Manual Glow Plug

[dfnder]

My glow plug system went crappy in the Spring of this year.

Tried to replace the ECU and it turned out it wasn't my ECU but the wiring apparently, it was recommended that I go to a manual system which I did but I have never really been happy with it. The first switch I had burnt out pretty quick. I had a differant one installed and it seemed to work better but never as good as when I had the ECU working. I had to have the button depressed longer than suggested and still usually rough starts umless the engine is already warm then there is no problem. I would like to have the van start smooth and I'm wondering which way I should go, 6V, 11V, manual or work on an ECU system - stock or Mercedes.

I would like to hear from those that have a manual system on there vehicle and their thoughts about their own system. I would appreciate others comments as well.

cheers

[jessef]

The stock wiring for the glow plug system in all L300/L400/Pajero's with both 4D56T and 4M40 is crap.

Multiple threads on degrading resistance/voltage along the wiring/bus bar, wires shorting/turn to dust inside the sheath, etc...

The first order of business in the electrical area when buying any one of the three should be to remove the stock wire going from the battery/fuse holder -> solenoid -> busbar and the solenoid <-> ECU.

The next step is to altogether remove the stock bus bar and replace it with either a better one that conducts properly from tip to tip or splice the main 10-12g wire into 4 going to each plug individually.

Short of that, the ECU and solenoid are the only areas to malfunction. It's a very simple system.

The ECU is similar to it's north american brothers in many vehicles. When I took my ECU into blue streak, I was not asked what vehicle it came from. They just repair/replaced what components had failed their test lab.

The solenoid is a simple 2-switch on/off piece. It works or it doesn't. Easy to test and replace.

After having my ECU repaired twice and replaced once in our Pajero, I opted for a manual system. Fresh wiring replaced the existing junk wiring, busbar was replaced with individual spliced wires from the main contact wire and a push button connection was installed in the dash connected to the solenoid with fresh wiring.

That system has been in place for the past 4 years and is working well with the original glow plugs.

Since then, I've done the same for other L300/L400 and Pajero's, all successfully.

That is my experience and advice. Hope it helps.

[snelson]

I love my manual system.
I didn't install it, it was there when I bought it 4 years ago from a delica.ca member.
It's great when it's really cold as I can give it little bursts to smooth out chuggy start ups.

Haven't had an issue with it. I get a click behind my right sholder when I push the button on/off so it's still wired thru the ECU somehow.
I would recommend one 100%.

[nxski]

My van starts first crank with the manual switch instead of the 3+ it would take with the ECU. It's smokier after start-up though which I think is due to me needing to play around with my timing.