gentleman, i feel like an idiot. and perhaps you will agree. question. my starter. won't crank the engine. now for the cute part. works fine. in the sense that i can hear the bendix engage. and the starter run when it is laying on the garage floor. when installed, it does not work. both instances bypass factory wiring. it is 'my' wiring harness in both cases. basically could i have a defective starter when it is under load? and when i say one works and the other does not, i mean that all connections/wiring otherwise are identical. another phrasing, could my starter fail " under load". and work fine without a load. both pep boys and advanced auto parts we gracious. and tested starter. both say " passed".

Dumb question: Have you checked the ground strap from the engine? Just for fun, try a jumper cable from the negative battery post to the engine and see if it works.

Try putting a socket on the crankshaft and rolling the engine a little. Maybe you just need to engage a different spot on the flywheel.

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Dave
1983 300D Daily Driver

Ditto on the ground strap. That's caused a good starter not to work twice for me, on two different cars, the '84 and the '85. Both now have an extra cable from where the negative cable bolts to the body to where the air filter housing mount bolts onto the intake manifold.

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Seth

1984 300D 225K
1985 300D Donor body
1985 300D Turbo 165K. Totaled. Donor Engine. It runs!!!
1980 300SD 311K My New Baby.
1979 BMW 633csi 62K+++? Dead odo

how "identical" is the wiring on the starter? when you say it won't crank, do you mean you hear it engage, but it will not turn the engine? the motor could be in gear if it's a manual, you could have a hydro locked motor, the starter motor could have a bad winding resulting in 0 torque. verify the engine CAN turn. try to rotate the engine with a socket on the crank pulley, or the PS bolt...

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!