking for the relay fuse, listening to the relay etc. I found by wiggling the relay I could hear it click on. So I removed it and cleaned the contacts and it's been great ever since. A:

Often the simple things
 
I have a 1.9td 2001 where the glow plug light doesnt come on and no power to glow plugs.
So far replaced the glow plug relay and the ignition switch as those seemed faulty, neither have fixed the problem.
Checked the wiring into fuse board and it seemed fine. Checked the wiring from Fuseboard to Glowplugs by shorting between the 2 wires for glow plugs and the back on the fuse board and it works fine and starts.

Power goes into fuseboard and nothing comes out, what would cause this? bearing in mind ive replaced ignition and relay.

Cheers
 
Normal cause of this is damage to the fuse board where the relay plugs in. Look for signs of burning or look to see if the contacts have spread too wide.
 
Hi
I have a 2001 1.9 TD ABL, which won't start.Glow plug light comes on and goes off as normal but not getting any fuel, I have proved this by giving it a squirt of carb cleaner to check nothing major was wrong with engine. I noticed when it was briefly running that the rev counter was not working, also rev counter does not move with engine speed when cranking.Not had chance to investigate further yet but is this a typical sign of the ignition switch failing.Any advice much appreciated

Thanks
Martin.
 
The rev counter won't move until the alternator is spinning fast enough. You need to check for power to the pump solenoid. It could be a failed immobiliser.
 
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