Glow plug light flashing 2010 Golf

km79

Wife bought 2010 Golf in April. Well maintained low enough mileage car. No issues until this night 3 weeks ago. Glow plug light started flashing. Stopped flashing when car was restarted.
The following Thursday night......same thing. No loss of power either time.
Went to our local mechanic to read code and an error code showed up on brakes which said to check engine which he said was fine. Another code suggested a fault with cigarette lighter. He said to come back next time it lit up and not to turn car off.
Well like clockwork it happened again tonight but my wife was away so couldnt bring it in.
Few points that may be relevant.
Car was serviced by a VW dealer approx 3 weeks before light started flashing. We have ALWAYS used our own mechanic but as car had full VW service history we decided to go there. We wont be going back and have since been advised by a work colleague that they have a history of creating problems to fix...........
Secondly my wife drives motorway to and from work everyday but in the first 2 instances she had to detour on way home. This meant she was probably travelling at 80k or so most of the way and breaking more. Probably irrelevant.
No loss of power on any occasion.

Will be going back to our mechanic next time it lights up hopefully. I was fearing an EGR VALVE problem but he doesnt seem worried......

Toyotafanboi

Car was serviced by a VW dealer approx 3 weeks before light started flashing. We have ALWAYS used our own mechanic but as car had full VW service history we decided to go there. We wont be going back and have since been advised by a work colleague that they have a history of creating problems to fix...........

Went to our local mechanic to read code and an error code showed up on brakes which said to check engine which he said was fine. Another code suggested a fault with cigarette lighter. He said to come back next time it lit up and not to turn car off.

Will be going back to our mechanic next time it lights up hopefully. I was fearing an EGR VALVE problem but he doesnt seem worried.

Sounds like your mechanic doesn't know his arse from his elbow, i've no idea why you would go back. ****ting on about 12v sockets and stuff. That was never going to be related to the warning symbol you seen.

You should bring your car back to VW, they will have proper gear to diagnose the car and know what they are looking at. You'l pay more but you'l know where you stand.

I can assure you that no main dealer is damaging cars to create repeat business, in fact one thing VW really push their dealers to avoid is "repeat repairs" and people to have to return for a second visit after having work done. If anything it sounds like your local mechanic would have no problem spunking your money on nothing more than a hunch.

It does sound like it has potential to be an EGR issue.

km79

i have dealt with the man for 10 years and he knows cars inside out. We previously had a focus that he kept running like clockwork for a fraction of the cost of dealers. I trust him completely.
I was not with my wife when he read the codes so the account I gave may not be fully accurate to be honest.
If it was the EGR valve would there be an associated loss of power????
What I find strange is that its happened always on a Thursday evening ?

turbostan

km79 wrote: »

i have dealt with the man for 10 years and he knows cars inside out. We previously had a focus that he kept running like clockwork for a fraction of the cost of dealers. I trust him completely.
I was not with my wife when he read the codes so the account I gave may not be fully accurate to be honest.
If it was the EGR valve would there be an associated loss of power????
What I find strange is that its happened always on a Thursday evening ?

Just something worth checking - are your brake lights working ok?
This can be the cause of the flashing glow plug light sometimes.

km79

turbostan wrote: »

Just something worth checking - are your brake lights working ok?
This can be the cause of the flashing glow plug light sometimes.

Checked that straight away alright after reading a few forums
They seem to be working
I was hoping it was just that .........or a faulty switch was mentioned a few times too
I can't understand how one warning light could signify something like this OR a big engine problem ! Seems a daft system

colm_mcm

Yeah the flashing glow plug could be anything from an exhaust sensor to a dog to an egr and many other possibilities.

As above, go to a main dealer. They'll know because they're looking at them every day.

tossy

km79 wrote: »

Went to our local mechanic to read code and an error code showed up on brakes which said to check engine

What exactly did the code say ?

km79

tossy wrote: »

What exactly did the code say ?

I'm going to call in myself and ask him during the week but the wife said he mentioned brakes

Special Circumstances

colm_mcm wrote: »

Yeah the flashing glow plug could be anything from an exhaust sensor to a dog to an egr and many other possibilities.

I'd believe at this stage with the whole "brake bulb limp mode" thing.

km79

sooooooooooo.......my wife just rang . Catalytic convertor light is on now . Oranhe light. On way to dealer. It's a few weeks out of warranty
It's going to be the EGR valve isn't it .......

km79

Still waiting on proper news as imthe seevuce dept was busy .......diesel particulate pressure /sensor being mentioned ?

colm_mcm

km79 wrote: »

Still waiting on proper news as imthe seevuce dept was busy .......diesel particulate pressure /sensor being mentioned ?

That's cheap enough usually.

km79

colm_mcm wrote: »

That's cheap enough usually.

That's if it's just the sensor and not the DPF
Hopefully
Also briefly mentioned possibly it might just need a regent cycle but it's been driven a fair bit (15k in 6 months ) so I doubt it will be that easy!