1991 300D 2.5 Turbo, 125K

After reading your responses for the hotwiring, I thought
to ask you this question that I always had in mind..

Can a remote lock/start system be installed on a Diesel car such as mine ? I know the lock part should be easy, but how about the remote start ?
My car likes to be left in the ON position until the glow light goes off before I turn the key all the way..

athan, Yes!a remote start can be added to your system if you go to a good install shop that knows what they are doing.Some alarms have a setting for diesel's it wait's a certain amount of time before cranking it is adjustable for dif cars.By brand name not off beat stuff.time your car with a stop watch several times when uts cold to get the mean average time it takes to start.add for cold weather.If it does not start it will retry agin.It has settings for that too as too many tries will kill your battery! Good luck!
P.S If you have a stick they might not install it due to the fact that in gear the car may roll forward.

I once spoke with an installer at JoDi-s in Canton, CT that had installed a remote setup into an early 90s 300D. In this particular case, the guy actually tapped into the glow plug light circuit to know when it was ready to start, and employed some sort of Chrysler brand electro-pneumatic valve to shut the car off, as it's vacuum controlled in your car. He said it was not an inexpensive install, but worked perfectly.

Good luck!

__________________
"If God had meant for us to walk, why did he give us feet that fit car pedals?" Sir Sterling Moss

Michael
2014 E63S Estate
2006 SLK55
1995 E500
1986 Porsche 944 turbo

Actually, I just finished installing a remote start/ keyless entry system on my 1995 E300 Diesel. I have installed these on W123's and W126's with the OM617's. There are a couple tricks but it isn't that difficult:


Most modern remote starters are diesel capable. This means they have a wire that hooks to the glow plug indicator light OR a built in delay before running the starter. I didn't use the indicator light. I used a 10 second delay instead. This will allow the glow plugs to heat longer and will make cold weather starting easier. (Keep in mind, the dash light doesn't necessarily indicate if the glow plugs are on or off... Just when they have been on long enough to start).

The vacuum shut-off is kinda tricky. These cars have a mechanical valve on the ignition switch. You will see 2 vacuum lines connected. The remote starter will not work unless you retrofit the fuel shutoff. I took a pneumatic solenoid valve off an early 90's Dodge Dynasty (Please don't tell anyone that I have a early 90's Chrysler part on my Benz . The Dynasty's valve is located in front of the passenger's side strut tower. It has 2-wires and three hoses.

Next I hooked one wire to gnd and the other to the ignition wire (with 2A fuse). Next, I unhooked the vac hoses from the MB ignition switch. The vac supply hose is hooked up to hose barb nearest to the electrical connector on the Dodge's valve. The the other hose (to the injector pump's fuel shut-off) is hooked to the middle hose barb. The last hose barb is left unconnected so it can vent (Don't cap this barb or car will not start).

The operation is simple... applying 12V to the valve (turning the key to ON) will close the connection between hoses. removing 12V from the valve (turning key to OFF) will connect the two hoses. This will apply vacuum to the IP and kill the engine!

Now the car is "electronically" killed. The car will shut off with the key and the remote starter.

P.S. almost all Chrysler cars of that era have these valves. I went a salvage yard and got one for $5.

Thank you

Holy thread resurrection, Batman!!!

lol looked on the time stamp on the first post right after reading yours.

so does that mean that if I don't rig a pneumatic solenoid valve up that my car won't shut off with the key? or does that just mean that it won't shut off with the remote start module, or would the remote module even start the car if this isn't done? I guess I just don't have a good grasp on how remote starters work.

LOL! I didn't realize that I responded about 6 years later :


1. "so does that mean that if I don't rig a pneumatic solenoid valve up that my car won't shut off with the key?"

Correct. If you unhook the hoses from the OEM ignition switch, the car will start and run just fine... But when you turn the key off, it would not shut off. It would not shut off with the remote starter either.

The remote starter basically "immitates" your ignition switch's funtion. It provides 12V to appropriate circuits. These circuits power the starter, and all accecories (HVAC, power windows, wipers etc...). The remote starter can be thought of as an ignition switch in parallel with your OEM ignition switch.

The OEM key must physically be moved to the "ON" position in order to supply fuel to the engine. Just as the OEM key must be physically moved to the "ON" position to unlock the steering wheel. The remote starter cannot "phyically move" the OEM switch to provide fuel. So that is the dilema.

This is why I used the solenoid valve. The solenoid valve allows fuel to be supplied (and fuel not to be supplied) to the engine depending on the electrical state of the solenoid. The physical turning of the key doesn't perform this task anymore; the 12V as a result of turning the key does.

I hope I didn't further confuse? It took me a little while to dream up this solution the first time I encountered this.