Hey everyone,
I wanted to post this for anyone searching on this info- as I had a hard time finding exactly what I needed when I did my search.

My w201 started blowing alot of smoke at startup a few months ago, and one cold day- she wouldn't start. Like others, my glow pug indicator lamp on the dash came on and had shut off in about 5 seconds, indicating at least ONE bad glowplug. I tried everything from plugging in for hours to physically jumping up and down and yelling profanities, and nothing made her start. Four diesel web site searches for several hours later, I learned what the indicator lamp was telling me, and went to the garage to check my glow plugs with my multimeter. (U MUST USE A DIGITAL HERE- HARBOR FREIGHT HAS A NICE ONE FOR JUST $4). It was nearly impossible to reach them directly, so I pulled the cover of the glow plug relay on the fender and checked thru the conector. Three of the glowplugs were open, while one was at 4.7 ohms! EEK!

Since I was in a desperate hurry to get her running, I priced glow plugs all over town. They ranged from Bosch 80006 at Autozone for $10 each (supposed to be very good) to "oem" at the dealer for $25 a pop. I decided to hit the net and call around to price a new relay as well (as I was sure mine was original). I had a terrible time finding the glow plug relay for our 190d, and when I did, it was a special order or cost so much that I became frustrated. After calling my local dealer and being quoted "Special order $235" for the relay, and "$25 for each glow plug" I searched the forums again. Someone had posted about how much they loved their Bosch Duratherm/ fast glow system in their 300d. I did more research and found that there was a Duratherm system available for the 190d/ w201 and it was available from FastLane.

So, I called and spoke to "Phil" to make sure they had a set for my 190d, and that I could get it shipped over-night. They did and they could so here's the info (I have pictures of everything, but I don't have an online file cabinet anywhere... ) OK- I attached some little pics at the bottom for ya'll.

My original glow-plug relay in the 190d had the part number 89-9195 or 89 9195 but I was told by the dealer "that number doesn't exist." (now u can see that it does!) Crossing it didn't help either, there was no listing for this part number. Most sites had no listing for the car at all.

What I bought from FastLane was a Bosch Duratherm (aka fast glow) system listed as part number:
0-250-201-953-710
or 0-250-201-953
or 250 201 953
according to the box, this kit fits the following:
w123d
w124d
w126d
w201d
g460/461d
207d
209d
307d
309d
407d
409d
507d
which came with a relay and 4 glow plugs. Check your application thoroughly though! 5 cyl cars need another plug, and there may be other weirdness.

Anyway- it took nearly the entire day to swap the glowplugs, what a mess! To do this on my 190d, (without removal of the intake!) I used a 3/8 ratchet with extensions, 10mm, 12mm, and 1/2 deep sockets, a swivel and a nifty magnetic wand to pick up and hold stuff. DON'T FORGET ANTI-SEIZE COMPOUND! The new relay in the kit has the connections on top REVERSED. The instructions tell you to rotate the relay 180 degrees and mount it, but this isn't possible unless u position it upside down (bad idea as rain and who knows what could get in there). Instead, loosen the cable ties holding the wiring to the fender and re-orient the cables to reach and fit onto the glowplug relay.

After 5 days of nothing- she started on the first crank, and I'll add that there was VERY LITTLE SMOKE! Since the glow plug relay heats the glow plugs faster, and keeps them hot a little longer- she pops to life quickly and runs VERY SMOOTHLY when started now, and there is only a trace of smoke, rather than a big cloud like previously. I can't say enough about how happy I am with this purchase for our w201. You guys should all get one of these!

Well, I hope this post is of help to some of you!
Cheers-J

Attached Thumbnails

       

Thanks for the great post! I have a 1984 190D and I just replaced all four glow plugs two days ago. I really wish I would have known about this upgrade. Oh well, when my car needs new glow plugs I will definately be putting in one of these systems!

I had to let my plugs glow after the light goes out, figured I need new plugs, a fresh battery solved it. However, when it's below freezing and I start this thing, it does run rough and smoke at first, even though the glow-plugs stay on after starting. Are you saying that a cold start like this doesn't produce smoke on yours? If that can be done I'm upgrading, maybe I'm reading this incorrectly.

- Jeff Miller
190DT

Glad it did work well for you!

But I think you would have been ok with the old relay as well. If it was working fine. I've also been having troubles with my 201, with a 5 cyl 602.128 (turbo). I changed all the gp in June 2005, then in october the gp light was showing bad gp and the car was acting up during the first start up, so went to the same place where I goth the forst gp (wurth) and explained the man what hapened. He gave me 5 new gps for 1/2 the price. Everything was working ok, till like 2-3 weeks ago. the gp light started showing again a bad gp. The car starts fine but with a big cloud of white smoke and first 20-30 sec rough idle. Another interesting thing is that the car starts and works much better in cold weather rather than warm . So yesterday I changed the gps (bought them in a different shop) and I'll see how long will these last .

Hi,

Is there a similar preheat relay and Durtherm glow plug kit available for a the 1981-1985 300D?

Thanks.

Hey Guys-
Sorry it's taken so long to get back over here- too many projects for grad school + flu etc.

Regarding an application for a 300d- I'd give FastLane a call and ask them about your app. They were a big help to me and even overnight shipped it to me so I got her running in...48 hours I think. If there is a kit and they don't have it, they would probably be able to give you a part number to check around.

Regarding the smoke- yes I HAD a big cloud of smoke (unburned diesel) on cold startups before she just stopped starting altogether- but since I installed this duratherm set- NO SMOKE NOW! Seriously, if there's any smoke- I haven't seen any. There was a little on the first few starts after I installed the kit- but I don't see it anymore. I still can't believe what a difference it has made. I used to have to sit for 20 seconds for her to start- now it's like 6 seconds and she just purrs (like a diesel anyway), and no cloud to back up through.

I DID keep the old relay just in case- since I tested it and it proved to be working OK, but the Glow plugs were toast. I probably could have gotten away with just swapping the glowplugs, but I decided for only a little more $ I could get the whole kit.... And no- I don't work for Bosch, I'm just very happy with the kit! I haven't been this happy with a product since I installed the euro headlights on the 190, or when I bought NTK oxygen sensors for my vette (RIP..) from sparkplugs.com for $40 each!- but that's another story.

I hope the post and the pics were helpful to you guys!- John

I know this is old but thanks for the info on the fast relay kit from FastLane..
It's now $100 with an extra glow plug for the 5cyl

__________________
I am not a post whore, I am a car enthusiast.
86 190D 420k and counting

Yep...digging up an old thread here. I'm currently looking for one of these Bosch duratherm kits for my '81 240D. Maybe I'm not searching hard enough, but they don't seem to be readily available anymore, were there issues with these to cause them to be discontinued?

__________________
BENZSTER

W123, '81 240D, Pastel Grey/Blue Tex
W126, '88 300 SEL, Artic White/Grey Leather

I don't think there were issues. I had one in my 1979 300D that had been installed before I got the car. It worked fine till the day I sold it... I never should have sold that car..

__________________
2004 F150 4.6L -My Daily
2007 Volvo XC70 -Wife's Daily
1998 Ford F150 -Rear ended
1989 J-spec 420SEL -passed onto its new keeper
1982 BMW 733i -fixed and traded for the 420SEL
2003 Volvo V70 5 Speed -scrapped
1997 E290 Turbo Diesel Wagon -traded for above
1992 BMW 525i -traded in
1990 Silver 300TE -hated the M103
1985 Grey 380SE Diesel Conversion, 2.47 rear end, ABS -Sold, really should have kept this one
1979 Silver 300D "The Silver Slug" -Sold

Right now some Sellers use the Duratherm name in their Ads and some don't; on the same Glow Plugs

__________________
84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

the plugs are readily available; however the upgrade kits are NLA. the relay can sometimes be found on the bay

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1983 300SD (daily driver)
1991 420SEL (work in progress)
1979 300SD (future replacement for 83 SD)

RIP:
1983 300SD (totalled)
1986 420SEL

I'm curious why these are not available as a kit any more, seemed like a good thing to package these items together...any ideas? Any recommended sellers to purchase from as a set...perhaps here?

Thanks!

__________________
BENZSTER

W123, '81 240D, Pastel Grey/Blue Tex
W126, '88 300 SEL, Artic White/Grey Leather

is there an advantage to using these without the fast glow relay? as I understand it, in addition to working with said relay, they are just of a better quality all together. I use the pencil style plugs already.

__________________
'82 240D 224K miles manual transmission
mods: wooden 4by4 bumper, EGR delete and older EX manifold without EGR port, glass pack muffler (cheapest replacement muffler), rebuilt bosch injectors with Monark nozzles

working on: aux electric fuel pump, coolant/fuel heat exchanger/filter head, afterglow, low oil pressure buzzer/LED

... will the duraterm glowplugs work with the stock relay or is the fastglow relay necessary for them to work?

__________________
'82 240D 224K miles manual transmission
mods: wooden 4by4 bumper, EGR delete and older EX manifold without EGR port, glass pack muffler (cheapest replacement muffler), rebuilt bosch injectors with Monark nozzles

working on: aux electric fuel pump, coolant/fuel heat exchanger/filter head, afterglow, low oil pressure buzzer/LED

Hey all- was surprised to see an old thread I started 7 years ago still banging around in here. I can't answer yellowsub's recent questions specifically, but what I can say that 7 years and maybe 75-80K later (knocking wood) this system is one of the few that has continued to serve me well in the 190.

The fast glow works like the relay in our diesel smart car and the 96 e300- it glows faster than the original (I dunno maybe 4-5 secs) to start on an average day, (7-8 secs on a cold 35-40 degree f day) and continues to warm the plugs for a couple of minutes after starting. I didn't originally think this was any really big deal, but I can say that it has started for me in weather I would have sworn it would never start in. (below 15 degrees f under a pile of snow was impressive.)

As for the benefit of having the plugs warming after startup- it has prevented the car from dying as it pulled out of ice and snow -ey parking spot in Chicago and refusing to start again. In short it helps it run when warming up- and helps it run smoother for sure. I will use the block heater on really cold days, but it will start without it. One benefit that I didn't forsee is that the 190 does NOT puke a 30 foot cloud of black smoke on start up likem some do before the upgrade. This is one of the best mods I've done on the 190, and aside from the euro headlights, I think it has been one of the best safety mods I've done on the car.