P0670 Glow Plug Module Control Circuit

P0670 indicates a glow plug module control circuit problem. The controller cannot command or monitor the diesel glow plug control module correctly.

Code details

Generic OBD-II · P0
System
Computer
Code type
Generic (SAE / ISO controlled)
Standard
SAE J2012 / ISO 15031-6

Diagnostic boundary

A diagnostic trouble code reports that a monitored test failed. It does not prove one specific part is bad, and manufacturer logic can add vehicle-specific conditions.

Do not replace all glow plugs for P0670 until the shared control module power, ground, and command circuit are tested.

Symptoms of P0670

Common causes of P0670

Useful checks before replacing parts

How serious is P0670, and can you keep driving?

Urgency
Varies — read the whole code list before judging
Safe to drive?
Depends entirely on what the module has decided to do about it.

This family covers control-module, reference-voltage and internal-fault codes, and the severity spans the full range. A failed reference voltage can put several unrelated sensors out at once, which is why a car with one of these often has a long code list rather than a single entry. Read the whole list: the pattern across the codes usually identifies the common circuit far faster than any one of them does.

Clearing P0670, and making it stay gone

Clearing P0670 with a scan tool switches the lamp off; it does not fix anything, and it throws away the freeze-frame snapshot the car saved when the fault set. That snapshot is the most useful diagnostic evidence you have, because it records the load, RPM and temperature at the moment the test failed. Read it before you erase it.

Left alone, the lamp goes out on its own once the monitor that failed runs and passes on three consecutive driving cycles. The code stays in history after that, which is how a workshop can still see it. Disconnecting the battery is not a shortcut — it clears the stored codes and every learned fuel-trim value with them, so the car relearns from scratch and the underlying fault simply sets the code again.

On vehicles from roughly 2010 onward there is also a permanent DTC, which no scan tool can erase at all. It clears only when the monitor genuinely passes. That is deliberate: it stops a code being wiped in the car park outside an emissions test.

What P0670 costs to put right

There is no honest single figure for P0670, and any page that gives you one is guessing. The code names a circuit or a failed monitor, not a part — the same code can be a chafed wire, a connector full of water, or the component itself, and those are three very different bills.

The number worth budgeting for is diagnostic time. An hour of it is almost always cheaper than the second part you buy after the first one does not fix it, and parts fitted on a guess are rarely refundable once installed. If you are getting a quote, ask what the diagnosis found rather than what is being replaced — a computer fault traced to a specific cause is a repair, and a list of parts is a hopeful shopping list.

Questions people ask about P0670

What does P0670 mean?

P0670 indicates a glow plug module control circuit problem. The controller cannot command or monitor the diesel glow plug control module correctly.

Can I drive with P0670?

Depends entirely on what the module has decided to do about it. This family covers control-module, reference-voltage and internal-fault codes, and the severity spans the full range. A failed reference voltage can put several unrelated sensors out at once, which is why a car with one of these often has a long code list rather than a single entry. Read the whole list: the pattern across the codes usually identifies the common circuit far faster than any one of them does.

What causes P0670?

The usual candidates are low battery voltage, poor grounds, corroded connectors, or blown fuses; wiring or network (CAN bus) faults between modules; a module software/programming issue, or rarely a failed controller. The code tells you which test failed, not which of those did it — that is what the checks on this page are for.

Will P0670 clear itself?

Left alone, the lamp goes out on its own once the monitor that failed runs and passes on three consecutive driving cycles. The code stays in history after that, which is how a workshop can still see it. Disconnecting the battery is not a shortcut — it clears the stored codes and every learned fuel-trim value with them, so the car relearns from scratch and the underlying fault simply sets the code again.

Does P0670 mean I need to replace a part?

Do not replace all glow plugs for P0670 until the shared control module power, ground, and command circuit are tested.

How much does it cost to fix P0670?

There is no honest single figure for P0670, and any page that gives you one is guessing. The code names a circuit or a failed monitor, not a part — the same code can be a chafed wire, a connector full of water, or the component itself, and those are three very different bills.

Related OBD-II codes

These nearby computer entries can help compare wording and pin down the fault area.