200D 123 starting...

[pistokoski]

hei,

i'm new here, and glad to be here. if i may just jump in. i live in cold Finland
(right now -20c) and i just got a 1983 200D 123W 2 liter. i got it in a town about 500km (310 miles) away from where i live. the engine was warm already when i picked it up and i drove it back home with no problems. in short stops it started up again perfectly. the next day i did not plug it in over night (the coolant pre-heater) and in the morning i could not start it. after many tries while cranking constantly i got it to catch on 1 cylinder and then another and eventually it started. but i almost killed my starter. when the engine had warmed up it worked nice no smoke and decent power. the next morning (today) i plugged it in for 2 hours and tried to start it. it would not start and i drained my battery dead.
i had a 1982 240D a few years ego and it would always start up with no problems, even with out pre-heat. (not healthy i know but i forget some times...)
my fuel lines where cracked and leaking when i got it and on the way home i needed to shorten the line after the pre-filter to cut off the cracked part. i did not prime the system free of air after. can that be the cause of the problem?
there is also a slight leak around injector number 3.
the glow plugs are working fine and the turn over sound sounds like my good old reliable 240D. any ideas?

other then that it is a grate car! since i sold my old 240 i have had a ford, a citroen, a volvo, a mitsubishi, a nissan, a dodge, a opel, and other too. some newer (1999) and some older (1982) but all have failed me. i am glad to be back to the only car that is worth it! (even if it needs some work)

[P.E.Haiges]

pisto,

Low compression is a cause of hard or no strating when a Diesel is cold. With the low compression, the air in the pre-chamber does not get hot enough to ignite the fuel even if the GP are working.

But if the block heater is on for 2 hours, it should warm the engine enough that it will start. Are you sure the block heater is working? Insert and extract the block heater plug a few times and see if you get a spark. Another way to check is to connect a bulb to the end of the cord that connects to the block heater plug. You should see a slight dimming of the bulb when the block heater is connected.

If either of these tests show that the block heater is not working, you might have to replace the wires to the block heater or the heater itself.

P E H

[pistokoski]

thanks for the reply.
my block heater is a defa coolant pre-heater element and is working, the hot retern hose from the engine block is warm after about an hour in -20. and with my old car even with out pre heating it would fire up in this weather in 2-4 attempts. i was thinking of adding in a defa 715 thermostat controled unit i took of an old car of mine.
http://www.defa.com/doc/25608.967112894.productxdescriptionengineheater.pdf
together with my existing one so that i have duble the heat. but it sould have still started when pluged in for 2 hours. the engine was warm! you don't think it can be air in fuel system? what else can cause this?
p.s. i noticed that my starter was a bit weak. not by much and it turned over nice on the first attempts so....

[d.delano]

If your starter turned over good at first but then not so good look at the battery. Could be that it's tired.
Bleed air by loosening steel fuel lines@ injectors and/or pumping like mad on the primer pump.
When was the last time the valves were adjusted? Do that. Also, oil- are you using something like synthetic that will allow for easier cranking? Make sure you've covered everything.

[pistokoski]

i got it running with a jump start from a nighbors mitsubishi pajero jeep after a littel more bleeding air from the fuel system. now i got a new battary and i hope it will fix that problem. i plan to also replace belts, glow plugs, injector tips, oil and filter, coolant, and add a new defa electric coolant pre heater with a thermostat so the engine will stay at a cozzy 80c. then just some interior cometics and she is a beauty again. thanks for the help....

[Larry Delor]

I would like to see a picture of the 200D... I bet it looks cute.