My car wasn't starting in the cold weather so I just changed all 6 glow plugs on my 99 E300 and now it still won't start. It seems like the battery is weaker. I tried jump starting it with my Altima and it just turns over for a few seconds but never fires up. Any ideas?

do you know if power is reaching the glow plugs? could you plug in a block heater? maybe set a incandescent lamp on the turbo for an hour to warm up the head?
altima battery is going to be very challenged jumping an MB diesel...
what's the resting voltage on the battery? what voltage does the glow position drop the battery to?

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

How can I check to see if power is getting to the new glow plugs?

Check battery voltage, then throw it on a charger for several hours and check again. If you've drained the battery, a few minutes' jump start is not going to recharge it, and you will be dumping a significant amount of starting amps into charging your dead battery.

Edit: Also, be very picky about your jumper cables. Most of the cables sold are thin conductor(10awg) inside thick insulation, giving the illusion of solid quality cables and making it harder to feel when they get hot. And they will. Solid cables will cost a goodly amount ($60+, sometimes very very +) and will be a lifetime investment.

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617 swapped Toyota Pickup, 22-24 MPG, 50k miles on swap

battery is reading 9.2 and 5.3 when the key is in the glow position. i have it on a trickle charge for tonight. going to try again in the morning.

yup, that'll do it... dead battery.
9v is a bad sign. hopefully, it's just old... or you left a light on.
it's also possible you have a bad alternator. once you get it started, be sure and test voltage with the car running.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Yep, there's your problem. I hope your battery isn't permanently damaged.

Most trickle chargers are 1-2 amps. These batteries are ~80 amp hours, and yours is dead dead dead. If you're trickle charging, you may have to leave it on there a LONG time - overnight probably won't be enough.

Wish you lived closer!

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617 swapped Toyota Pickup, 22-24 MPG, 50k miles on swap

before i changed my glow plugs, i forgot that i had exhausted the battery trying to start the darn thing. i hope i didn't permanently damage the battery either. the glow plugs were a ***** and a half to change. took me a few days because of weather and one of the plug heads rounded off (the #6 plug :/ ). had to get and extractor socket to get it out. scary stuff. i'll update in the morning....

My battery is fully charged and still not starting. The trickle charger says it was fully charged and it was reading 13.2 on the volt meter. When i have the key turned forward, there is a buzzing sound coming from a little "i don't know what" beside the battery. It is a sound as if a power seat is being adjusted. Any idea what that could be?

This is without cranking it? Just the key on?

just the key on

Picture of the buzzing device?

okay. the buzzing sound only happens when the glow plug preheat light goes off. it buzzes and then stops for 2 seconds, then clicks and buzzes for 3 seconds, stops for 2 seconds, then clicks and buzzes for 3 seconds, and it continues to do this until i turn the key off.

Check for a voltage drop while glow plugs are on. And then also when there is buzzing.

it's just the door locking vacuum pump. that couldn't be causing me not to start, could it?