Preglow plug - where do I buy from + guide to change

[OM2]

My first post here!
I've purchased a 2005 E320 auto diesel

The preglow light comes on and stays on for exactly 90 seconds before going off after starting the engine

I've googled and seen a video or 2 on youtube

Where do I buy from?
I've googled but can't seem to find a single result!
Can someone give me some pointers? Obviously I must be searching for the wrong phrase

Guidance on how to change: I'd really appreciate if someone could point me to my specific model

ALSO... I've read that the best option is to get an OBD2 unit and use to test and find out the faulty preglow - else you have to take out turn on and repeat until you find faulty one. Is this correct? Will I be OK using a bluetooth OBD2?

Thanks


OM

 

[peterwhayward]

Welcome to you OM2."Knowing all" about any type of car is a big task it seems from the outside (me knowing nothing) that even the people that have devoted their lives so far to car repair and maintenance, still on many occasion are "perplexed" as to the answers. But good luck to you anyway.

 

[Ginno78]

Just a helpful tip...Mine did this, and after changing all 6 glow plugs it was infact the Glow plug relay at fault

 

[Ginno78]

I had 6 Beru glow plugs from Eurocarparts for about £60 with discount code

 

[Remenham]

If you do a search on e320 glowplugs or just glowplugs on this site you will find masses of information. Did so recently myself after my light started staying on.

 

[OM2]

thanks for the replies guys

not guilty: how am i supposed to know that i'm supposed to search for 'glow plugs' instead of 'preglow plugs'
lol

@ginno78, the car has done 94,000 miles now
i have no reason to think that any of the preglow plugs have been replaced
i really don't want to fork out for all 6
but is that like saying "i don't want to spend money doing a service?"

discount code? where do i get this?

@Remenham: found it on europart website now - thanks

@peterwhayward: yes, absolutely agree. better to be a master of a subset than be a jack of trades in everything. i really want to get into diagnostics for modern cars. happy to invest time and effort becoming an expert in this field. just don't know where to start...?

 

[REMEmechanic]

Hi there, the symptons you describe point to a single glow plug only. I am not familiar with the E320 (I have the C250Td) but imagine it's fairly similar, therefore you will need to remove the manifold to gain access to the glow plugs.
Pull off the electrical lead, it will be tight (it's a press on fit) you will need an extra deep socket to unscrew the glow plug, you will have to remove one glow plug at a time to see which has failed, simply remove it, re-fit the lead and rest it on the head, then turn the ignition on, the end should glow red after a few seconds...if it doesn't then replace it.
Once replaced with new re-check to see if it glows red (if you don't have a new one just remove one other from the head and try that!
If you do find one that is faulty and replace it MAKE SURE that the dash light goes off as well just in case there is more than one faulty.
Advise just going to your local motor trade shop, they are usually best and cheapest, completely pointless changing all 6 when it's probably just 1.
Regards
Russ

 

[Frontstep]

Removing the big engine covers black and silver will reveal the glow plugs you can test them with a multimeter.
There are many threads on here, read as many as you can and do a google images search.
If you are reasonably competent with the tools its not a hard job but a heavy handed approach can cause many problems.

 

[mikestrivens]

...
@peterwhayward: yes, absolutely agree. better to be a master of a subset than be a jack of trades in everything. i really want to get into diagnostics for modern cars. happy to invest time and effort becoming an expert in this field. just don't know where to start...?

this has been answered in your other thread