it glows, then it doesnt glow, then it glows... what the heck!!!! - Page 5 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

dabenz · #61 01-23-2006, 05:23 PM

75mercedes07:

I would suggest you take a close look at the back of the headlight switch and the gorilla knob. If you did what I think you did, then you first put parallel style plugs in place of the series style plugs without changing the wiring. Then you changed the wiring only halfway (I could say you didn't follow the directions... ...but I'm a nice guy). You may have run 100+ amps past the the headlight switch, through the gorilla knob, through the salt shaker, and through the original wiring - it's designed for 50 amps. Lucky you didn't start a fire under the dash.

Old (series) system: that gorilla knob gets it's power from two directions: the starter side from the key switch and the glow side from the headlight switch. The glow wire comes through the firewall to the back of the headlight switch (it acts just as a connector) to the gorilla knob to the salt shaker and back through the firewall to the first series glow plug (rear cylinder). Then the second glow plug then the third then the fourth then through the ground strap (or coolant temperature sensor) to engine block. The engine block completes one big continuous circuit.

New (parallel) system the easy and reliable way: A good dieseler pops the hood, checks the oil, and gives the hand pump a few whacks before starting the engine. That's why they last. So put your new 100 amp switch under the hood and in a dry location, but away from the battery so you reduce the risk of a spark and battery explosion. The firewall might be a good location. Now take what's left of your kit and find the big fuse (50 or 80 amps). You need to make a big wire from the battery (+) to the fuse to the 100 amp switch. Out of the switch you need four big wires. One end of a wire to the switch (four times) and the other to a glow plug. The glow plug will ground itself to the block and the plugs will not be connected to each other. You should be able to figure out how to do this with the wires from the kit.

Remember: the whole point of the relay in the kit is to keep 50 amps away from the dash and reduce the risk of fire. You're doing the same thing by putting the 100 amp switch in the engine compartment - and eliminating a failure point (relay can't fail if it's not there).

Looking ahead: pop the hood, check the oil, give the hand pump a few whacks, hit and hold the glow switch and start counting "one glow plug, two glow plug, ... until you reach twenty in temperatures down to 20F. Start the car, watching the oil pressure gauge, then close the hood. That hood should remind you to let the engine warm up a bit before driving off.

dabenz · #62 01-23-2006, 05:32 PM

I forgot the redneck method of crimp type battery cable connectors.

Fit the cable into the connector, then put the assembly on the concrete floor/driveway. Somebody stand on the very end of the connector. Somebody else take two ball peen hammers. Rest the pointed end of one hammer on the crimp point and beat the other end with the other hammer. Then use 3M brand number 5200 sealant to prevent air/moisture from getting to the wires in the cable.

Brandon314159: can I "buy" two 100 amp switches?

#63 01-23-2006, 09:09 PM

The switch mailed out today...

I would not recommend mounting it under the hood...opening/closing the hood gets REAL old after awhile...the car needs to be able to be started from INSIDE...espically if an emergency presents itself.

It should be there thursday/friday.

I'll have to dig around to see if I have any more switches...as far as I know I only had the one but maybe dad has a stash sitting at his work.

Why everyone need them? 100amp solenoids getting to hard to find?

75mercedes07 · #64 01-24-2006, 03:10 PM

we will let ya'll know what happens when we get the switch. we are getting tons of different imput as far as what to do, which makes things a little more interesting.

75mercedes07 · #65 01-26-2006, 10:15 PM

we got the switch in the mail yesturday. today we started to put everything together. we did a little shopping and found some massive wire connectors. we bought all the wire we need. we came home and soldered some things together, and made a nice group of wires that will connect to the gps as they are suppose to be connected. (we used the whunter connections). we called it a night after being at it for a good 5-6 hours. tomorrow all we have to do is connect the gps and the switch. (the switch connection is mostly already finished). we are charging the battery tonight as well.

about the grounding of the battery from the negative terminal... with all the contraversial disputes as to what we should do, we are going to wait on the issue a little. my dad found a new battery cable in the garage, so we might look into hooking that up which would solve several problems. we a primarily working on getting the car running.

let us know on any other input you have. thanks!

ra

75mercedes07 · #66 01-27-2006, 04:48 PM

we wired everything up, and pushed the button in, counted for 30 seconds, but when i went to check if the gps were warm, they didnt appear to be warm considering they get up to 1800 degrees. we did notice the battery light dimmed. i tried it again, didnt seem to get any warmer, so then i pulled the pull start switch and pushed the button at the same time, and it started at the 30 second mark. atleast it starts. it is 40 degrees outside. any ideas?

we took two 4 gauge wires and soldered them into some connections for the negative battery ground. and we are about to put that on right now. ( we had the old one on when we started it)

also, we put silicone over the metal that was showing in order to prevent as much corosion.

whunter · #67 01-27-2006, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 75mercedes07

We put silicone over the metal that was showing in order to prevent as much corrosion.

Silicon does not stop rust.
Never use silicon on a surface you are connecting a ground cable to, it is an insulator.

#68 01-27-2006, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whunter

Silicon does not stop rust.
Never use silicon on a surface you are connecting a ground cable to, it is an insulator.

If anything, use some battery post spray stuff or some grease AFTER the cable is on...

Silicone will cause lots of oxidation if placed on most metals...

75mercedes07 · #69 01-27-2006, 06:00 PM

well what should i do to get the silicone off? but on the good side the engine started up faster after putting on the thicker ground wire. a ton faster like the first crank of the engine. also i still could not tell if the pluggs were that hot so i tlod shell to just hold the button on and pull the start switch.

-Another good thing is that the wires going from the switch to the pluggs does not get hot.

- shouldn't the pluggs fell hot if you touch them? you said they get up to 1800 degrees so what is up with that?

- What sould i do about getting off the silocone and what else can i put on the copper to keep it from coroding.

-It was a good idea to solder the wires to the copper connecters right, or was that bad?

thanks for the help

Kabe

whunter · #70 01-27-2006, 07:17 PM

Hello Kabe
A small wire brush, steel wool or sand paper will get the silicone off the cable to body contact area, you can seal the soldered area of copper cable with silicone to keep it from corroding.

Here is proof the ground body to battery was an issue, the engine started up faster after putting on the thicker ground wire, a ton faster like the first crank of the engine.

This is good. RE: Another good thing is that the wires going from the switch to the plugs does not get hot.

answer is NO. RE: shouldn't the plugs feel hot if you touch them?

The tip inside each cylinder gets hot. RE: You said they get up to 1800 degrees so what is up with that?

FACT; It was a good idea to solder the wires to the copper connectors .

Congratulation, I am glad it is running.
Have a great day.

75mercedes07 · #71 01-27-2006, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whunter

Hello Kabe
A small wire brush, steel wool or sand paper will get the silicone off the cable to body contact area, you can seal the soldered area of copper cable with silicone to keep it from corroding.

we put the silicone outside of the solder. the silicone shouldnt be touching the wire itself. if it is, its very very little. but we basically soldered a big ring around the wire, then put the silicone over it.

dabenz · #72 01-28-2006, 11:00 AM

75mercedes07: hope I didn't create confusion with the sealant. I know you know that a metal to metal contact is needed to conduct electricity. All you need to do with the sealant is to keep the copper part of the wire away from air and moisture. Sounds like you did it right.

A good soldering job will last a long time. We like crimp connectors because the vibrations from the engine and road tends to break the solder and cause an irritating intermittent open circuit. With experience you'll see the difference between crimp and solder and insulated and uninsulated connectors.

Going to an engineering school? You're what the profession needs: smart women that are willing to do more than push a pencil.

75mercedes07 · #73 01-28-2006, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dabenz

Going to an engineering school? You're what the profession needs: smart women that are willing to do more than push a pencil.

oddly enough, engineering is a career i am really looking into.

75mercedes07 · #74 01-30-2006, 09:54 PM

so here is the deal. the car has been running fine, all until today. i plugged it in last night, and this morning i went out to start it. it started, but kind of hard. i went to school, and by the end of the day, it wouldnt start. it didnt even sound like it would start. so we jumped it, started up real easy. i kept the car running for atleast a good 1/2 hour. turned it off, then right back on and it started just fine. did that once more 15 minutes later, same deal. then i headed somewhere, let it sit for 1 1/2 hours, and it still started up well. but then came the problem. i let it sit for about 3 1/2 hours and it wouldnt start. jumped it, and it started fine. battery? alternator? i have no clue. the lights dim in the car when i start the car up. nothing was running either. we charged the battery just the other night as well. what is going on?

ra

75mercedes07 · #75 02-05-2006, 10:33 PM

so we went in and had the battery checked. we think it has to be the alternator. the good thing is i have an extra alternator from the engine swap i did this past summer. here is the bad thing... my alternator belt supposedly keeps getting real loose. is that the alternator causing it or something else? if its not the alternator then i would have no idea what to do. the alternator isnt charging my battery up at all. i want to know its the alternator before i swap out that one and in the other. thanks!

ra