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Don't always trust your glow plug indicator light!
I have been having trouble getting the SD started in the morning over the last couple of days. Yesterday I noticed the glow plug light wasn't coming on all the time and decided to replace them. This morning the car wouldn't start so my dad gave me a ride to work and told me he would look at it.
Well even though with a meter all the glow plugs tested ok he found something very interesting. When you stick a good glow plug on a battery the tip will glow red in a couple of seconds. Well he stuck all 5 of the old glow plugs on a battery and only ONE glowed red. The other 4 only got a little warm. So the light was coming on when only one glow plug was actually glowing!:eek: The point is if you are having trouble starting just spin a new set of glow plugs in. Now the car starts without much trouble. The $50 that a new set cost was worth every penny, I need the car to start. |
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After all its measuring a current drop...so that one glow plug SOMETIMES will drop a lot more (cold) than when it is hot. When the 617 gets down to one glow plug...its hard to start. And yes, the light stops working at that point...or atleast starts not ALWAYS coming on :) |
Glowplug/Light
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Lifted from MB Service Manual doc 15-705, click here or on image for complete PDF file: http://ken.kdharris.net/kdhbenz/glow...ug-failure.jpg |
Did you ream the holes when you put the new ones in?
Any special tools required? |
I didn't ream the holes as they were pretty clean...
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Would you recommend doing so?
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I didn't ream the holes and never have. On a 606 I would, but not on the older engines. Carbon really shouldn't be a problem on these unless you idle them around a lot.
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They make a special reamer that will fit on a socket wrench but if I remember correctly its a tad expensive. I read on here that a drill bit of the same size works and thats what I did. Crank it for a second or two to blast that carbon out of the prechamber. I probably won't do it the next time I need plugs done. I only did it this time because it was my first change and not a lot of carbon came out.
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Glow plug light out then instrument panel light now it wont start
A couple of months ago I put in a new battery then a few weeks later the glow plug indicator stopped coming on but it continued to start. Roughly a month later I hit the horn and it sounded like my '62 bug, whimpy. Then I lost my instrument panel lights but it continued to start for about a week. Now it wont start. I need help, any suggestions?
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Your alternator or voltage regulator has failed. Search the forum for those topics.
I must ask, why did you continue to drive it knowing it had a significant electrical problem? |
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I use a battery charger to test the plugs to see if they glow. I never knew about using a voltage meter, so I figured the best way to test them was to pop them out the hook up a charger to them to see if they glow.
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My 300SD does not light the glow plugs indicator, does it mean I should change glow plugs because I am down to one?
It starts fine but now at around 12-15F it got harder indeed, few more cranks and rough few seconds after starts, then like a dream http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/vbpgimage.php?do=full&p=3664&d=1229373678 BTW, BOSCH or BERU? |
Check your fuse in the relay and make sure the plugs are getting 12 volts when in the glow position before changing plugs, but it probably means the plugs are bad.
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The light in my SD was taking a second or two to light up after I turned the key to the pre-glow position. I checked my plugs and had one out, now that I have replaced the plug it lights up immediately.
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