My month-long run of maintenance free ownership and driving has come to an end

Hopped in the car this morning, temps in the mid-teens, waited for the GP light to go off and began cranking. It took a good 15 seconds before it began to fire. Then the GP lamp started flashing. I wonder if the long hard starting yesterday around 0*F finally did something in? I haven't had any problems with temps down into the 20's.

Oh well, time to break out the multimeter. I'm just trying to decide if I want to putz around with it now that winter seems to have set in or wait until it warms up again. While it had a recent oil change when I bought it, I think I'll do another one with a lighter weight and see why there is no plug for a block heater (or if one is even installed).

Not being a fan of cold-weather fumbling, I may just let the old girl sleep in on the really cold mornings and take her out on warm days.

It was only a matter of time!

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

Don't forget to check your strip fuse too, might be an easier fix than you anticipate....

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Chris
64 190D R.I.P.
80 240D W/617 engine -for sale
82 240D -for sale

in my 80 SD the flashing GP light after start-up meant that there were some bad GP. I think if the fuse is blown then there will be no GP light at all due to no power getting past the fuse.

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-Trevor

OBK #12
1980 300SD 333,XXX miles - Totaled
1986 Mazda RX-7 212,XXX miles - impounded and auctioned off
2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited 33,000- SEGR, Provent, Fumoto

This is an indication of at least one glow plug needing to be replaced. My suggestion would be to replace them all especially if you aren't aware of the last time they were changed. I had the same basic issue with my '79.

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1984 300SD 148K Gold
1979 300SD 142K Cream
2001 Audi TT Roadster 60K
2005 Chevrolet 3500 13K

After I thought about it over the weekend, I had the same thought. They could easily be a decade old. It's definitely misssing on a couple cylinders for the first 5-10 seconds.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)