Freelander TD4 glow plugs not operating

Seem to have an issue with the glow plugs not thinking its cold enough. Thought the glow plugs were faulty so changed them as well as the ECT sensor. but this did not solve my problem. I have also changed the glow plug relay in the e box. The light on the dash is working as it comes on with ignition as does the srs abs engine oil lights so on and so on but it goes out with them as well. I know they dont come on above 5 degrees but its been a lot colder than that and the car runs rough when it starts. Its defiantly an issue with the glow plug system because its worse the colder it is. Car runs fine when its warmed up. any ideas would be useful. i have looked on rave to see how it works but the electrical diagrams dont make much sense to me.

can't offer a solution :-/
'n mines a bit odd as the plugs activate when the outside temp is way above 5c
not timed them in current temps .. but aprox. 10 seconds

attached pics be what info i have ..

Thanks for the input hd3. fuse 22 that it talks about on mine its for the rear fog light and isn't blown. Fuseable link 6 looks ok. I have checked every fuse in the engine compartment and every one in the passenger they all look fine. From what you are describing about yours mine defiantly isn't working properly. its an early 2001 td4 so it doesn't have a air temp sensor. switching ignition on and off several times doesn't seem to help.

and the car runs rough when it starts

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how does it start ?
i mean .. does it take loads of cranking 'n kicks out half a ton of white smoke .. ..
or .. starts ok .. slight unburnt-fuel-smell from exhaust .. and runs a bit rough 'till warmed up

if the glow plugs were not working at all ..
in these winter temps i'd half expect it would take long cranking to fire up in the first place ..
and expel a fair amount of white exhaust smoke when it did ..

if so
might be worth checking the wiring for 'continuity' ..
( i.e. no broken wires lurking unoticed .. damaged wiring insulation .. etc )
i.e. given you've replaced the plugs and relay ..

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if you rekon the plugs are working .. but simply for not long enough ..
wondering if you took it to your friendly local LR garage ( )
they might be able to check and maybe reprogramme the ecu to keep the plugs 'on' for longer ..
( i'm taking mine into local dealers for an m.o.t. on monday
( i could ask the techies if that's possible ..
( they're a helpful and knowledgable lot and ready to offer info 'n advice

btw: i'm clueless about just what in the ecu controls the glow plug timing ..
i.e. whether it's a chip .. and/or a circuit with capacitors transistors resistors 'n such
or the two combined ..

there must be a thermostate in there to sence the tempeture

there must be a thermostate in there to sence the tempeture

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ecu evidently gets that from either the engine coolant temp. sensor
or if that's faulty .. from the intake-air-temp sensor ..

i was wondering about the circuitry inside the ecu ..

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bynote:
before buying my hippo ..
i was used to diesels that didn't have glow plugs ..
( or anything else in the way of .. ahem .. 'refinement' )
be a bit of a luxury now .. to have one that starts 'n runs in a comparatively civilised manner
whatever the ambient temperature

starts on the button but there is loads of smoke. from what the rave manual says thanks to your thumbnails. The ecu can tell if there is a broken wire and the lamp wont illuminate during start up. being a bit thick im not sure if that means the lamp wont illuminate at all ie. when the ignition is on and all the dash light illuminate or as mine is doing and illuminating when dash lights are on but then going out before any glow has occurred. I would have thought there would have been a fuse between the ignition to the relay like it describes in the rave but fuse 22 is defiantly the rear fog. I would like to check that fuse if only i could find it as it would be the easiest fix if it even exists. Failing that im guessing it is a broken wire. Cant afford a trip to dealer at the moment. especially if they cant fix it.

from what the rave manual says thanks to your thumbnails. The ecu can tell if there is a broken wire and the lamp wont illuminate during start up

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mmm .. i did forget that small detail

those pics were mainly from :
http://www.rover-club.net/graphics/manuals/16/m47r_diesel.pdf
and ..
http://macassemble.com/lrm/freelander/Freelander Electrical Library (2004).pdf

there's a circuit diagram .pdf .. but it don't have the td4 glowplug info in it
( that i could see )

starts on the button but there is loads of smoke.

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has it always been like that ? ..
or this be your first winter with it ..

sort of wondering if the 2001 versions were like that ..
'n LR reprogrammed the g.plug timing for later models ..

maybe all is ok with the g.plugs

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.. if it starts 'on the button' ..
then no worries about running the battery down ..

by the sounds of it ..
a bit of smoke 'n rough idle plus unburnt diesel pong 'till it warms up be the only downside

try running some "diesel rhino" thru the fuel system .. ( google it )
aids cold starting .. and gets rid of any water in the fuel ..
and has other fuel related advantages ..
( i.e. it might cut down the smoke on cold start as well )

Have you actually metered a plug to see whether it's actually getting 12v (or above) when the ignition is switched on ?

englishbullterrier said:

Have you actually metered a plug to see whether it's actually getting 12v (or above) when the ignition is switched on ?

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Definatly worth checking, you'll probably find the glow plugs will operate for a while after the engine has stared as well. This aids emmisions and nicer running from cold..

Ok so tested the glow plugs from the e box by putting a multi meter between the feed into the glow plug relay and the bg, bp, by and br wires going to the plugs. When you turn ignition to position 2 there is a current for about 12 seconds till the relay turns off despite the dash light going off after about 4 seconds. Don't know if the plugs would usually get that extra 8 seconds or so after the light has gone out or not. But i would say that the plugs were working, for a short period anyway. But i still dont know if the ecu is know what the temperature is although i am sure i have tested this before on the obd since i have had the problem and the seemed to give an accurate temperature reading. Maybe it is a problem with the dash light its self but that wouldn't explain the unburnt fuel smoke. It could just be as hd3 said how the earlier ones are but i cant see the point of having a light on the dash if it doesn't go out after a period of time that relates to anything. so i am stumped.

For anyone else who has the earlier model td4 its fuse 6 in the passenger compartment that feeds from the ignition to the ecu. but this is obviously ok on mine. i have also changed the ignition switch for another i had laying around but this didn't help could be broke as well i suppose.