No glow light 1984 300DT

[xdjio]

Hi Guys,

I've been poking around and searching the forum to see what more I can learn about my symptoms:

Just this morning, I started the car, the glow light came on and about 10 seconds later I turned the key and all was well - the car started in about 1 crank (like always).

Now, just about 20 minutes ago I went to start it and: no glow light. I figured I'd wait the usual amount of time and give it ago, but it was extremely rough cranking for about 20 seconds and then it caught.

I had a look at the strip fuse (that's the one on the driver's side, yes? in the black box a ways behind the headlight?) and it "looks" okay to me. I haven't got a multimeter handy right now though, so I haven't got much to go on. All the fuses I can see seem fine throughout the car, so I am thinking:

1) one or more dead plugs
2) dead relay(s)
3) ???

The car is my transport to/from work. That said, it's not /crucial/ to drive it. I do want to get it resolved as soon as I can though, so:

1) How terribly bad is it for me to be starting it with no glow? I figure I can get away with it the one time I tried it, but I really don't want to be this hard on the starter

2) How easy is it for me to fix this and diagnose myself?

3) Anyone in the Vancouver area want to give me a hand?

I'd rather not take it to the dealer if I can avoid it!

Thanks in advance!