Mercedes Benz Glow Plug

In cold conditions, the Mercedes Benz glow plug is used to heat up the combustion chambers in order to help ignition at cold-start. A coil of a resistive wire that heats up when the electricity is connected is contained in the tip of the glow club. The glow plug is an indispensable component of your Mercedes vehicle since the engine produces the heat needed to ignite the fuel by the compression of air in the cylinder and combustion chamber. When the engine block, engine coil and cooling water are cold, and/or when the weather is cold, the heat produced during the first engine revolutions is conducted away by the cold surroundings, thus the ignition is prevented.

Before turning over the engine to provide heat to the combustion chamber, the glow plug is switched. It remains on as the engine is turned over to ignite the first two charges. The glow plug is no longer needed when the engine starts to run. In some cases however, an engine will run the glow plug for between 5 and 10 seconds after starting. This is done in order to ensure smooth running or to keep the engine within emissions regulations. The power fed to the glow plug, in this period, is reduced to prevent overheating. The glow plug in a typical diesel engine is switched on for between 10 and 20 seconds before the start. On the other hand, worn or older engines may require as much as a minute of pre-heating.

Late automotive engines with electronic injection systems employ different methods of changing the timing and style of the injection process. This is to ensure a reliable cold starting. Ideally, glow plug filaments should be made of materials resistant to oxidation and reduction by the burning mixture. Platinum and iridium are good materials since they have the advantage of catalytic activity because of the relative ease with which molecules absorbed on their surfaces can react with each other. In this way, the electric heating is aided or even replaced.