DieselAddict.

I guess I forgot to tell you that my hobby is mind reading so I just answered your post before you sent it. Actually, noticed that last night after I sent my post and have no idea how it happened. Guess ol computer "Murphy" was playing tricks with us.

And yes, it was the "hiccup" thread you sent me to, Jim Smith's recommendation, and several others that prompted me to try the extended glow plug method. But being inquisitive and wanting to get things right, I knew something electrical or mechanical must be deteriorating that requires us to increase the wait time before starting. I got an interesting email from another forum which may possibly explain it. It reads:

"Skip, What I do is wait the extra 10-15 seconds EVERY time I start my 300TD cold - and when Linda or I forget - there is USUALLY a cloud! I'm NOT convinced that the problem is A prechamber - it MIGHT be all of the prechambers - or it MIGHT be some deterioration in several parts of the electrical system - perhaps the relay or perhaps the assorted connections of the battery, to the relay thru the fuse to the plugs and the battery to ground or the engine to ground!

Now that's an idea. This problem is MUCH more apparent on 6 cylinder diesels than on 5 cylinder diesels and it ALMOST never happens on 4 cylinder diesels (and I have some of each)! The current drain on a 4 cylinder diesel is about 60A after a few seconds and dwindles to about 32 A in 30 secs, while on a 6 cylinder diesel there is a 90+A initial current draw that dwindles to 48 after 30 seconds. If the same gauge wire and same sized battery were used (and I HAVE used the same size batteries in ALL the cars at least some of the time) the voltage drop to
the 6 cylinder glow plugs will be about 30% higher than to the plugs of a 4 cylinder engine and the heat produced WILL be reduced proportional to the voltage drop. I place of replacing ALL the electrical parts in the circuit and cleaning and tightening EVERY connection - I'd just let the engine glow for an extra 10-15 sec at cold startup. OH - one thing for SURE. Replace the 80 A fuse (if the old one is still in one piece and doesn't fall apart when you remove it - keep it as a spare)!"

Very interesting! I think he may have hit on the cause(s) and I'm going to bring that to the attention of the mechanic when I take the car in.

Skip