W203 220cdi Glow heater light

[muzbaz]

I guess I am doing a lot of miles which will wear things out quicker :-/
which makes you feel your car is cursed!
My glow heater light has started to come on at lots of different times, and sometimes go out again, sice the first time it has then happened quite a few times, with no running or performance issues.
The first time was on a very steep hill star from traffic lights at next junction it went out.
Then at 80mph, I knocked into Neutral lets the revs drop, light went out, re-engaged drive,,,
Just after morning start it went out but came on at a pull away about 1 mile after start, then went out when upto 60mph,,
Loads of info, in hope someone has an idea on this one BEFORE I pay a garage to fault find

 

[Pumas25]

Mine came on and has stayed on since about a day after I bought it last year. has never caused any problems (that I know of!) so i've just left it.

 

[peterbythesea]

Glow Plug Problem

I know I'm probably a bit late with this reply, however I have only been a member for a week.I too have had my glow plug light come on at unusual times, I checked my hand book and it says if the car is not up to temperature quickly enough the glow plugs will come on to ensure engine performance. I can understand this happening cold mornings but mine has come on 20 mins into a journey. It stays on for approx one to two minutes and then goes off. Have you got any further with your issue?

 

[panason1c]

The glow plug light coming on after start-up indicates that one (or more) glowplugs has failed and needs renewing.
Sometimes, the blown glowplug(s) causes one of the fusible links inside the glowplug relay to blow, this will be evident if the faulty plugs are replaced but the glowplug light still remains lit.
The relay is a sealed unit but can easily be opened up and the blown link repaired by soldering in another fuse 'piggy-back' over the blown link (as i did on mine when it blew) this only takes about 30 minutes to do and is easy to see what has blown once the relay is opened up.
The best advice is to renew ALL the glowplugs at the same time.
It is very important to have the engine at FULL working temp when you attempt to remove the g/plugs to help avoid the real risk of them shearing off and leaving the bottom part of the plug stuck in the cylinder head.

 

[peterbythesea]

Glow plugs

Thank you for answering my post,could you recommend where to buy new glow plugs and how much please?

 

[haggis2768]

The glow plug light coming on after start-up indicates that one (or more) glowplugs has failed and needs renewing.
Sometimes, the blown glowplug(s) causes one of the fusible links inside the glowplug relay to blow, this will be evident if the faulty plugs are replaced but the glowplug light still remains lit.
The relay is a sealed unit but can easily be opened up and the blown link repaired by soldering in another fuse 'piggy-back' over the blown link (as i did on mine when it blew) this only takes about 30 minutes to do and is easy to see what has blown once the relay is opened up.
The best advice is to renew ALL the glowplugs at the same time.
It is very important to have the engine at FULL working temp when you attempt to remove the g/plugs to help avoid the real risk of them shearing off and leaving the bottom part of the plug stuck in the cylinder head.

thats a great tip about the fusible link! dealer replaced the relay,wish id asked for the old one,and als worth mentioning to replace all the plugs at once,saves money in the long run.

 

[panason1c]

Thank you for answering my post,could you recommend where to buy new glow plugs and how much please?

Personally, i would get them directly from MB parts dept, about £15 each.

 

[muzbaz]

Hi,, to follow up, I am sorry not to have posted sooner,, as pumas25, I have left it for the time being as it causes no problem, I have other things that I am trying to resolve which are causing limp mode, once I have sorted it i will post my findings and maybe then look at the relay then at changing the plugs,,,
thanks guys

 

[kemsing]

W203 Glow Plugs.

Could someone who knows about these plugs please comment. I believe in a British summer they are completely redundant. I have two blown at the moment and the car starts immediately. Below freezing it is probably a different situation and preheating is required.....so I plan to get all four replaced next November. My 2 cents worth! Sean S.

 

[walsi]

Could someone who knows about these plugs please comment. I believe in a British summer they are completely redundant. I have two blown at the moment and the car starts immediately. Below freezing it is probably a different situation and preheating is required.....so I plan to get all four replaced next November. My 2 cents worth! Sean S.

Hi, there is no need for glow plugs on a CDI engine unless the temp is well below freezing and even then if you have a good battery it should start after a small amount of cranking. They are used on cdi engines to aid emissions on startup

Martin

 

[The Dent Guy]

Mine came on and has stayed on since about a day after I bought it last year. has never caused any problems (that I know of!) so i've just left it.

I was looking on here (1st time in ages) to see what the problem is with the glow plug light coming on and off whilst driving at full temp... seems i should just live with it like you have. Bad luck with the gearbox... ouch!

Also, i had a re-map but mine is the 150bhp facelift so its a tiny bit more power than pre facelift. Had the DPF removed (well, emptied) - and a performance map after that. Goes well but now got injector issues and now the glow plug thing


Anyway, i noticed you used an old pic of my car for your signature (mines got AMG bumpers now but i recognised my driveway 1st lol) - technically its incorrect for you as mines a facelift. Difference is subtle but if you know your mercs, its obvious.


Im not complaining... just letting you know.

 

[panason1c]

The problem with leaving duff glowplugs in position is that, over time, carbon will build up on the heater element of the plug (which would normally be burnt off during operation of the plug) and make eventual removal of the plug difficult due to the carbon build up not allowing the element to pass through the narrow plug hole with the probability of the plug head shearing off leaving the element part stuck in the head.

 

[holodram]

I was looking on here (1st time in ages) to see what the problem is with the glow plug light coming on and off whilst driving at full temp... seems i should just live with it like you have. Bad luck with the gearbox... ouch!

Also, i had a re-map but mine is the 150bhp facelift so its a tiny bit more power than pre facelift. Had the DPF removed (well, emptied) - and a performance map after that. Goes well but now got injector issues and now the glow plug thing


Anyway, i noticed you used an old pic of my car for your signature (mines got AMG bumpers now but i recognised my driveway 1st lol) - technically its incorrect for you as mines a facelift. Difference is subtle but if you know your mercs, its obvious.


Im not complaining... just letting you know.

my car is exactly same as yours but blue .. also empty DPF .. AMG kit too / phone and sat nav lol
made me laugh ... having a starting problem with it at mo

 

[paultredgett]

I will second the point about making sure the engine is piping hot before trying to remove the glow plugs, do not do this with a cold engine!

I will also second that the reason they normally snap off in the head is because the exposed threads in the head ports eventually collect loads of carbon soot on them which over time sets like steel in the exposed threads which makes them virtually impossible to remove, sometimes the collected/hardened soot will fall off if you tighten/untighten the g/plugs in small amounts and I mean small amounts.....it can take hours of it to loosen it bit by bit.
Do not think spraying wd40 down the thread will help loosen it, it will make it worse if the head is also warm!

 

[duncanh]

I have now replaced another glowplug in my w203 c220cdi.

Having identified which one has failed, I squirted plus gas penetrating oil around the thread when hot for a few days, then removed the glowplug with the engine very hot. I used a torque wrench set at 20Nm, and in each case the glowplug came out before reaching torgue. I have read somewhere that the breaking point of the glowplug is about 30Nm (I think it was on the Beru website).

I smeared some Coppaslip grease on the thread of the new plug, and put in back in and tightened it to 20Nm.

Glowplugs (Beru) are about £8 at ECP (with the forum discount). The originals were Bosch.

My first one failed at 180K miles, second 230K, and most recent at 280K. One more (cyl no. 2) still to fail.

I don't subscribe to the "replace all 4" school of thought. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

 

[jeffjeffjeff]

hi

The glow plug light coming on after start-up indicates that one (or more) glowplugs has failed and needs renewing.
Sometimes, the blown glowplug(s) causes one of the fusible links inside the glowplug relay to blow, this will be evident if the faulty plugs are replaced but the glowplug light still remains lit.
The relay is a sealed unit but can easily be opened up and the blown link repaired by soldering in another fuse 'piggy-back' over the blown link (as i did on mine when it blew) this only takes about 30 minutes to do and is easy to see what has blown once the relay is opened up.
The best advice is to renew ALL the glowplugs at the same time.
It is very important to have the engine at FULL working temp when you attempt to remove the g/plugs to help avoid the real risk of them shearing off and leaving the bottom part of the plug stuck in the cylinder head.

In relation to soldering the fuse etc. I dont have the experience, do you know if i just change the Relay would this be ' enough ' to rectify the issue? also what relay do i need, just a standard Glow Plug Relay? thanks, Jeff

 

[jeffjeffjeff]

thats a great tip about the fusible link! dealer replaced the relay,wish id asked for the old one,and als worth mentioning to replace all the plugs at once,saves money in the long run.

i know the dealer charges a fortune for a new relay, would you happen to know the part number, and where i could buy a second hand one?> thanks

 

[jeffjeffjeff]

In relation to soldering the fuse etc. I dont have the experience, do you know if i just change the Relay would this be ' enough ' to rectify the issue? also what relay do i need, just a standard Glow Plug Relay? thanks, Jeff

would this be ok to use?

http://http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Mercedes-Benz_C+Class_2.2_2002/p/car-parts/car-electrics-and-car-lighting/electrical/car-regulators-relays-and-solenoids/?451220380&1&2e62768f742cd7f5ded1eef595166de7441fe8ae&000538

 

[panason1c]

You need the correct type relay listed for your vehicle from MB parts dept, cost approx £90 for the part..........

......repairing old one, cost approx £2 !

 

[jeffjeffjeff]

You need the correct type relay listed for your vehicle from MB parts dept, cost approx £90 for the part..........

......repairing old one, cost approx £2 !

the inde who has looked at my glow pulgs insists it is the circuit that is faulty inside the glow plug relay, does anyone have an opinion on this? because he toldme to buy a new glow plug, as there is no point piggy backing the old one.

he has just replaced all old glow plugs with new ones....

but he is confident it is the circuit inside the old glow plug relay..

any thoughts?