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Sun 30 Jan, 2005 05:10 am
I've got a 1984 Diesel Mercedes 190D that simply won't start. I've owned it & driven it daily for about 6 months, and until I encountered this "won't start" problem recently, it ran great. The amazing thing about the vehicle is that it sat for five years without being run - it's former owner had died, and the car sat in his driveway for five years until his son decided to rent the house & asked me to help him clean it to prepare it for rental. He told me if I could get the car started I could have it; but he did not think it'd start because of the duration of time that it had not been started. I put a good battery in it, and that car started right up! I mean, it did not hesitate at all - it fired right up! I've been driving it ever since until the winter arrived & the battery showed weakness in the cold, so I decided to replace the battery prior to winter really setting in. A friend offered to R&R the battery; which he did. The car would not start from then on. It turns over really strong, but will not catch. Initially, I did a visual inspection to look for anything in the path followed when changing the battery (looked for knocked-off wires, vacuum hoses, etc.), but found nothing disconnected. Were it a gasoline engine, I'd say from the way it won't start that it had a fuel problem(ie: plugged fuel filter, etc.). I am not well-versed on diesel engines, and it's got me completely stumped. Fuel is getting through the fuel pump & main fuel filter okay. Could anyone kindly suggest as to what might be preventing it from starting, considering the circumstances? I would be most grateful for any input.
One wild suggestion.
Open the hood. On the firewall - the area behind the motor.
you should be able to clearly see a little cover about
half inch by 2 or 3 inches long. The cover may be missing.
What you're looking for is a strip of metal that is a fuse for the glow plugs. If you locate it and it's burnt in half, you are home free! Go to a Meredes dealer and get two of them.
I just remembered -- I'm describing a VW diesel. But I think I've put you on the right track.
You do know about a glow plug light on the dash? Turn the key on and wait for the glow plug light to go out, then crank the car. If you don't do that, you can blow the glow plug fuse.
There're no ignition components in a diesal. The two things I 'd check would be fuel and the glow plugs and, if there's a fuse to the glow plugs that would also be the first thing I'd check.
The three basic things any engine needs ot run are fuel, compression, and spark. In a diesal the spark is provided by heat generated by the high compression but initially it has to come from the glow plugs. It's usually just one or two of em that're bad but you don't know which one or two.
You ran a lot of fuel through the car or the original tank?
i'd check the wires to the glow plugs and follow them back as far as you can. see if they're plugged in.
also i would suspect bad fuel from sitting so long. i'd change the fuel filter and water separator if it has one and check all the fuel lines for air and fuel leaks. it won't run if you have any air in the lines at all. you might have to manually prime it and bleed the air out which is pretty easy.
Just for the record, glow plugs don't "spark", they glow and cause the highly compressed diesle fuel to explode. They shut off immediately.
The newer diesel engines don't even have glow plugs.
These diesels have a grid on the intake manifold that almost instantly raises the outdoor air temperature warm enough for the highly compresed diesel fuel to explode.
It boggles the mind that in one stroke, the common rail fuel injection system can inject a cylinder with 3 (or more) puffs
of fuel resulting in more efficiency, mileage, and a drastic redduction in engine noise.
Requesting Troubleshooting Input: 1984 Diesel Mercedes 190D
I got her started!! I thank you, Gentlemen, for all of your input regarding my automobile. Your information given not only enabled me to get the car started, but provided valuable education for the future as well. Billy - you had suggested possibly a fusible link problem - I did locate one; not on the firewall, but inline; and it was bad, so I replaced it. Yes, I did know about the glow plug light. And gungasnake suggested a possible fuel or glow plug fuse problem - I did R&R the main fuel filter & discovered a lot of bits of dirt in it. husker asked if I had run a lot of fuel through the car already; which I had - I'd been driving the car daily for about 6 months prior to this incident, so I had gone through a lot of fuel in that time; but it was a very well-founded question to consider. And mikey said to insure that all the glow plug wires were plugged in, and to check the fuel filter/water separator and to check the fuel lines for air and fuel leaks - I did find one line kinda pinched, so I had enough play in it to cut it back of the pinch & reattach it. I don't know which item that I attended to was the causation for it starting, but she started; thanks to the helpful suggestions from all of you! I sincerely appreciate you all taking the time to respond to my dilemma, 'cause this one is a success story! Thank you kindly; Sandra
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