Help - a bit stuck on glow plug wiring

[stripped fred]

I decided to change the glow plugs on my 1993 Astra 1.7D today.  Nice easy job i thought.  It went well until the last glow plug which had very limited access.  Eventually managed to get that one done too.  Only thing is that in my haste to connect everything back up i had a long wire left over with a spade connector at the end.  I can't for the life of me see where this came from.  I decided to try starting it anyway,  Needless to say it didn't want to only managing to fire after much turning of the starter motor so all i have managed to do is make it worse!  It then started raining and became very windy so i retreated to the house.  Can anyone advise where this should go?  It's the longest wire at the end of the glow plug wiring shown on the left of the photo.

[twosmoke300]

slides on the blue/ green temp sensor on the tstat housing

[scaryoldcortina]

That wouldn't make it hard to start though... maybe there is something else going on too.

[stripped fred]

Mmm, i'll go and have another look by torch light.  I'm pretty sure i connected them as they were before.  I can't think what else i've managed to bugger up then!

[twosmoke300]

It may provide temp feed to glowplug unit

[twosmoke300]

Also isnt there supposed to be 2 vac pipes on the unit on the side of the tstat hsg . Iirc its the cold start device

[stripped fred]

Thanks for your help. The photo does show a vacuum pipe missing from the thermostat housing but that was removed to give me better access to one of the glowplugs and it was replaced.

 

I've reconnected the spade connector to the top of the thermostat housing. It now starts with the usual 5 illuminations of the glow plug light so I think it's the same as it was. The glow plugs I removed didn't look that old so I think the previous owner must have changed them too. It does always start eventially just wanted to improve it. Seems like the glow plugs themselves aren't at fault. I read there's a timer for them so maybe it's that but I might leave it alone for a while!

[scaryoldcortina]

Is it only the first start of the day that is difficult? Could be air getting into the pump through the injector leakoff lines.

[twosmoke300]

Where does the vac pipe on the pump go to?

It may well be that your cold start on the pump isnt connected

[stripped fred]

Is it only the first start of the day that is difficult? Could be air getting into the pump through the injector leakoff lines.

It's difficult whenever it's been left for more than an hour or two.

[scaryoldcortina]

Sounding more like an air leak than heaters then.

 

Other than that, has it had a timing belt at all recently? Fractionally out pump timing caused by using tippex instead of locking pins sometimes makes old diesels horrific to start.

[twosmoke300]

Sounding more like an air leak than heaters then.

 

Other than that, has it had a timing belt at all recently? Fractionally out pump timing caused by using tippex instead of locking pins sometimes makes old diesels horrific to start.

Esp on that engine

[stripped fred]

Appreciate the comments. I suppose it isn't that bad really just the 5 turns of the key and never fails just wanted to improve it.  I think i need to leave things alone when they are still working!

[castros_bro]

Get someone with a multimeter to put it tween glow plug lead (screw thread on top of glowplug)  and earth when you try a cold start. Should read almost full battery voltage while the dashboard glow plug light is illuminated. If not then there's a glow plug power problem. 

[stripped fred]

Thanks.  The glow plugs are definitely doing something as it won't start without them but that's worth checking.