to see if the relay is working put the car in drive for example and try to start the car. The car wont start but if you put your ear by the relay you will hear relay click cleary

__________________
1986 300SDL, 211K,Dealership serviced its whole life
1991 190E 2.6(120k)
1983 300D(300k)
1977 300D(211k)

Well doesn't seem to be the #2 glow not working that is giving trouble.
It's 42 degrees out (sorry for those in the deep freeze, we have Spring for the weekend) and she still wouldn't start. Glowed three times each try and three tries.
Starter got faster near the end of each try.

Starts fine when plugged in.
Glow light comes on and goes off in 5-6 seconds.
Half tank of fuel
Oil change last week with 3W40 Roketa

Where do I start looking?

Thanks guys. . .

__________________
Ginny in Denver-ish
78 300SD, 265K (mine)

Follow the procedure outlined here at DieselGiants web site and you'll find your problem.

http://www.dieselgiant.com/glowplugrepair.htm

__________________
Joe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1980 300SD - 495k miles - 'The Ambassador'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Former Family Members
95 C280
73 280SEL
90 300D
87 300SDL (X2)
86 560SEL
84 300D
80 300SD

yeah.
Read that.
My system is fine by that.

__________________
Ginny in Denver-ish
78 300SD, 265K (mine)

okay.
I put my head in the engine compart and turned on the key to glow (I have really long arms). I got a sound that was much like the hiss that the car makes when the bock heat is plugged in, then about 25 seconds later the relay clunked, clicked.
Tryied again and no hiss but in 30 seconds the relay clicked again.

So, I have 5 good GP and a good relay. I'm now looking at the battery as more of the culprit. It sounds too slow to turn the starter fast enough to catch.

What do you think?
Other ideas?
Thanks s bunch

__________________
Ginny in Denver-ish
78 300SD, 265K (mine)

Hiss is the shut off valve vacuum releasing. 25 second clunk is the relay shutting off.

__________________
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

Did a deep cycle charge on the battery and tried and still no start.

I'm stumped.

It starts when it's plugged in.
But not when it's cold. And it's currently 56 degrees here!

What would you do next?

__________________
Ginny in Denver-ish
78 300SD, 265K (mine)

Ginny;

Did you install new GPs? If not, did you test the old ones to see if they actually glow? I know you can test the resistance with an ohm meter, but since you're still having problems, try the glow test as described on diesel giant's site.

John

__________________
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)
2002 F250 powerstroke with Plantdrive WVO conversion
1983 300SD 190K miles ,sold
2006 E320 CDI

I wish I could but it would be an all day job.
It took 45 minutes to get the #2 plug out and about 2 minutes to get it back in.
My hands aren't small and unless I'm going to take off all the injector lines so I can
get to the GPs a bit easier, I would rather take it to a mech with better tools.

I'm afraid of taking off the lines because with my luck someone worse would happen
and it never start again.

I'm not sure it's the GPs now anyway. I tried several times, cranking 15-20 seconds each time. That in itself should warm the engine enough to start on a 56 degree day.

__________________
Ginny in Denver-ish
78 300SD, 265K (mine)

Are you getting any white smoke while you crank? If not, it could be a fuel problem. Is this on the greasecar?

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

If it starts when the block heater is used and won't when it's not, then the problem IS the glow plugs or something in the glow system.

__________________
Joe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1980 300SD - 495k miles - 'The Ambassador'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Former Family Members
95 C280
73 280SEL
90 300D
87 300SDL (X2)
86 560SEL
84 300D
80 300SD

I checked the first post-not the greasecar, so my idea about a little vegetable oil being gelled in the injectors or lines is a no-go.

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

Yes, it's smoking while cranking.
No, it's the 78 300SD.

__________________
Ginny in Denver-ish
78 300SD, 265K (mine)

Guess I'll take it to someone with the right tools and a garage.

__________________
Ginny in Denver-ish
78 300SD, 265K (mine)

I've had a glow plug ohm out fine when cold but go infinite once it gets 12 volts. It sure sounds like a glow plug problem. It seems to me that the light should stay on much longer than 5 or 6 seconds. My 79SD light stays on for a good 20-30 seconds. Is your light flashing once the car starts?

__________________
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