While diagnosing the glow plug system, do NOT touch any part of a hot glow plug.

Heating the air to a minimum starting temperature of 850°C is critical for diesel engine start-up.

Glow plugs run 1000° - 1300°C = "2372° Fahrenheit" optimal temperature range.

Touching the glow plug wire nut can cause severe burns, especially if there is a fault causing it to overheat.

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__________________
ASE Master Mechanic
asemastermechanic@juno.com

Prototype R&D/testing:
Thermal & Aerodynamic System Engineering (TASE) Senior vehicle instrumentation technician.
Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH).
Dynamometer.
Heat exchanger durability.
HV-A/C Climate Control.
Vehicle build.
Fleet Durability
Technical Quality Auditor.
Automotive Technical Writer

1985 300SD
1983 300D
1984 190D
2003 Volvo V70
2002 Honda Civic

https://www.boldegoist.com/

YEEEOUCH!

__________________
"I have no convictions ... I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy"

Current
Monika '74 450 SL
BrownHilda '79 280SL
FoxyCleopatra '99 Chevy Suburban
Scarlett 2014 Jeep Cherokee
Krystal 2004 Volvo S60
Gone
'74 Jeep CJ5
'97 Jeep ZJ Laredo
Rudolf ‘86 300SDL
Bruno '81 300SD
Fritzi '84 BMW
'92 Subaru
'96 Impala SS
'71 Buick GS conv
'67 GTO conv
'63 Corvair conv
'57 Nomad

Medical or mechanical?

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Ive learn this the hard way with damp spark plug wires, and yes I found the bad wire.

ShaZamm!

__________________
1982 300SD

Made note of that the first time I fired one up to test. Even while holding it with a good sized pair of plyers you can feel the heat....

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1982 300GD Carmine Red (DB3535) Cabriolet Parting Out
1990 300SEL Smoke Silver (Parting out)
1991 350SDL Blackberry Metallic (481)

"The thing is Bob, its not that I'm lazy...its that I just don't care."

I've learned several seemingly common sense lessons the hard and painful way. This subject WILL be registered in the brain files!

__________________

1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

Basic uncontrolled variables with used glow plugs:

* Electrode stress/torque damage
* Glow plug tip degradation pitting/burn off, if the point is eroded = it is junk.
* Glow plug age degradation
* Glow plug brand/manufacture variation
* If you are not comparing each used one to a NEW glow plug, it is easy to make a mistake.

Each cylinder requires MAXIMUM heat for starting...


.

Mr. Hunter,

Picture #4 is of a Bosch Chromium GP (AT OP. Temp)
[Giveaway is the Chrome Heating Element and the Blue Silicone Insulator]

Errrr, Let me rephrase that inquiry...
Is/Are Fastlane/APX now stocking Bosch Duraterm Chromium GP s ?

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__________________
'84 300SD sold
124.128

I believe the chromiums are only available in Europe. However I would love for someone to prove me wrong on this.

__________________
1982 240D auto
1978 300CD auto
1985 300D auto
1983 300TD auto
1984 Porsche 944 5 speed
1973 Opel GT 1900 4 speed
1967 Chevy C30 350 Sm420
1973 Mustang Grande Convertible 302 C4
1981 VW Pickup 1.6D Turbo 5 speed
1983 Rabbit 1.6D Factory Turbo 5 speed
Plus parts vehicles...

Not to hijack this important safety message, but the first picture in Whunter's post shows four glow plugs in various stages of glowing. The one on the far right appears to be fully activated after only 2.0 seconds, at least according to this photo. Should it take only 2.0 seconds for the glow plugs in a 617 engine to be fully active and hot?

The reason I ask is that a couple of weeks ago I tested my glow plugs in an effort to remedy rough cold start problems, and when I hooked each of them up to 12V they did eventually glow white hot, but it took more like 8-10 seconds for them to reach that stage. These are Bosch GPs that I bought about 6 months ago. I thought this was normal and moved on, but is it?

If it matters, the resistance of the plugs were between 1.7 and 1.9 ohms. I reported the results here on the forum and based on the replies I received I decided that the plugs were ok and that it was more likely an injector problem.

7-10 sec. is perfectly normal. The newer plugs heat up much faster. I still have the old slow glow plugs in my volvo and they take about 15-20 seconds to reach full temp. Just depends on the type of plug and application.

Also, not to discount WHunters warning but on a cold day I have found a good quick way to nail down a bad glow plug is to feel the hex portion of the body after a couple glow cycles. A bad plug will be stone cold and the others will be warm to the touch. This is in the head of course where there is enough heat transfer to prevent the plug from heating up enough to burn you. Testing out of the head in the open air is another story.

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1982 240D auto
1978 300CD auto
1985 300D auto
1983 300TD auto
1984 Porsche 944 5 speed
1973 Opel GT 1900 4 speed
1967 Chevy C30 350 Sm420
1973 Mustang Grande Convertible 302 C4
1981 VW Pickup 1.6D Turbo 5 speed
1983 Rabbit 1.6D Factory Turbo 5 speed
Plus parts vehicles...

I thought Mercedes wrenchers were a smarter bunch.... Hmmmmm
(Sorry couldn't resist)

__________________
92 300D 2.5L OM602 OBK #59

DIESELVOLVO,

'Well aware the Bosch Chromium(s) only available through E.U. / Asian distribution system.

'Can always Hint/Hope though !

__________________
'84 300SD sold
124.128

Found on FastLane:

Glow Plug Duraterm
1996-1999 Mercedes Benz E300

1994-1995 Mercedes Benz S350
Bosch Duraterm Glow Plug

2005-2006 Mercedes Benz E320
Bosch Duraterm Glow Plug


Still looking for more in stock...