Congratulations on the purchase, and welcome to MercedesShop!
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Originally Posted by 87 300D owner
Coming back from a trip in November I would have to turn the key serveral times for the glow plug lamp to iluminate before starting. This means one or more of the glow plugs needs replacement.
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As has been said, easiest check is resistance of each plug. My ohmeter reads 1.2 ohms, look for either very high resistance (Open, Bad) or consistent readings between plugs. If they all check OK, have a look at the pins on the relay and the sockets on the plug for corrosion. My 86 SDL (same OM 603 engine) has some corrosion on #5 and #6 pin that sometimes results in a no-glow of those plugs even though they are OK. I'm going to have to clean them up better soon...
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Originally Posted by 87 300D owner
Later the engine started hammering really bad and it is hard to start and spews grey smoke... ...I think the injectors need rebuilding/replacement. I don't want to blindly replace parts. I have the factory manual.
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With all 6 plugs in working order, the OM603 engine is
still known to hammer and smoke a bit on start-up. If one or two plugs are bad, it can really rock the house!
Let's get the glow plugs squared away first, then there are other tests for the injectors.
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Originally Posted by 87 300D owner
Now when I start the car the idiot lites do not illuminate.
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As said, before, first check the fuses. While you are checking, go ahead and spin each fuse around a few times in the holder to break any corrosion. You will hear more about fuses, I bet...
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Originally Posted by 87 300D owner
What is the best way to go about diaganosing the problem in order to not waste a lot of money on needless repairs? ...Can I do the work my self?
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Boy, have you come to the right place!
Checking glow plugs, and replacing them, you can probably do if you have used hand tools before. Checking fuses, ditto.
Best Regards,
Jim