It was the relay thank goodness. the ignition switch is a hassle to get to. I found a relay for $20 at the boneyard. it seems to be working. It is raining and I have no garage so I'll test the voltage tomorrow. easy fix
It is amazing how things are so easily overlooked. It seems the p.o. replaced the entire charging system. probably due to this. The only reason I found it was the wire was glowing where it was connected to the glow plug.
by the way there are no problems with shutoff. it stops quickly. the door locks work well suprisingly. I baught the car because the interior was in good condition as my euro is not really. I havnt decided what to do with this car yet. maby I'll drive it until I fix up the euro.

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Chris
84 280sl
82 300d euro