Glow plugs

i have been having a problem with the battery slow draining over time(noticed by a sluggish start when getting low).when i notice the sluggish start i usually charge the battery,however the other day i needed to get going and the bugger wouldnt start(probably due to the battery).so i charged it on quick for 10 mins then stuck it on charge/start and give it a go...still no joy so i had to use the missus car.charged to full give it another go and she still wouldnt go,not even a giddy up .starting to worry a bit i went and bought a can of easy start,charged the battery,checked the 80amp fuse.the fuse looks fine,cant extract the bloody thing but looks good from above.i put a meter on the battery and switched on the ignition,hmmm no drain of the glow plugs.gave her a whiff of easy and she was away.so now knowing that theres no fault with the engine i presume there must be a fault with the cold start system.other than the 80 amp fuse(situated on the positive terminal) is there another fuse that controls the heatup side of things or is this best easily solved taking it to someone who knows?could i have blown this trying to start it with the start n charge?any help much appreciated as im having to drive around in a bright yellow fiat sciecento with teddys n flowery toys in it and me man cred is taking a bruising .one good thing is it warms up quicker than the bus on these cold mornings

If your Glow Plugs were working you could have blown the inlet manifold tubes off!! That easy start is ether based, highly inflamable and explosive in confined spaces- use it for tractors or petrol engines!!
Now to your problem, the 80 amp fuse needs checking. If you cannot put a Resistance Meter/Current meter across it,you need to dismantle the plastic holder - I think 10mm nuts hold it together. Have a close look to see that there is no corrosion.I had a corrosion problem and this was the culprit. It looked intact but was not connecting. An area also to check is the sensor underneath the inlet manifold - check there is current to the sensor.This sensor reduces/cuts the time the glow plugs are on as when the manifold is hot, no pre-heating is required. If it is u/s = no current. There is a relay that controls the time the plugs are no but these units are usually reliable.On some models there is a 10amp fuse in the fusebox for the GlowPlug relay.If you are desperate I could email the diagrams later this week- I'm on nights for the next 3 days Good Hunting! HAPPY NEW YEAR.

thankyou very much.will be getting to it in a few day as im on night myself.....ah well have to keep the wheels of industry turning

does the temp sensor for the digital gauge have any impact on this? mine is possibly dodgy but has been for a while before i got this problem.i also have read that if one of my glow plugs had lost its resistance that this could cause a bad earth and reduce the other plugs abilities to start.have you any experience of this?

I had an B model Mack that was addicted to ether (aerostart)soon as it got cool (below 5or so C) it wouldn't start without a hit.. Keen to see what your outcome is

deleted to due misreading of post...(rum )

tested the glowplug rail bar(common across the glow plugs) from cold.i get 12 then a drop to 10 so i think i can assume glow plugs are now no more than just plugs.picked up today from toyota x4 £75.will be fitting soon depending on weather,job,missus,etc.watch this space

got 3 of em in today.4th gonna be a bit fiddly having to strip stuff away.will tell in the morning if its worked .when i stripped it back the glowies have a screw/nut on em that you have to take of first.2 of em goosed 1 put back on.i phoned toyota to ask how much they are and they dont do em any more .as i was asking i had the toyota e.p.c up on the p.c with the exploded view of it all and the penny sank in that these screw/nut had been holding the buzbar down onto the glowies,these are only used as lock nuts for the nuts that were missing .so i asked the nice gent how much were these 4 nuts,£4.75 came the reply and they take a week to come.good job i noticed the old nuts on top of the old glowies.saved myself a week and a fiver