Do you always wait for Glowplug Light ??

[e300D97]

I was reading the manual and on my E300D it talks about not having to wait for Glowplugs when engine is hot? I have been waiting each time I start for the glowplug light to go out. Just curious about what others do when engine is hot. I.E. Run into store for milk and back out quickly?? Any thoughts.??

[rg2098]

For your car, I wouldn't. I don't with my old OM617 which is way more unrefined. Try testing how long you can wait. You won't hurt anything, it will just crank longer or shorter and you can get a feeling and judge when you need to glow it.

[Jim Wickham]

Not a Mercedes but we had an Allis Chalmers 6080 Tractor growing up on the farm with a 4 cyl turbocharged diesel in it.... about 85HP 4 liter engine. It was not even setup with glow plugs, that thing would start at 10F every time, no starting fluid, now grid heater, no glow plugs, not plugged in. It had 10K hrs with out a rebuild and still ran like a top, no blowby no loss of power and still started great. I really don't think glow plugs are entirely necessary with all diesels. If mine fires easily without it I don't bother.

[e300D97]

Thanks for the replies. I was thinking that if you do a lot of stop and go trips it might be just unnecessary use of thethe plugs to wait each time for light to go out.

[JimmyL]

Nice looking car.
I glow mine every time. Better for me to stress the glow plugs than the starter. They are much easier to change.....
BTW, I don't wait for the light, as it immediately goes out after it comes on (still glowing, though). I turn on key, put on seat belt, then start. Just my routine.....

[Hatterasguy]

Nah I crank her right over, the 617 doesn't mind this.

With the 603 you have to let the plugs cycle, every time.

[Jeremy5848]

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

....With the 603 you have to let the plugs cycle, every time.

What happens if you don't? (I ask this because I'm about to buy one.)


My start-up technique is the same as JimmyL's, "...turn on key, put on seat belt, then start."

For quick in-and-out stops you might consider using a second key to lock up the car and just leave the engine running. Diesel truck drivers do that all the time and there are threads on this forum about people letting their cars idle all night in sub-zero weather.

[JimmyL]

Originally Posted by Jeremy5848

For quick in-and-out stops you might consider using a second key to lock up the car and just leave the engine running.

Hmmm, I know I left my car right here where this broken glass is.....

[H-townbenzoboy]

I always wait for the glowplug light, though there have been some exceptions, such as when the car was hot. It didn't seem to hurt anything, but I went back to waiting for them to glow, even when hot.

It's also good to start the car from cold after cycling the plugs twice, but once is enough if it's not too cold outside. Waiting about 15-30 sec after the light goes off and then starting up results in less smoke at startup, and it runs smoother, at least with my experiences it does.

[muleears]

I had all 6 GP's changed on my 603 this summer. I thought one or two were bad but Indy told me all six were toast. The car still started (when cold~70*) with no working GP's. Generally for the first start each day I wait for the light to extinguish then wait about 10 more sec. The rest of the days starts follow the previous routine: ignition on, seatbelt on, start. Works fine for me. I too don't like overworking my starter. I also run a blend so I like it hot.

[rg2098]

I still support my initial post. If the engine is still hot, aka running into the store for a few minutes, its not really stressing the starter out much at all. Now when its stone cold and 40 degrees out, then yes it would hurt not to glow.

[TMAllison]

I wait for the light on my 99 always. First start of the day it may take 10 secs pending temp for the indicator to go out. Thereafter it is much faster. On a hot summer day after the first start of of the day it may only come on for 1-2 secs before going out.

If you start with cold glow plugs the CEL ought to light up on the 96 and newer vehicles. In that instance, the CEL would turn itself off after 3 cold starts if the promlem (cold plugs) didnt repeat itself.

I thought patience was part of the diesel expirience?

[riethoven]

Originally Posted by rg2098

I still support my initial post. If the engine is still hot, aka running into the store for a few minutes, its not really stressing the starter out much at all. Now when its stone cold and 40 degrees out, then yes it would hurt not to glow.

That is how it is for my OM617. Once it is hot I do not need to wait for the glow plugs. It fires up just fine.

[nhdoc]

I find that with my '98 E300 DT there is slightly longer crank times even on a hot shutdown restart if I don't wait for the glow plug light to go out than if I wait the extra second or two for it to glow. I learned to drive on a '74 240D and with that car you only needed to pre-glow when it was cold, ie the first start of the day. In that car if the engine was even lukewarm it would kick right over without a millisecond of glow. But the OM606 seems to appreciate a second or two of pre-glow even when it is hot so I do it. It may be the newer style of pre-chamber that relies on the plugs more than the heat stored up in the head, but whatever the reason the car seems to like it better that way.

I guess I feel, like another responder, that GPs are cheaper and easier to replace than a starter so if I can cut a second or two of cranking off the starter every time I hot start it I might extend its life a little in the long run...plus I like the sound of it just kicking over and starting with less than one revolution of the engine rather than listening to rururur.

[Hatterasguy]

Originally Posted by Jeremy5848

What happens if you don't? (I ask this because I'm about to buy one.)

They start like crap you will see. With the 603 you have to let the GP's cycle even if its 100 degrees out, also they get pissy if you do a lot of short trip around town driving with them.