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P037A

Glow Plug/Heater Indicator Control Circuit Low

The driver circuit for the glow plug warning indicator (the dashboard glow lamp) is stuck low — short to ground or stuck-low driver.

  • Check engine light: Yes
  • Emissions related: No
  • Repair difficulty: medium

Symptoms

  • Glow plug warning light on (often orange coil symbol)
  • Hard cold start or no start in cold weather
  • White smoke from exhaust during warm-up

Common causes

Ordered by how often each turns out to be the cause.

  • Short to groundCommon
  • Connector pins corroded - high contact resistanceLess likely
  • Harness chafing through insulationLess likely

Parts involved

  • Glow Plug Indicator

P037A is a generic OBD-II code defined by SAE J2012. Exact wording and diagnostic procedure vary by manufacturer and model. Code definitions are drawn from the public-domain OBDex dataset; the workshop notes are our own.