Fiat Ducato Glow Plugs

Sensible price? No, but nothing is sensible about Fiat repair prices. We've found Fiat/Peugeot prices to be higher than Merc.

You'll probably have to bite the bullet or try a non-franchised repairer.

Thanks Tinwheeler

That is what I thought but just wondered if anyone else thought

We have to have it done and as we want it at the least inconvenience to us then I think we will just go with it

The joys of owning a motorhome

Yep, grin and bear it. 

I'd be surprised if both glow plugs and their relay have failed together. I realise that if a single plug has failed a garage would want to replace all 4 (?) but unless the relay has failed too, I'm not sure why they'd want to replace it as a matter of course. The quote doesn't sound cheap. My Merc's glow plug relay was about £135 from the dealer & its plugs were £20 each but available online for about £12. Not knowing the Fiat engine I've no idea how accessible these bit are, but on a transverse 4 pot I'd have thought they would be very easy to get to.

They'll be buried under that big sheet of plastic that cover the entrails of vehicles to discourage lesser mortals from prying into uncharted territory - there be dragons.

That big sheet of plastic was a fix to keep water out of the engine. It didn’t exist on early models but was part of a recall in 2008. 

I know yours is a later model, CY, but the hardware is essentially the same. 

It sounds to me like you are being ripped off. A quick google suggest that 4 glowplugs and a relay will be approx £100 inc vat, this means they want approx £300 inc vat to fit them. What is their hourly charge ? £150 an hour inc vat ?

I would be asking for a full break down of the cost and all the test data that lead them to the decision that the relay is faulty and the glowplugs are burnt out, or to put it another way, how did they test the glowplugs and relay.

Modern garages don't "test" anything ............

Those skills have long since departed.......

Although in fairness much of the wizadry under the bonnet is "sealed for life" non serviceable or repairable..........

They plug in a diagnostic tool to the OBD port and just read off the fault codes. They cross reference them to a list of fault codes then tell you that is what is wrong..........

I too am surprised that a 63 plater needs so much attention....

I thought to do much diagnostic work on a Fiat you need Multiecuscan which is Fiats take on diagnostic software....

Dawn, is your "local" garage a Fiat Pro Commercial garage, have they the neccesary software...?

Might be worth a second opinion....? 

As MM suggested, it’s unlikely both the relay and plugs will have failed. They’ll be quoting to change both on a belt and braces basis as they maybe can’t be sure which is the faulty component. I’m not surprised at the cost.

I suppose the main question is, does the vehicle start easily from cold ?

If it does, it is possible it a glitch in the CPU. If it doesn't, then it is easy to test the glowplugs, either by checking the amps they draw when operated, or by checking the resistance of each glowplug (you don't even have to remove them to do this).

The relay is just that, a relay that handles high currents, but it will also have a builtin timer that turns the current off after a set time. You can actually test the relay and the glowplugs at the same time, you just test the amps used, no amps means faulty relay, current doesn't turn off after approx 30-45 seconds means faulty relay, low amps (usually less than 20 amps) means at least one faulty glowplug.

If you are wondering, does this guy know what he is talking about, well, you will have seen the little orange tractors the club staff whizz about on, I used to fix them and guess what engine they have under the bonnet ?