No electricity in car!! - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

braverichard · #1 11-22-2004, 09:35 PM

Hi all,

Today I decided to pull the instrument cluster from my 300SD to put white face gauges on, paint the needles, change the bulbs, rebuild the rheostat -- basically, to freshen up the cluster. Something came up and I had to drop my neighbor off at a place located about 40 miles from home. Since the 300SD was the car easily accessible in the driveway, I just thought that driving 80 miles without it being registered on my odometer wasn't that big of a deal. So I drove off without the cluster. I dropped my neighbor off and on my way back, I decided to stop and re-fuel. I did so and then I decided to stop again to look at a car for sale by the street. After that, I went back to my car and it wouldn't start. At this time, I had electricity in the car, the lights and CD player were working.

I called my friend who gave me a jump. My car started, however I still had no electricity in the car. The dome light comes up but it is very dim. The headlights wouldn't work and neither would the heater, though I could hear clicks each time I tried to start those accessories up. I just got home five minutes ago. I turned off the engine and now it won't come back on.

Anyone have any idea of what happened here? My friend was guessing that perhaps by driving without the instrument panel, I was running just on my battery and the alternator wasn't recharging it to produce electricity. OR he said my alternator could just have gone bad. Any ideas before I take the car to the mechanic tomorrow? Thanks again!!

whunter · #2 11-22-2004, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by braverichard

Anyone have any idea of what happened here? My friend was guessing that perhaps by driving without the instrument panel, I was running just on my battery and the alternator wasn't recharging it to produce electricity. OR he said my alternator could just have gone bad. Any ideas before I take the car to the mechanic tomorrow? Thanks again!!

Charge the battery.
Install the cluster.
With luck; everything will be ok.
Without the cluster, your alternator circuit is not complete = driving on battery only.

leathermang · #3 11-22-2004, 10:50 PM

" Driving on battery only"...
PEH did this half way across the country....
Once you start a Diesel you don't need the battery....
Except for lights and stuff...
But in the daytime , if you brake lights work, you can go a long way with nothing except the engine running......

A gasoline engine can be driven a certain distance with only the battery power for running the ignition...

braverichard · #4 11-23-2004, 12:07 AM

Do I need to have all the gauges in the cluster hooked up for everything to be back to normal? My speedometer was being sent off to a speedometer repair place so I definitely won't have it back in the cluster when I put it in. So will everything be back to normal without the speedometer?

barry123400 · #5 11-23-2004, 01:22 AM

All should be well. Think of all the mercedes out there running with disfunctional speedos like mine. Should repair my odometer but car would loose it's low milage status and after all it's only been inoperative for 10 to 20 years I estimate.

braverichard · #6 11-23-2004, 07:10 AM

Well I meant that I hope the alternator starts recharging the battery with only the tachometer and the fuel level/coolant temperature/oil pressure gauges in place. I truly do.

leathermang · #7 11-23-2004, 08:10 AM

If you are just driving in the daytime without lights....
Until you put the cluster back in....
you can just put your car on a trickle charger at nights....

Pete Burton · #8 11-23-2004, 08:16 AM

Is any of the loose wiring grounding out somewhere? With the car not running you can check where the current is leaking, much can often be done at the fuse box.

braverichard · #9 11-23-2004, 08:17 AM

Well, unfortunately I am not home now and where I am currently located this is the only car I have. I have my other fleet of cars at home, but I'm away from home right now. So I need the car for nights too. I'm going to put the cluster back in this morning, minus the speedometer which I don't have and see what happens.

braverichard · #10 11-23-2004, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete Burton

Is any of the loose wiring grounding out somewhere? With the car not running you can check where the current is leaking, much can often be done at the fuse box.

Current isn't leaking from what I learned from whunter's post. Without the cluster, the circuit isn't complete, so even when the car is running, the battery isn't being charged.

SD Blue · #11 11-23-2004, 09:48 AM

From checking the wiring diagram, it seems the alternator won't charge (because the field/regulator gets power through the instrument cluster). The area it shows is for the printed circuit and charge indicator. As long as that section of the cluster is in you should be OK.

Now if the wiring diagram is complete.

P.E.Haiges · #12 11-23-2004, 09:54 AM

Leather,

It wasn't only 1/2 the way across the country, it was all the way across plus all the way from Alaska.

But every night I charged the battery so I could get it started in the morning.

P E H

braverichard · #13 11-23-2004, 10:35 AM

Well folks, I just put the cluster back in, jump started the car and left it running outside right now. I won't let it run for long to avoid excessive soot deposit in the oil, so I'll have to drive it. I must say, I have seen a positive indication. Yesterday after jump starting it without the cluster, the CD player and interior lights still didn't come on. Since morning, after jump starting with the cluster, those lights are all on.

I called the "Mercedes-Benz Genius" back in Kansas City (I praised him here ) and described my problem to him. His exact words were: "no... no..., the cluster has nothing to do with that... it can't affect the alternator at all... you probably have electrical issues, a dead battery, a bad alternator, a combination of all those or all those issues." This was after I explained to him that I purchased the car in April this year with a brand new battery in it. It is beginning to appear to me that you fine folks have more knowledge on these German machines than Emery!!

Thank you all for your support. I'll post updates.

Stevo · #14 11-23-2004, 11:19 AM

"Is any of the loose wiring grounding out somewhere?"

Not sure about your car but on my 240D the plastic sleeve for the power connection too the clock can slip down the wire , exposing the "hot" connector and can ground.

leathermang · #15 11-23-2004, 12:33 PM

PEH, Since I did not remember the exact situation I tried to be conservative in my statement...
JimSmith told of parking his 240 for months on hills.... in that case one does not even need the battery or starter to get home...
Lack of usual ignition systems is the main reason I have a diesel... particularly after most manufacturers switched to electronic... I long for the days of points and condensor... which could be set close enough BY EYE.... to at least get one HOME.... ( sigh )....