Never Touch Hot Diesel Glow Plugs!!!
 

While diagnosing the glow plug system, do NOT touch any part of a hot glow plug.

Heating the air to a minimum starting temperature of 850°C is critical for diesel engine start-up.

Glow plugs run 1000° - 1300°C = "2372° Fahrenheit" optimal temperature range.

Touching the glow plug wire nut can cause severe burns, especially if there is a fault causing it to overheat.

YEEEOUCH! :eek:

Medical or mechanical?

Ive learn this the hard way with damp spark plug wires,:eek: and yes I found the bad wire.

ShaZamm!

Made note of that the first time I fired one up to test. Even while holding it with a good sized pair of plyers you can feel the heat....

I've learned several seemingly common sense lessons the hard and painful way. This subject WILL be registered in the brain files!

This is why I always use NEW glow plugs = maximum possible temperature.
 

Basic uncontrolled variables with used glow plugs:

* Electrode stress/torque damage
* Glow plug tip degradation pitting/burn off, if the point is eroded = it is junk.
* Glow plug age degradation
* Glow plug brand/manufacture variation
* If you are not comparing each used one to a NEW glow plug, it is easy to make a mistake.

Each cylinder requires MAXIMUM heat for starting...


.

Where'd you get the Bosch Chromium GP ?
 

Mr. Hunter,

Picture #4 is of a Bosch Chromium GP (AT OP. Temp)
[Giveaway is the Chrome Heating Element and the Blue Silicone Insulator]

Errrr, Let me rephrase that inquiry...
Is/Are Fastlane/APX now stocking Bosch Duraterm Chromium GP s ?

I believe the chromiums are only available in Europe. However I would love for someone to prove me wrong on this.

Should they really glow that quickly?
 

Not to hijack this important safety message, but the first picture in Whunter's post shows four glow plugs in various stages of glowing. The one on the far right appears to be fully activated after only 2.0 seconds, at least according to this photo. Should it take only 2.0 seconds for the glow plugs in a 617 engine to be fully active and hot?

The reason I ask is that a couple of weeks ago I tested my glow plugs in an effort to remedy rough cold start problems, and when I hooked each of them up to 12V they did eventually glow white hot, but it took more like 8-10 seconds for them to reach that stage. These are Bosch GPs that I bought about 6 months ago. I thought this was normal and moved on, but is it?

If it matters, the resistance of the plugs were between 1.7 and 1.9 ohms. I reported the results here on the forum and based on the replies I received I decided that the plugs were ok and that it was more likely an injector problem.

7-10 sec. is perfectly normal. The newer plugs heat up much faster. I still have the old slow glow plugs in my volvo and they take about 15-20 seconds to reach full temp. Just depends on the type of plug and application.

Also, not to discount WHunters warning but on a cold day I have found a good quick way to nail down a bad glow plug is to feel the hex portion of the body after a couple glow cycles. A bad plug will be stone cold and the others will be warm to the touch. This is in the head of course where there is enough heat transfer to prevent the plug from heating up enough to burn you. Testing out of the head in the open air is another story.

I thought Mercedes wrenchers were a smarter bunch.... Hmmmmm
(Sorry couldn't resist)

Thanks for your Entre.
 

DIESELVOLVO,

'Well aware the Bosch Chromium(s) only available through E.U. / Asian distribution system.

'Can always Hint/Hope though !

OK
 

Found on FastLane:

Glow Plug Duraterm
1996-1999 Mercedes Benz E300

1994-1995 Mercedes Benz S350
Bosch Duraterm Glow Plug

2005-2006 Mercedes Benz E320
Bosch Duraterm Glow Plug


Still looking for more in stock...