240D starting issue

[TheDon]

this is a 240D me and surf n turf picked up from a friend of mine since she had to get rid of it..


we dont have a key since it was lost, so we removed the ignition and used a wire to jump the contacts on the tumbler ... we got it to crank but it would not fire...

any ideas? its not glowing

[Dale240D]

yo! the don and surf,
did you check the big honkin fuse that's under the cover of the relay box on the drivers side fender under the hood? it's a big piece of metal.

dale

83 240D

[TheDon]

their isnt one on the drivers side fender... the model year is 79.. surf has a 240D(cant rember the year) and it has said fuse box on the fender...dale, this 240D used to belong to the girl i brought with to the gtg we had

[Dale240D]

you're not taking advantage of these poor girls so you can get ahold of their car are you?
are the glow plugs bad? hook a multimeter up to them and see what the resistance is between the terminal and ground. infinite resistance is bad. so is no resitance.
when's the next gtg?

dale

[1985 300SD Sady]

if your just hot wiring the ignition wiring, then there will still be vacuum at the shut off valve, and the car will not start.

remove the vacuum line and it should start. You shouldnt have to glow it, if its not too horribly cold.

[TheDon]

ah.... no dale im not picking up chicks just for their cars... (she had to get rid of it before she got fined by the association.. damn associations)

i totally forgot about testing the GP's... and had no idea about that vac line ...

[1985 300SD Sady]

Originally Posted by TheDon

.. and had no idea about that vac line ...

If the engine is cranking, then the vacuum pump is pumping, which creates vacuum. Since you dont have the key, you cant shut off the vacuum line going to the vacuum shut off valve. This makes it so you will never be able to start it.

Just unplug the line at the shut off valve, and it should start without glowplugs, if it has decent compression and its not too cold.

[Surf-n-Turf]

And the shut-off valve is........where?? The ignition tumbler is hanging under ther dash. There are 2 vacuum lines going to it. Are those it?

[JamesStein]

yep thats them.

[1985 300SD Sady]

Originally Posted by Surf-n-Turf

And the shut-off valve is........where?? The ignition tumbler is hanging under ther dash. There are 2 vacuum lines going to it. Are those it?

Un-hooking either of those two lines should do the trick.

[Surf-n-Turf]

Tried it but no fire. From what I know, the car has not run in a long time. I'm going by what I have been told. I think if I can spend some time with it this weekend and figure out how to light the glow plugs, I'll get it started.