I'm not able to go into town to pick up a volt meter till 12...

so I detached a glow plug and found that my dash light didn't blink when it should have.

It did blink when I removed the fuse. Light didn't turn on at all when I removed the GP connector.

Could any one tell me what this means?

__________________
1980 300td (non turbo)225,000
1982 yamaha xs650,
I've also once loved
79 Bmw 530i, 69 VW buss, 78 Honda Acc, 79 Jeep wagoneer, 76 Peugeot 504, 82 fiat spider 124,
a bunch of guitars and a banjo www.virb.com/sethlael

It seems that all my plugs are gettng 12v. Ugh it takes forever to get all the plugs out and check them inividualy.

I also cracked all the Injector lines and had plenty of fuel come out.

I'm a bit lost at the moment.

any other ideas?

__________________
1980 300td (non turbo)225,000
1982 yamaha xs650,
I've also once loved
79 Bmw 530i, 69 VW buss, 78 Honda Acc, 79 Jeep wagoneer, 76 Peugeot 504, 82 fiat spider 124,
a bunch of guitars and a banjo www.virb.com/sethlael

Recap of non starting 80 300td stranded in the mountains

Drove 60 miles car lost power and R90T fuel filter was in the red.

Drove 70 miles on small plastic filter. Diesel Fuel, with possible filtered veggie oil residue.

After Sitting for two days car would not start. Turns over with smoke. Two weeks ago Plug light blinked once, but doesn't blink now. Haven't had any problems with starting till now.

last 10k new battery and all plugs. Valve adjustment. Compression 2 at 320 and 3 at 410.
Diesel purge. Car has been driven on Veggie oil, B2, and recently mainly diesel.

Voltmeter test
Power to Fuse, Power to Connector with lower ohms. 12v to all plugs during cycle. 12v reads on plugs from +term to tip with wire removed.
Dash light blinked when I removed 60 amp fuse, and it did not light when I removed connector so I assume its in working order.
Tested pins on relay and got twelve V's when key is turned in glow position.

Fuel test
Fuel at all cracked injector lines. Small plastic filter was still clean, but I replaced with R90T vormax filter system and purged air. Bypassed fuel system with can of diesel purge at IP and no start but was getting sucked out of the can. No go with diesel starter fluid either. Bertha seems to smoke less now after all my tests.

Any ideas what I'm missing? I ordered new injectors that seams like my gut feeling.
Thanks I really am feeling defeated but I know I'm missing something

__________________
1980 300td (non turbo)225,000
1982 yamaha xs650,
I've also once loved
79 Bmw 530i, 69 VW buss, 78 Honda Acc, 79 Jeep wagoneer, 76 Peugeot 504, 82 fiat spider 124,
a bunch of guitars and a banjo www.virb.com/sethlael

Very possible with those numbers.

An oddity that I should mention is that the car was started and moved a few hours after my long drive. It never got hot going up the hill and drove fine. There wasn't any abnormal amount of smoke at any time as well. Positive thinking here as I wait to hear from the shop.

I really hope that because I didn't have time to pull the plugs and check them by hand that this is the problem.

Do they got warm to the touch on the outside when you warm them up? That's one thing I was wondering about.

__________________
1980 300td (non turbo)225,000
1982 yamaha xs650,
I've also once loved
79 Bmw 530i, 69 VW buss, 78 Honda Acc, 79 Jeep wagoneer, 76 Peugeot 504, 82 fiat spider 124,
a bunch of guitars and a banjo www.virb.com/sethlael

the glow plugs do get very warm externally when working.

Diesel engines rely on the compression of gases to achieve combustion. This is fine in some conditions, however when the outdoor temperature is low, or the engine's cold, glow plugs are required to assist starting. Standard glow plug electrodes reach temperatures of roughly 850°C (1562°F) and take a while to preheat the engine in readiness for combustion.

__________________
ASE Master Mechanic
https://whunter.carrd.co/

Prototype R&D/testing:
Thermal & Aerodynamic System Engineering (TASE) Senior vehicle instrumentation technician.
Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH).
Dynamometer.
Heat exchanger durability.
HV-A/C Climate Control.
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Technical Quality Auditor.
Automotive Technical Writer

1985 300SD
1983 300D
2003 Volvo V70

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If this is true then it has to be a glow plug issue.

The shop said they think its a blown head gasket. I'm not sure if I trust this random shop. They never call me back

I've had a car blow a head gasket. You notice when it happens, smoke smell. It wasn't extra smoky or smelly when I finished my drive. Could it have blown with out the usual symptoms, or possibly when I was trying to start it? It was a bit smoky at that point.

I could technically run straight wire from the battery to the plugs to start it if it is the plugs right? It has to be this if the plugs never got hot after cycling them 3-5 times right?

__________________
1980 300td (non turbo)225,000
1982 yamaha xs650,
I've also once loved
79 Bmw 530i, 69 VW buss, 78 Honda Acc, 79 Jeep wagoneer, 76 Peugeot 504, 82 fiat spider 124,
a bunch of guitars and a banjo www.virb.com/sethlael

Where's the diesel purge get the 15 psi needed to fill the elements in the IP?

I'm not quite sure what your asking Brian, but I did bleed the air from the system at the highest point where the return line is.

The second day I worked on it, I tired starting it many times after hooking the original system back up with a new filter and bleeding the air, with diesel in the tank.

Thanks for the continuous help by the way.

__________________
1980 300td (non turbo)225,000
1982 yamaha xs650,
I've also once loved
79 Bmw 530i, 69 VW buss, 78 Honda Acc, 79 Jeep wagoneer, 76 Peugeot 504, 82 fiat spider 124,
a bunch of guitars and a banjo www.virb.com/sethlael

Having a basic knowledge of the system is somewhat important before you dig into it.

The IP cannot fill without being provided with pressurized fuel. This is provided by the fuel pump on the side of the IP. It draws fuel from the tank and provides a constant pressure to the IP. If you decided to run fuel directly to the IP..........my question still stands............where did the IP get the 15 psi needed to fill the elements?

Sounds like bad glowplugs. Check the resistance, they should all be < 1 ohm. Easy and cheap to check and fix. They don't need to be pulled to check, just attach the meter to each one and to ground. They go bad often. Simply checking for voltage at the plugs isn't enough.

__________________
87 Mercedes 300TD, 81 300D, 95 Dodge Cummins 4x4

I think you need to re-examine the GP's, it sounds like you have everything going for you except the GP's.

Ok, i had a no start condition recently. My issue was that I left my rear defroster on, along with the antenna trying to go up and down while cranking the engine over. This lowered the crank speed enough to cause a no start with lots of smoke. Just a thought.

Also, you are now at 6k feet elevation. I dont think that is affecting anything, but maybe it could...I dont know

Over Donner pass in a wounded car? You are gutsier than I :-) I hope someday I can drive my 300D cross country and take it through Donner Pass, what a great drive. Last March I drove it in a Dodge Caliber rental car at night, in a storm, NOT fun.

dd

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'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car

.........a total and complete POS..........my condolonces.

So anyone that's still interested, about my 80 non starting 300td that died in Truckee

the shop said that the electrical is working. Took out the Original injectors (230k+veggie oil) and said that two were shot and the rest were on their last leg. I sent him some new monark's to install.

If that's the reason the car didn't start maybe my intuition was right? Maybe I actually did my GP testing right. Maybe my head gaskets blown. -hope not=(

__________________
1980 300td (non turbo)225,000
1982 yamaha xs650,
I've also once loved
79 Bmw 530i, 69 VW buss, 78 Honda Acc, 79 Jeep wagoneer, 76 Peugeot 504, 82 fiat spider 124,
a bunch of guitars and a banjo www.virb.com/sethlael