OK, so I've had my Euro W201 / 190D in the driveway for far too long while I replace delivery valves and injectors. Along the way I decided to test compression and test the glow plugs - it turns out that you can see whether they glow cherry red by looking down in the chamber with the injectors out! However, here's a funny / sad / alarming side note: I had all the injectors out, reconnected the battery, and turned the key to 'glow' position. Then I quickly hopped out of the car and ran around to the front to check for plugs glowing red.

So, they all glowed a nice red in a few seconds, so it was time to turn the key off. In my haste to get out of the car the door had swung shut. I pulled the driver door handle - nothing! The handle swung outwards per normal, but it did not disengage the latch! Try again... nope. Panic! Plugs are glowing! Battery is running down!

I finally opened a rear door, and reached through the front seats to turn the key off.

So, obvious question: could this be related to not running the car for six weeks (and having no vacuum)? Or do you think that something just is getting sticky and needs to be lubed? I guess when it rains I'll have to dig into the door and find out if it is broken, but I wouldn't mind hearing opinions...

Kurt

PS My 9 year old daughter wants to see a smiley in this posting, so here it is:

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- '79 240D - engine swap complete! Engine broken in! 28-31 mpg! Lovin' the ride!
- '86 190D (W201-126) - 2.5 NA engine, 5 speed, cloth interior, manual climate controls, 33-34 mpg (sold to forum member).