rrgrassi. The "w123 knowledge" comment was a veiled joke probably lost on everyone but myself. There is such a huge base of info on the 123 and almost nothing on the late 115 300D's. I've never owned a 123 diesel but I've been dealt enough emphatic advice pertaining to those cars that I'd bet I know more about them than about my own Miss Margret (Sorry. Wife named the car)

Thanks for the pin designations, pdxwaker. I will check ground resistance at the mystery wire as well as pin 1 at the relay plug this afternoon.

I'm going to throw out a WAG. Don't confuse this with an EWAG. I'm simply not capable when dealing with electrical issues. If the relay itself is not timed -and I'm not sure it is looking at the diagram - this wire must offer some bit of info to the the sensor/switch rather than simply serving as a ground. Does it possibly deliver voltage flux to the sensor which in turn de-energizes the relay based on prescribed values? I remember with the old series setup, the glow time was never constant. If it was relatively warm outside it would glow for a much shorter period of time - On a cold morning it might go for a good long period. What is the difference in voltage drop between the last plug in the old series and any one of the new parallel plugs? Should the wire possibly be connected as it was? I can't see this being the case as I know for a fact that it is not looking for battery voltage but how about the slightly lower, but climbing voltage seen at the plugs?

Thanks for all the ideas. Keep them flowing as it's obvious even to me, by reading the above, that I don't have a clue.

Sam