I've been in this Sprinter for 3 years and I drove trucks OTR for 7 years before that, and I just learned about something very basic to diesel engines: glow plugs. I know practically nothing about engines (obviously), but I'm probably not the only one who never heard of glow plugs, so here's some info:
Recently the 'engine control unit malfunction' light on my Sprinter's dashboard came on. My shop said one of my glow plugs was bad and it would cost $500 to replace, but he also said that glow plugs aren't vital and that the engine would run fine without them, so I told him not to fix it. I just searched the web to find out what glow plugs are, and found that they are heating elements inside the cylinders of diesel engines that warm up the cylinders before the engine starts to make it easier for the engine to start, especially on cold mornings. You should turn the key to the 'On' position and leave it there for 10-20 seconds which fires up the glow plugs so they can warm up the cylinders, turn the key back to the 'Off' position and then start the engine.
I just checked my Sprinter's Owner's Manual, and sure enough, there it is right in the Starting The Engine section. There's a light on the dash called the Preheater Indicator Lamp which lights up during that 10-20 seconds I mentioned above, and it goes out when the glow plugs have heated the cylinders enough, letting you know when to start the engine. The Manual says, "If the engine is at normal operating temperature the Preheater Indicator Lamp will only light up briefly." I just turned my key to the 'On' position and that's exactly what it did, which isn't surprising since I turned my engine off 2 hours ago and it's 80 degrees outside.
Now I have a question: I don't remember if the $500 my shop quoted me was for one glow plug or all of them, but either way, is it worth that much to get one or all of them replaced? It seems like if the glow plugs aren't working the only problem created is that the battery will have to work harder to start the engine. I put in a new battery last winter and it was $100, which is a lot less than $500 glow plugs.
Recently the 'engine control unit malfunction' light on my Sprinter's dashboard came on. My shop said one of my glow plugs was bad and it would cost $500 to replace, but he also said that glow plugs aren't vital and that the engine would run fine without them, so I told him not to fix it. I just searched the web to find out what glow plugs are, and found that they are heating elements inside the cylinders of diesel engines that warm up the cylinders before the engine starts to make it easier for the engine to start, especially on cold mornings. You should turn the key to the 'On' position and leave it there for 10-20 seconds which fires up the glow plugs so they can warm up the cylinders, turn the key back to the 'Off' position and then start the engine.
I just checked my Sprinter's Owner's Manual, and sure enough, there it is right in the Starting The Engine section. There's a light on the dash called the Preheater Indicator Lamp which lights up during that 10-20 seconds I mentioned above, and it goes out when the glow plugs have heated the cylinders enough, letting you know when to start the engine. The Manual says, "If the engine is at normal operating temperature the Preheater Indicator Lamp will only light up briefly." I just turned my key to the 'On' position and that's exactly what it did, which isn't surprising since I turned my engine off 2 hours ago and it's 80 degrees outside.
Now I have a question: I don't remember if the $500 my shop quoted me was for one glow plug or all of them, but either way, is it worth that much to get one or all of them replaced? It seems like if the glow plugs aren't working the only problem created is that the battery will have to work harder to start the engine. I put in a new battery last winter and it was $100, which is a lot less than $500 glow plugs.
