I've got a 1984 190D that currently has 250,000 miles on it. To date I've had to replace the vacuum pump and rebuild the brakes and have just replaced the glow plugs for the third time. I don't have a manual on this outfit but have sorted out that my glow plug relay is cycling for roughly 30 seconds. Is this normal on this outfit? I've put in Bosch, Autolite and Champions in that order. This last set are rated at 175 watts as opposed to the 140 watt plugs I used earlier. Right now I don't really care what the brand is as long as what I put in doesn't burn out and fires the engine. On this side of the mountain a cold day is -20/-30 F in winter but I moved here from the east side where a cold day is -40 or more. Your thoughts are appreciated. While I'm glad that I'm gettin pretty handy at replacing the glow plugs (the last set took 2 hours) I've now lost a 1/4" wobble joint and blow a bit of cash on plugs and a bit of patience with this. Right now the plugs are pulling around 10.87-10.89 volts and is firing nicely, but will no better when the snow flies. Thanks

Heelerguy

*for everything you gain you lose something

The old relays didn't cycle very long. The replacement relays they sell now cycle for about 2 minutes I believe. The theory is that they help combustion until your engine heats up properly. No, it doesn't damage your plugs. I hope that answers your question.

Scott

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Scott
1982 Mercedes 240D, 4 speed, 275,000
1988 Porsche 944 Turbo S (70,000)
1987 Porsche 911 Coupe 109,000 (sold)
1998 Mercedes E300 TurboDiesel 147,000 (sold)
1985 Mercedes 300D 227,000 (totaled by inattentive driver with no insurance!)
1997 Mercedes E300 Diesel 236,000 (sold)
1995 Ducati 900SS (sold)
1987 VW Jetta GLI 157,000 (sold)
1986 Camaro 125,000 (sold - P.O.S.)
1977 Corvette L82 125,000 (sold)
1965 Pontiac GTO 15,000 restored (sold)

Thanks Scott, actually I was kinda wondering if it was possible to get a relay that heated for longer. While it's warmer on this side of the mountain...it still gets plenty cold for this lil buggy. I've got to get my freeze plug heater replaced before the snow flies. That crapped on me last winter when we bottomed out and as you might guess....my glow plugs followed suit shortly thereafter. I remember when I was kid on the ranch having to run our tractors round the clock during the really cold stretches otherwise we couldn't get them fired after even a few minutes down. W'd snap on the engine blankets and pull them into the quonset and put one salamander under the crankcase and one under the fuel tank. Gee I miss the fun I had when I was a kid...lol