My old Benz (1980 300TD) is giving me a bit of grief starting up as
winter approaches. New starter and battery 3 yrs ago, all new plugs as
well. I just checked the resistance on them via the relay plug, and
they all read 0 to 0.6 ohms. Should I replace them based on age, or
should I continue running with them and look at other things? I've
only put about 30K miles on the car since all of those things were
replaced. Any advice would be appreciated,
AJ
The Great White North
T.G. Lambach - 09 Dec 2005 03:51 GMT
When were the Great White North's engine's valves last adjusted?
They ought to be adjusted every 25K Kms (15K miles) or the engine will
lose compression and be hard to start, especially in the cold.
ajewett@sympatico.ca - 09 Dec 2005 14:15 GMT
I did them just over a year ago (when I checked my timing chain).
Values were very good, little adjustment req'd.
AJ
UP HERE in the great white north (Molson, beavers, etc.)
Dori A Schmetterling - 09 Dec 2005 14:35 GMT
Oh Yes????? Freely accessable?
DAS
For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling
---
[...]
> ...beavers, etc.)
T.G. Lambach - 09 Dec 2005 19:49 GMT
If the engine has done > 250K miles / 400K Km a compression check may be
in order - nothing lasts forever, not even a M-B.
Meanwhile, suggest you glow it multiple times before cranking the cold
engine.
Ernesto - 10 Dec 2005 03:11 GMT
I have a similar problem on my wife's '81 240D. It simply wouldn't start for
her the other morning so I pumped on the fuel pump a few times and it
started right off. Thought the problem might be the secondary fuel filter so
I drove it around to my shop, changed the filter, pumped fuel till the
injectors squeaked, started it up and drove it back to my wife's parking
spot, .1 miles. Next morning it refused to fire even once and this car
always starts with a two second glow plug heat up and a touch of the key.
Finally pulled the cover off the glow plug relay and the 80 amp fuse was
blown. Drove my 300D to the dealer, bought two new ones and put the first
one in. Tried to start with no success. Checked the new fuse link and it was
gone as well. Did like the manual says and checked out the various terminals
on the glow plug relay after pulling the connector plugs. Wasn't exactly
sure which terminal they were referring to as #1 but assumed it was the one
marked 15. Anyway, that terminal had only about .75 volts rather than the
12+ required. Assumed the problem was the relay, pulled it off, removed the
four screws holding the top on but didn't notice anything that would
indicate a really fried board. However, it did smell like it had absorbed a
lot of heat at one time or another but feel that might be normal for a unit
that has this much amperage run through it.
Anyway, my next step is to install another relay to see if that solves the
problem but was wondering what, besides the relay, would cause the fuse link
to go so quickly. Any takers?
> My old Benz (1980 300TD) is giving me a bit of grief starting up as
> winter approaches. New starter and battery 3 yrs ago, all new plugs as
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> AJ
> The Great White North
T.G. Lambach - 10 Dec 2005 22:19 GMT
How good is the battery?
If it was weak would the amps through the link increase?
ajewett@sympatico.ca - 13 Dec 2005 00:27 GMT
> How good is the battery?
>
> If it was weak would the amps through the link increase?
The battery was changed 2.5 years ago, to a new Interstate. The
starter was changed at the same time.
AJ
T.G. Lambach - 13 Dec 2005 01:12 GMT
You wrote that the glow plugs' resistance was between 0 and .6 ohms.
Zero implies an open circuit, doesn't it?
The GPs may have failed if these are other than Bosch or Beru GPs, even
in their relatively short mileage use.
The Berus are good for 100K miles, in my experience with my '80 300SD.
ws - 13 Dec 2005 01:22 GMT
> You wrote that the glow plugs' resistance was between 0 and .6 ohms.
> Zero implies an open circuit, doesn't it?
Oops, T.G. ;-)
Open = "infinite" ohms. Short = "zero" ohms.
> The GPs may have failed if these are other than Bosch or Beru GPs, even
> in their relatively short mileage use.
If it is shorted, it will probably blow the fusible link.
> The Berus are good for 100K miles, in my experience with my '80 300SD.
Cheers,
WS
oar8 - 13 Dec 2005 18:29 GMT
>My old Benz (1980 300TD) is giving me a bit of grief starting up as
>winter approaches. New starter and battery 3 yrs ago, all new plugs as
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>AJ
>The Great White North
I would pull out the GPs and wire brush the tip every year. While they are
out, it is a good time to measure the resistance. Failure mode is usually
open (high impedance). After moving to California, didn't do that for many
years. One year the car wouldn't start again and I pull the GPs out, 2 were
open and 2 have high impedance. So one one GP was working.
trader4@optonline.net - 13 Dec 2005 18:36 GMT
"I would pull out the GPs and wire brush the tip every year. While
they are
out, it is a good time to measure the resistance. Failure mode is
usually
open (high impedance). After moving to California, didn't do that for
many
years. One year the car wouldn't start again and I pull the GPs out, 2
were
open and 2 have high impedance."
Maybe I'm just lucky, but I never have done anything to mine and am
only on my second set in a 25 year old car.
ajewett@sympatico.ca - 14 Dec 2005 00:31 GMT
I just bought a set of 5 and am going to change them all....will let
you know how things work out.
AJ