It was 4 degrees this morning when I had to leave for work. Took 4 shots cranking to get the old girl running but it did finally start. How sturdy are these starters? I crank for 15 seconds then stop and cycle through the glow plug warm-up again. Will I total the starter like this or is this to be expected for such cold starting. The car's an 83 300D 173000. Can't believe my winter beater car is a Mercedes :-)

The owners manual states that you can crank for up to 30 seconds at a time.

The main thing that kills the starter in continual cranking is heat buildup. When you are cranking in a car that is at or close to the 4 degree ambiant temperature it disapates that heat very quickly. I'd certainly be comfortable cranking for 30 seconds or more and even then a very brief pause to cool is probably all that is necessary.

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LRG
1987 300D Turbo 175K
2006 Toyota Prius, efficent but no soul
1985 300 TDT(130K miles of trouble free motoring)now sold

Takes me about 1 hour to make starts much easier. Don't be ashamed to use it as many are, it makes a world of difference. Either that or garage it.

I'm new to automotive diesels, but I have to question the process of glow, try to start, glow, and over and over. Would it not be better in real cold weather to arm the glow system multiple times, thereby heating the combustion chamber more completely, then attempt a start. I suspect that each time the sysem is cycled, and then a start is attempted, cold air, and expanding fuel, are cooling the chamber down. Diesels work on a principle of heat. The more heat you can add, the better it will start. The glow plugs do not have temperature control, but I don't think you'd damage the glow plugs because of the enormous heat sink of the cylinder head at 4f ambient.
Fred

I've tried it both ways. It is my best guess that resetting the glow plugs on a cold morning works better than continually trying to crank it over. Of course I have burned up a couple of sets of glow plugs, but I blamed that on the el cheapo Autolite and Champions I used.

Heat them a couple times helps... For those that have the old style glow plugs.. The bent wire ones.. If you can find a Thermo King dealer... Those are the guys that do the work on the Refer Units on trucks.. For years they used the Mercedes 240 engines.. and they make a glow plug adapter that screws in the large hole where the old plugs were.. And they also make a glow plug that goes in that... Cost is about 2 bucks or so for the glow plugs.. Can not seem to remember what it cost for the adapter.. You can then remove all the coat hanger type wires and run 10 gage wires to each one from the main.... Then If one burns out it will not stop the rest from working.. This system uses lots less battery than the old coat hanger glow plugs.. and works great..

Ken

Hey

I used to do the multiple glow deal. But then some of the pros around here told me that even after the light goes out, the glo system continues for about 45 seconds.

I've been trying this during the recent cold up here with good luck. Just sit for 20-30 seconds after the light goes off and then crank her up. Works so much better.

However, the best is the block heater. Worth the $50 but a bummer to install

dp

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DAILY DRIVERS:
'84 300DT 298k (Aubrey's)
'99.5 Jetta TDI IV 251k (Julie's)
'97 Jetta TDI 127k (Amber's)
'97 Jetta TDI 186k (Matt's)
'96 Passat TDI 237k (Don's
'84 300D 211k Mint (Arne- Undergoing Greasecar Conversion)

SOLD:
'82 240D 229k (Matt's - Converted-300DT w/ 4 speed

You are right that the plugs keep glowing... I always told my wife that when starting her old 78 300CD.. Use the seat belt or glow plug light.. Whitch ever stays on the longest... And had to teach her to get in.. Turn it on... Put her seat belt on.. Then start the car.. Gave it some time..

Ken

also make sure your valves are adjusted. Makes a huge difference in starting.

Since on older MB with an automatic Gp relay, the GP are disconnected at the instant the starter is energized, so the GP start to cool. Therefore it is better to only crank with the starter for a few seconds and if the engine doesn't start go thru the GP heat cycle and crank again.

This procedure will give the starter a chance to cool and add to its life.

P E H