P0383
Glow Plug Control Module 1 Control Circuit Low
The drive line from the PCM to glow plug control module 1 is stuck low — short to ground. Wiring faults of this kind typically come from chafing, water ingress at connector seals, or pin push-back — a wiggle test on the harness while the code is active often confirms the location.
- Check engine light: Yes
- Emissions related: Yes
- 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 Control Module
P0383 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.