Why do diesels use glow plugs

When you turning on the ignition, the glow plug symbol an orange squiggle illuminates on the dashboard, and will then go out after a few seconds.

To read a Motor Ombudsman case study on glow plugs, click here. What is a glow plug? What is the role of glow plugs? How do glow plugs work? If you use this social-plugin, you accept that personal data e. IP-address, URL of the current website, as well as date and time of your website visit will be transferred to Facebook, Google, Youtube, Twitter, Pinterest or LinkedIn and may be processed in a country located outside of the European Union e.

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You may opt-out of this process at any time, for more information please check our Privacy Policy. This is a good question. All combustion engines need three things: fuel, air and heat or an ignition source. Both spark plugs and glow plugs are the ignition source in a combustion engine. Spark plugs are only found in gasoline engines and glow plugs are in diesel ones.

But why do the two engine types have a different starting process? What do spark plugs and glow plugs actually do? And how do they fulfil their role to help start your engine? Continue reading to find out.

The charge runs through the spark plug to the electrodes where it jumps the gap as a electrical spark causing combustion. One such consideration is the glow plug. To start, a diesel engine requires the help of glow plugs.

A glow plug produces the heat that is necessary for a diesel engine to start, run, and function optimally- especially in colder weather conditions.

The cylinder block and cylinder head also absorb heat. To bring this vital heat back to the engine, glow plugs are installed in the combustion chamber. People will often confuse glow plugs and spark plugs. However, they are two very different vehicle components.

Spark plugs are not used in diesel vehicles because they do not produce enough heat for the mixture in a diesel combustion chamber. High-tech Steel Glow Plugs Beru high-tech steel glow plugs are an ideal fast, durable and green solution for two- and three-phase glow technologies.

Two-phase technology Type GV — these glow plugs meet the pre-heating and heating performance requirements of older diesel engines. They deliver reliable cold starting, and a short pre-heating time of seconds. Commercial Vehicles Glow Plugs BERU also offers a range of glow plugs designed to meet the specific needs of vans, trucks and other industrial applications. This includes: Flame Start System Type GF delivers reliable, convenient and green cold-starting performance even at low temperatures.

Available in two versions 12V and 24V , the Flame Start System has a short pre-heating time and a long post-flame time. Different versions meet the needs of auxiliary heaters in both petrol and diesel vehicles.

Glow plugs with wire filaments as heater element Type GD for older diesel vehicles, including tractors, tow trucks and construction machines. These robust glow plugs use a wire filament as the heating element and are resistant to heavy vibrations.

Quality that you can still rely on thousands of cold starts later. Cleaner emissions thanks to an optimal warm-up and operation. Long service life delivers the same high performance regardless of the weather. BERU filaments are welded instead of being woven, so the glow plugs perform more consistently. Minimum deformation during the life cycle, thanks to choosing high-quality materials. Want to find out more about the BERU glow plugs? Read our brochure: Download PDF.