Diesel won't start - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

gersti · #1 10-20-2003, 10:56 AM

I'm a newbie here so please forgive any mistakes...

I just bought a '96 E300D and drove it home about 700 miles. it ran beautifully. It ran nicely at home for about 5 days but this morning it would not start. I noticed yesterday that it had a very hard time starting. Battery is OK and the engine cranks well but today there was no fire. Yesterday it took about 5 attempts before the engine would catch.

On my trek home last week I ran the tank pretty dry although the low fuel light had not come on yet and I had about 1/8 tank left.

I am suspecting perhaps the fuel filter which I will change tonight. Having never worked on a diesel are there any tips or precautions anyone would share???

Any other ideas on why the engine won't start? I get no messages on the dash that anything is wrong.

Thanks,
Mike.

Grdenko · #2 10-20-2003, 11:50 AM

you could have bad glow plugs if they havnt been replaced in a long time. if thats the case, then you shold just keep cranking the engine for up to 5 minutes and that shoud warm up the engine enough for it to start. that will probably wear down your battery, but if that works and the engine does start, then its the glow plugs.

if that doesnt work, are you sure you didnt put gasoline in the tank? i hope that suggestion doesnt insult you, but its not like nobodys ever done it before.

gersti · #3 10-20-2003, 11:57 AM

Glow plugs have been replaced recently (less than 1 year) by previous owner. Wouldn't I get a warning if the GPs were bad?

And no, I did not put gasoline in

. I have driven 1/2 tank so far since I filled up and it's been running fine until today.

BTW - what would happen if someone should ever put gasonline in the tank??? Will it kill the engine???

Grdenko · #4 10-20-2003, 11:58 AM

on second thought, that trick works in texas, but i doubt it will work in a michigan winter, you should probably just go ahead and put in new glow plugs, unless you know that theyve been replaced recently. thats probably your problem

Grdenko · #5 10-20-2003, 12:00 PM

no, your engine just wouldnt run and youd have to drain all the fuel out of the tank and the engine.

Grdenko · #6 10-20-2003, 12:02 PM

the glow plugs could have gone bad in just 1 year especially if they were replaced with cheap plugs

mholbrook · #7 10-20-2003, 12:04 PM

I'm betting on some bad fuel. You need to charge the battery to be sure you have good cranking and then change the filters. You can cycle the glow plugs a couple times to be sure the chambers are warm. Turn the key on until the glow plug light goes out and then turn it off and back on again. Do that 2 or three times. When you change the fuel filters, fill the main filter with diesel purge before you put it in. You need to be sure you are getting fuel/purge to the lines so if it is full, you will be OK. If it was the filters, you will probably have to change them again soon. Carry a spare set at all times.

gersti · #8 10-20-2003, 12:05 PM

oh...

But shouldn't I get a service engine light or something??? The Glow plug light comes on for some time and then goes out again.

gersti · #9 10-20-2003, 12:26 PM

mholbrook,

you mention filters (plural) I know of the big main filter in the front on the top of the engine - is there another one?

What is 'diesel purge'?

Grdenko · #10 10-20-2003, 12:30 PM

the glow plug light wont come on when you turn the key before you start if you have bad plugs. and the light will come on when youre driving. but if the light is coming on when you first turn the keyand it goes out before you start, then youre not getting a bad plug indication.

you could have bad fuel and a clogged filter like mholbrook said, that would keep it from starting. but thats never happened to me so i dont know what thats like.

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