Glow plug light is out and car won't start
 

Hi,
I'm posting this for a friend with an '83 300D. The car was running prior to this problem. What should he check? He says the glow light was illuminating prior to this problem. He tried turning the key and holding it for several seconds and the engine does not start (just turns with the starter). Thanks a bunch.

check the 80amp glowplug fuse.. Do a search there are tons of info on this problem.

what he said ^

and the little black plastic box with the wire connections in it, look for rust or other fun stuff, make sure wires didnt go hard and brittle, play nice dont break, clean

Yeah, check the glow plug fuse and check each with an ohm meter.

Go to dieselgiant.com and follow the procedure for testing the glow plug system.

Hey, thanks for the info guys! I'll post back with the result as soon as my friend checks everything out.

I may be confusing this with the battery light.. but if the light in the dash itself has burned out, the corresponding system will malfunction as well.


someone will correct me hopefully.

problem solved for now
 

My friend checked and replaced the 80 amp fuse and it started right up. Doesn't this mean that something cased the fuse to go bad. As in a bad plug? Should he consider replacing them soon?

Not necessarily, they can crack with age.

I had similar problems and found it to corrosion on the conectors to the glow plug relay. I followed the Dieselgiant instructions and the plugs and everything checked out. Cleaning the contacts did the trick.

Bad Plugs most often stop heating they seldom seem to short circuit and burn the Fuse. What often burns the Fuse is the little nut on the Plug comes off or the wire breaks off or pulls out of the connector and makes contact with the block causing a short circuit. The other variation is that the insulation on the wires going to the Glow Plug wears through and short circuits.

I have not read of the Relay malfunctioning and burning the Fuse very often on this Forum.

If you have Bosch or Beru Glow Plugs leave them alone if they are working. If you have Autolite Glow Plugs replace them as they have the potential to cause damage; with one of the above.

After only 6 months use I had the tips swell up on 2 of the Autolites plugs that I had bought before I was a member of this forum. I had trouble getting them out.

I replaced them with Monark Glow Plugs because I already had them (also bought before I knew better) but they are also not so good. But, so far no problems with them.

I already bought Bosch plugs to replace the Monarks when the time comes.

Some say that Champion Glow Plugs do not hold up well either. However, I had good luck with them on my Volvo Diesel. But, that is here in S. California where it is barely cold.