..........excellent.........can't very well forget about them with that buzzer going off...........

Oh, I got that buzzer installed real quick. I caught the switch with my shoe getting out of the car one night. The plugs were left on all night and drained the battery down to 0.1V.

Amazingly, NONE of the glowplugs were burned out and the battery took a complete recharge. That was a good 6months ago and I have only had to change 1 of the glowplugs in that time.

Can you give us a wiring diagram? I started another thread on this general topic. I want to know if a manually controlled glow plug system helps starting in really cold weather when the effects of the initial glow disappear quickly once the starter is engaged. Lance, can you conduct some experiments on really cold morning? Glow for X seconds, shut off then try to start. Then at the same temperature on another day, glow for X seconds but continue glowing as you try to start and see if there is a difference in how quickly the engine starts. It would be nice to do it at below zero temperatures where the difference would be accentuated.

I'm pretty sure that when I've tried to start without the aid of a block heater at 35 below zero and it takes a minute of cranking to get it going, that the effects of the pre-glow are long gone at the end of that minute.

__________________
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

I've started it in -15*F with only the glowplugs. Below +15*F, they draw so much power that I have to kill them to increase the cranking speed when the engine starts to catch and turn them back on once it is running.

It's a really simple system. Remove the glowplug relay, bolt the new relay to the fender, attach the existing power wire to a new 80A fuse block (I used a Maxi Fuse), attach that to the relay, cut off the glowplug wires, attach loop connectors to the ends, attach them to the relay and you are pretty much done under the hood. I used a self grounding relay so there are only 3 wires on it.

Mount a switch wherever you like (Mine is on the left side of the drivers knee panel), find a good 12V source that can spare a few amps (I used a constant 12v supply so I have the ability to cycle the key without glow interruption), add a 3 or 5 amp fuse holder to the supply side of the switch, splice in your glowplug light from the cluster, wire in your buzzer to the switched side (Test different buzzer locations to find where it will be noticeable but not annoying), and run the wire through the firewall and out to the relay.

It sounds long but it's actually pretty simple once you get the parts and start doing it. The most expensive part was the relay ($30), everything else should cost under $8.




I'm very happy with it, but it is not for everyone. I tend to micromanage what goes on in my car, hence the reason 90% of everything on my car is manual operated. The only significant electronics in my car are the stereo system, flasher relay, key/headlight buzzer and the windshield wiper relay.

Does this imply that the later MB afterglow systems cut off the glow plugs during the cranking cycle and re-energize them once the engine runs and starter is disengaged?

__________________
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

Later ones I have no idea. I do know that 85 and earlier systems cut glowplug power the moment you engage the starter.

a 2+ year old thread ; and the post / question that resurrected it did not get answered. Can some one please answer this :