If you have an OHM meter you can check them yourself. The easiest way to do it is to disconnect the harness for the glow-plugs (The black box on the driver's side fender) and check each glow-plug wire individually to ground. I can't remember off hand what the resistance should be, but I am quite certain that it should be less than 1 Ohm. (do a search to find the proper values) If you find a plug with a higher resistance, or with an open circuit than you identified your problem. There are other tests that you can do, but this test is fine if you have an OHM meter. If you don't have an Ohmeter, its worth buying a digital one from Radio Shack for around $20.00 Cdn.

If I remember correctly, Plug No 4, and if your mechanic is very very good possibly plugs 3 and 5 as well (although much harder) can be changed without removing the manifold. These plugs are accessible by removing only the cross-over pipe.

For plugs 1, 2, and 6 the manifold must come off. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

If you find a defective plug and must remove the manifold than change all the plugs, otherwise you will be removing the manifold in a few months again when another glow-plug fails.

BTW. $40.00 CDN sounds about right for an original Mercedes Glow-plug

Phil

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'95 E300 Diesel, 264,000 Miles. [Sold it]

I turn on the key, let it glow for 10-15 seconds, light goes out and start the car. I've noticed as it is getting colder car is rougher. Today it was 30 degrees and the motor was not happy about running. Let it run for 5 minutes and went on down the road. Once it was warm everything was fine.

Re: testing glow plugs. Thanks for the info about testing the plugs. This is something that I could do. In terms of changing the plugs, I think I'll have to take it in. I'm concerned that one of the plugs will get stuck because of deposits on the other side. Last thing I want to do is break one off or something like that. I'm all for DIY projects but sometimes you need to call in the experts.

Plus my left rear window regulator just went kaput! I ordered a used one today so hopefully it will not be too bad to install.

I hate it when multiple problems crop up at the same time right before Christma$!

BTW, my goal is 200K with this car (I'm at 148K), I should be there in two years. By then the 2005 320 CDIs will have depreciated some (or so I hope!).

Chuck

Had the same about a month ago. I've been adding Power Service Diesel Kleen as a temporary band-aid to help my ailing injectors and it works! Granted it nails like hell when it cold until it thoroughly warms up... You'll make it to 400K without thinking.

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#dieselFLEET
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'97 E300
'99 E300

So maybe the injectors are bad? Why would the injectors misbehave when cold but work fine once warmed up?

when i 1st picked up my 190d the glow light didnt come on, but did after it started up... it wud still start fine, but wud run rough for 10 secs maybe,, i guess until it can built up enough heat through compression. got the faulty plug fixed and starts up just as smooth as it runs when warm now, even down to about -1 which is the coldest we have had so far, i start it as soon as the light go's out. its done 200k by the way.

Most likely due to the temperatures of the combustion chambers being lower not allowing for proper and or complete combustion when the injectors aren't spraying perfectly?

Once mine warms up completely the engine runs pretty smooth. As stated before the glow plug system reads the glow plugs in pairs. So if only one glow plug is off it won't trigger the CEL or glow plug light to stay on as soon as the engine is started. After replacing all six glow plugs on the '99 you could see that the 2 of the six plugs were covered in carbon soot as the others were clean.

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#dieselFLEET
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'97 E300
'99 E300

I guess I will be testing the glow plugs soon.

Also, today I got the "bulb out indicator" glowing on the dash. The 3rd brake light bulb burned out!

I'm still having a starting issue. Today I replaced the screen fuel filter and when I was done went to start the car. About 50 degrees outside. Car started but was running rough. Hmmm don't think glow plugs are the issue.

Looked under the hood to see air bubbles in the fuel lines. Looked closer and saw air bubbles in the fuel line that comes off the injection pump to the fuel filter and then in the line from the filter to the shut off valve. I could also see drops of fuel where the line connects to the IP. Ah hah! Air doesn't burn. Ordered two of the lines from Fastlane and will install next week and report back. Rick M. if you are reading your thread about replacing these lines was very helpful!

Interestingly when the car warms up the rough running goes away. Perhaps with heat the lines heat up, expand and seal up? I don't know.

I think that's not good.... I just did fuel lines on my '95 yesterday, well, 3 of them anyway. No bubbles today. I've been having a stalling problem - stalls after 5-6 minutes of perfect operation when starting cold, but I digress. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

It is MUCH easier to change these plastic fuel lines by removing the intake manifold, which I did yesterday. But that is a big job, at least 1 day if you are slow like me...

Your fuel lines must be in decent shape if you can still see fuel through them. All my old lines were so brown there was no way to see through them at all.

By the way, I think I've finally determined the cause of some rough running after a cold start. On my car, for a cold start, I usually glow it until I hear the click of the glow plug relay thru the dash. This takes a while (maybe 20-30 sec) after the glow lamp goes out. Then I start. Starts right away and no nailing.

But.... I had noticed that it would start nailing after another 1-2 minutes. It's very noticeable if you just let the car idle. No nailing, then it starts to nail, not too bad, but definitely there. Not nearly as smooth.

I have now come to the conclusion that this is the true end of the "after glow" period. I used to think that the after glow period was the time between when my lamp went out and when I heard the (first) relay click. Not so. The after glow lasts another minute or two. I now have confirmed this with my DVOM. There is another (the 2nd) fairly loud relay click matched by a significant jump in voltage of the car's 12V system, which is the glow plugs de-energizing. Then the car starts to nail.

I used to "see" this in the form of brighter headlights after the click, when driving. Now I know what's up. Fortunately for me, after the car is truly warmed up, it idles fine with no nailing.

Rgds,
Chris W.
'95 E300D

Upon closer inspection I don't think the fuel line that runs from the IP to the filter is leaking, but rather the fitting below it.

I put a 22mm wrench on the nut and gave it a 1/4 turn to tighten. Perhaps there is a sealing ring under there that is bad, I'm not sure. I still see air in the lines, but not as many. Ugh, will have to take it in. Hopefully my issues are just the lines and/or sealing rings rather than something big like the injection pump itself. After the car warms up everything is fine. Tonight the temps will be in the teens so starting in the morning will be interesting. If not I'll have to drive a different car to work. My wife has a VW cabrio and Land Rover. I told her she could buy the Rover so long as she kept the VW...because she would need something to drive when the Rover breaks. But now it looks like it will be my car that is disabled first.

If it's the line I think you mean, it has a banjo fitting on the IP, and then an O-ring type press-in fitting on the filter. I did not do this line as mine looked dusty dry. I believe there are 2 copper crush washers on either side of the banjo part of the fitting. I suppose you don't want to on it too much - the banjo is brass, I think.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Rgds,
Chris W.

I don't know why people are removing 2 or 3 lines and raplacing them. I had the seller of the car change the Shutoff valve but didn't change the O-ring. Of course, it leaked like a seive. Took it back and they changed the valve and O-ring. Still leaks. Changed 2 hoses, still leaks. Finally they changed all the hoses and no leaks anymore. Somehow, once those hoses are disturbed, seems that they never seal up right again. That seemed to be the opinion of my local mechanics.

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

Chuck, I'm generally on the forum only M-F during business hours, so I'm catching up now. If you're seeing bubbles in the plastic lines, then that is almost certainly the cause of your starting problems. The fittings on the lines get brittle and leak, allowing the fuel to drain back to the tank. Since there is no electric fuel pump and no hand operated primer pump on this engine, your only solution is to crank with the starter until the mechanical fuel pump fills the lines back up.

An interim solution, if you have an inclined driveway, is to park nose down. I did this when my shutoff valve was leaking, and there was 2 foot puddle of fuel under the car in the morning. But at least it started with no problem.

The deal with these plastic lines is that the O rings get soft. So if you take one off, then when you put it back on it is very easy for the ring to get pinched out of its groove, thus causing a leak. I struggled with one of the lines under the shutoff solenoid for 1/2 hour (couldn't see it directly) before realizing what was happening.

The other thing is that the black plastic fittings get brittle, so there is a good chance one will break when you try to take it off. Unfortunately, this means that if the lines are more than a few months old, you're best off replacing them if they have to be disturbed.

Finally, a reminder to take all the little plastic clips off the fuel lines before you remove the intake manifold. They also get brittle and you wouldn't want bits of shattered plastic falling in the intake ports.

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Rick Miley
2014 Tesla Model S
2018 Tesla Model 3
2017 Nissan LEAF
Former MB: 99 E300, 86 190E 2.3, 87 300E, 80 240D, 82 204D Euro
Chain Elongation References

Rick,

Thanks for the reply. Yesterday it took a while to get the started and warmed up. Once it warmed up it seem to run fair, but there is a loss of power and smoke under accelleration. I can still see bubbles in the lines, but not as many. This morning it was 11 degrees outside. The engine would start OK but would not keep running, so I drove my wife's other car to work today. I'm going to have to call the shop to see if they can fit me in sometime this week. When it's this cold it's no fun to work on your car in the driveway

So why would aiming your car downhill help with a starting problem? Gravity pulling the fuel to the front of the car?

Yes.

But starting ok and then not running may be a different problem. Once the engine is running, the fuel pump should have no trouble keeping up.

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Rick Miley
2014 Tesla Model S
2018 Tesla Model 3
2017 Nissan LEAF
Former MB: 99 E300, 86 190E 2.3, 87 300E, 80 240D, 82 204D Euro
Chain Elongation References