When we bought for scrap, the beast (Mercedes 300D) would not start without turning the engine repeatedly for about 20 minutes using a set of Jump leads from another car. Virtually none of the electrics worked.
This morning I went out and turned the key and she spluttered into life unaided for the first time! The only electrics not working are one of the four electric windows and the fold down headrests.
So one days TLC transformed a non started with no electrics into a dream! This car was going to be scrapped.
Under all those pipes (known as an inlet manifold) and screwed into that big thing on the left (known as an engine) are 6 plugs that heat each cylinder of the engine to make the diesel explode more easily when starting.
So ordered a pack of 4 (there are 6 in total) off eBay for £18.
The first 2 were fairly awkward to fit – took me about an hour and I learnt on the second not to tighten the nut attaching the wire too much as it snapped one of the new plugs. The third one took about 2 hours. It was impossible to get any spanner or socket to it.
Eventually I undid a bit of what looks like part of the accelerator control linkage which made it doable. Only problem is I lost the nut of the back of the accelerator connector so I got one off a light fitting on my bike that was the same size.
It was then impossible to re-connect the linkage as it is in that big gap in the middle of the pipes and you can only get one hand in. In the end I fixed the nut and the linkage together with some putty meaning I could then bring my hand out and put the screw in.
I have ordered more plugs for the remaining three cylinders. I do not think I’ll be able to do number 6 though as it looks impossible.
As for the electrics – when purchased for £220 – practically nothing worked so I replaced missing fuses, took all the fuses out and cleaned them with sand paper and put them back in
.
I also took out the two relays (the green thing and the white thing), cleaned the contacts and put them back. For extra good measure I took out the big black box containing the a couple of relays and a circuit board, prised the lid off and touched all the soldered connections with a soldering iron and some solder. Not sure if this was needed but sometimes these joints can crack as the components (particularly high power components like relays) expand and contract.
When I turned it back on one fuse (for the rear interior light, the electric areal and the rear folding headrests) blew. I checked with a meter and there is a short somewhere. Everything else seems to work fine except:
- One electric window in the back.
- The windscreen wipers only seem to have one speed.
Reconnected the Stereo and now we have radio and CD too!
Perfect.
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