Active demand: first maintenance work with ISS Diesel Instant Start System from BERU
About five years ago, BERU was the first to develop a gasoline motor key start to be ready for mass production in diesel motors. The first vehicles equipped with ISS technology are now brought into the repair shops for maintenance service.
(Ludwigsburg, August 9, 2006) With BERU technology, today’s modern diesel motors start at extremely low outside temperatures as quickly and reliably as gasoline motors. The Ludwigsburg-based specialist for Ignition Technology, Diesel Cold-Start Technology, Electronics and Sensors had already developed the first generation of the innovative BERU Instant Start System (ISS) to be ready for mass production in 2000. It has been installed since 2001 as standard equipment by BMW. In the meantime, AMG, Audi, Isuzu, Jeep, Mercedes-Benz, Seat, Skoda and Volkswagen also fit their diesel vehicles ex-works with the BERU System.
Active demand: Maintenance work with the first ISS Generation
About five years after the start of ISS mass production, the first replacement work can be due because ISS glow plugs are also wearing parts. The logical result for the workshop is active demand for ISS components. Günther Vogt, BERU Trade/Engineering Department Manager, knows a number of possible causes for failures from daily practice: “If a vehicle is operated in stop-and-go traffic, this can lead to carbon deposits between the glow rod and the cylinder head. As a result, the glow plugs will become too hot at some point, and reach their wear limit faster.” Furthermore, extremely poor diesel fuels, which flow out of the pumps especially in Eastern Europe, are responsible time and again for damage to glow plugs. Problems when starting or warming up and possibly increased soot emissions can already be the first warnings of a pending failure.
Lower voltage: Never apply 12 Volt to ISS glow plugs
If a diesel with ISS technology comes into the workshop for maintenance or repair, the following must be especially observed: The electronically-controlled ISS glow plugs (GE types) have a heat-up time of only one to two seconds and require significantly less energy than conventional glow plugs. For their individual power supply, BERU uses power semiconductors instead of the glow relays used in the past. Depending on the type and vehicle manufacturer, they are designed for voltages between 4.4 and 5 Volt. It is therefore no longer possible to test the glow plugs with a conventional glow plug tester. The reason is that the ISS glow plug would be immediately destroyed through over-voltage with the application of 12 Volt. For this reason, it is always necessary to check whether or not ISS plugs are installed before testing the glow system with a glow plug tester.
Defective ISS glow plugs can be found quickly through an error message on the cockpit display or with the help on the Onboard Diagnosis (OBD) in the workshop. If the vehicle already has 100,000 or more kilometers on the tacho, experts advise replacing the complete set of ISS glow plugs immediately because of the extensive effort required to remove them. If the car has only 60,000 kilometers or less behind it, only the defective glow plugs are to be replaced in most cases.
Independent of the actual mileage, the following rule of thumb applies according to BERU expert Vogt: “With an installation time of 4.5 hours at the most for the replacement of the plugs, workshop customers should always be advised to replace all glow plugs. If defective glow plugs are replaced individually, the time and costs required are significantly higher than they are with the replacement of the complete set.” Workshop experts can see which ISS glow plugs and control units belong in which vehicle from the current BERU Product CD or the BERU glow plug list of applications.
Added caution: Install ISS glow plugs correctly and professionally
When the right spare part has been identified, the right torque wrench must be used when turning the extremely slender instant start glow plugs out and in, whereby the prescribed torque is to be observed in every case. It is also important not to let dirt around the plug opening enter into the combustion chamber in any case. To prevent this reliably, loosen the screws only a couple of turns at first, then clean the plug shaft with compressed air or a brush and only then screw the ISS glow plugs completely out. Before installing threads and shafts of glow plugs, apply special BERU glow plug installation grease. This will prevent the glow plug from “baking tight” and avoid the penetration of moisture.
When the new ISS glow plugs are in their proper places, only the vehicle’s error memory still has to be convinced of this. The memory can be erased with a tester, as required by Daimler-Chrysler or Opel. Or you can bring the ISS system up to temperature by turning the ignition key five to seven times. The controller will learn by itself. The error message will disappear and there is nothing else to prevent a gasoline key start again for a long time.
Optimum market coverage: Diesel Cold-Start Technology from BERU
All reputable automobile manufacturers worldwide trust Diesel Cold-Start Technology from BERU: as original equipment and on the maintenance and repair market. In OEM technology, BERU covers about 98 percent of the vehicles listed in the TecDoc.
