Hi, this is my first post here. The glow plug control unit on my Ducato 1993 1.9 Diesel has failed. I can't get a new one fromFiat as they are no longer made and the internet has not turned one up either. Does anybody have any experience of replacing it for a different brand or even repairing the existing one? It's the grey plastic box about 10 cms square above the battery on the off side inner wing.
I can still start the van by briefly placing a wire between the battery + and the glow plug wiring, so maybe if I can't replace the box I can connect a switch on the dashboard to manually do it.
Thanks for any replies.
Ross

If you have a look here
http://www.beru.com/english/produkte/produktident.php?s=gn909&eanr=0100226186&action=step02

all these use the same glow plugs, and a lot are variants of the same engine, so it's very possible most of the boxes off these would work.

A basic diagram of the box is here
http://motorhometoday.co.uk/index.php?/topic/598-fiat-ducato-cold-start-problem
there's not much to it.

The switch isn't a good idea, if you leave it on you can melt the ends of the plugs off, and destroy the engine.
(Although a pushbutton that doesn't lock would get around that)

Hi,
What I did was I bought a generic engine start switch off Ebay as it is a switch that is only closed when pressed in and held so it can't be accidentally left on. I fitted that to the dashboard and fed it to a relay which I fixed to the old glow plug control unit mounting position in the engine compartment and then ran a new wire from it to the glow plugs and it works fine. Note though that if you try this yourself don't omit the relay as dashboard switches and wiring aren't designed to handle that amount of power and it will get hot and melt.