Hey, that is what this forum is all about.

Share your experiences and know-how. Kind of like the grocery store, you only take from the shelf what you want. You try different things in the "recipe" until you find what works for you. And like all good recipes, share it with friends, so they can have the same enjoyment!

Let us know what the results are.

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

Well how about an update??

Dave

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1970 220D, owned 1980-1990
1980 240D, owned 1990-1992
1982 300TD, owned 1992-1993
1986 300SDL, owned 1993-2004
1999 E300, owned 1999-2003
1982 300TD, 213,880mi, owned since Nov 18, 1991- Aug 4, 2010 SOLD
1988 560SL, 100,000mi, owned since 1995
1965 Mustang Fastback Mileage Unknown(My sons)
1983 240D, 176,000mi (My daughers) owned since 2004
2007 Honda Accord EX-L I4 auto, the new daily driver
1985 300D 264,000mi Son's new daily driver.(sold)
2008 Hyundai Tiberon. Daughters new car

The update is, it just happened that one day. When it stopped, it stopped. If it happens again, I'll dig a little deeper. But as long as things are back to normal...
Damon Fite

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1984 300TD Wagon--Astral Silver--Retired
1983 300TD Wagon--Dark Blue--Retired

Well, I guess it's my turn to revive this old thread. I just got through pulling my dash and switching out my dash bulbs with some brighter LEDs. When I cranked the car, the brake light, brake wear light and low fuel light were all illuminated. What do you think happened and what should I check? Thanks.

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Scott

1983 300D Turbo

I have had all three lights stay on maybe 6 times in the past 6 months after damp cold nights but they went out after a few minutes driving .

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1981 240D 143k 4 spd manual -SOLD

2004 VW Jetta TDI 5 speed 300k -still driven daily

You may be on to something. It has been raining like cats and dogs here for the past 3 days and I have not driven the car during this time period. I'll post back tomorrow after I drive to work and back.

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Scott

1983 300D Turbo

Possibly an instrument connector not seated well? or voltage regulator/alternator. Usually the source of problems like this that appear after doing work on the car is a loose connector from my personal experience.

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

When I cranked the car for work, the 3 lights went out after approx. 10 seconds. Same thing after the next start and what seemed like even less time to go off after the 3rd start. I'm wondering if these lights are an indicator of possible problems with the voltage regulator or alternator. Or not?

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Scott

1983 300D Turbo

It could be. Some things to check first: Battery connections, Ground connections (Batt.-Chassis & Chassis-Engine). A DC voltmeter across the battery terminals should read ~13.5VDC when charging. If it is much less than that, the regulator might be suspect. Sometimes you can get away with just changing the regulator but if the comutator is worn much, the alternator needs replaced/rebuilt.

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

Since you had replaced the indicators with LED's, is there any chance it's just that the LED is staying on longer than the lamp test flash due to the low current requirement, and residual power from the initial test?
This could be checked by swapping one of the lights that is doing this back to an incandescent bulb and see if it functions normally while the others are glowing, or possibly if they all shut off at the normal time.

If that turns out to be the problem, you could bridge the pins of the LED with a high impedance resistor to effectively short the residual voltage once the power has been removed.

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-Josh
Testing the cheap Mercedes axiom, one bolt at a time...

Actually, I only replaced the 3 white lights for background illumination. I left all of the idiot lights the same since they are bright enough for me. Of course when I start the car, the LEDs are not in use.

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Scott

1983 300D Turbo

13.7-13.8V at the terminals with the engine running. I've owned the car for 8 months and have no clue whether the regulator has been changed. Is this something to change as preventive maintenance or just keep one on hand when it goes? Thanks

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Scott

1983 300D Turbo

Is this voltage reading immediately after start-up before the light goes out or is this after the engine is running and the battery light is off?

The reason I ask is it could possibly just be a slightly drained battery and now that it is getting more of a top charge, everything is going back to normal.

One other note: Something I ran across recently...there was a slight amount of corrosion between the alternator and the regulator causing a poor connection of the grounding tab of the regulator. This was most evident after a little rain. I cleaned the mating surfaces of the regulator and alternator, applied a dab of conductive grease (Radio Shack), and reassembled. This was last spring and no problems have been noticed since.

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

This reading was after the car was running for 2-3 minutes. Also, my battery light has never been illuminated...just the 2 brake lights and the fuel gauge low level indicator...if that matters.

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Scott

1983 300D Turbo

Does the battery light come on before starting, in test mode, or never as in possible burned out bulb? The warning system checks the battery, brake master, brake wear, fuel low level before start up and a burned out bulb may cause something that appears strange.

Since your charging voltage is good, I very much doubt an alternator/regulator problem. However, it has been mentioned that if the battery light is out, that the alternator doesn't see field voltage and will not charge. If something is slightly awry with the battery light bulb socket or connection, this may be what you are seeing. A slightly loose instrument ground may be something else to consider. Since you were working in that area, that would be my first consideration.

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )