84 Volvo glow plug light stays on ??? and is old diesel algae prone

[SRHeer]

I brought this 84 D24 out of hibernation day before yesterday and finally got it started after it had sat for like 5 years - the glow plugs apparently are not working in that when I would turn the key on the glow plug light comes on but stays on - I cycled the eng over trying to start several times - no go - I turn it on again several times and felt the glow plugs - they were not getting warm - did not have time to get meter and check for voltage as I was on the fly and now am not where Volvo is but next time I will take my infrared thermometer gun that I bought from Harbor Freight and that way with ign on I can pin point which if any plugs may not be working by pointing gun at plug - I would think that the glow plug base itself would heat up a bit if bulb was working - is this correct?

Now as far as the glow plug light staying on - if the plugs are not getting voltage could it be the glow plug relay? and if so where it is? and does anyone have the part number? - it also may be the fuse which I think I noticed was on the left fender well - but could not check without meter - so anyway next time around I just want to be prepared to get the plug system working.

I did squirt a bit of starter spray onto the air filter and it fired right over for a bit and really clattered - but once I got it running it quieted down and oil light went out - at first though while trying to start oil light would not go out - i had checked and it did have crankcase oil so - but maybe this is normal for an engine that has sat for 5 years.

It turned over no problem and started right up with oil light going out after the initial clatter and bang of first go around.

It does have some diesel fuel in tank - would it be ok to add some diesel fuel octane booster and cleaner and water absorbing additive and just run or would it really be necessary to syphon old diesel fuel out before using? I have heard of algae growing in tanks - how can one tell if it has and would it be common here in Texas for that to happen with a diesel car that has been sitting like this one?

Thanks for any info and advice!

[casioqv]

It's possible that the base of the glow plugs would not heat enough to detect with your infrared thermometer. The first thing to do is check with a multimeter if they're getting power when you first put the key to run. It's very unlikely that they're all burned out, so you can run them just for testing purposes by providing them power with a normal jumper cable for about 10 seconds, disconnecting it, and then quickly firing up the engine. You'll need a circuit diagram and a multimeter to figure out *why* they're not getting power if they're not. It could be just a corroded terminal, disconnected or bad temp sensor, bad relay, etc.

Using starter fluid on these engines is a huge no-no and can cause major damage: broken rings, etc. It should *never* be used in any situation on a D24. If you have a manual transmission, roll starting downhill in 3rd gear will get even the lowest compression cars without good working glow plugs running as long as they're getting fuel and timed properly. After using ether, you should do a compression check to see if you've broken any rings.

If the diesel has gone bad, no additives will help- but if it's already mostly empty you might be okay just filling the tank the rest of the way with new diesel, and keeping several spare filters handy. I'd probably siphon out the old fuel anyway and replace all of it.

[Volvoist]

Yeah, that starting fluid was a very bad idea. I suspect that is how my 82 244 diesel got broken rings. I have MAJOR blowby and it uses 1qt./60miles. The PO used it to try to get the car running, even though I told him not to. Make sure you do not have broken rings as a result of the starting fluid.