I have been leaving the block heater plugged in at night on a timer so that it goes on a few hours before I go to school. For the past couple weeks, the starter turned the engine very slowly before it started up, but it did start every time (miraculously). Yesterday, I turned the key, the starter groaned, but it didn't turn the engine over. It made it maybe half a turn before it just stopped. I have since tried several times but the starter will not turn the engine over at all. It is engaging most of the time (more about that later), but it is acting as though it is not strong enough to start the car.

Here are the circumstances:
-Starter solenoid has been acting up for a year and a half- engages about 80% of the time
-New battery as of January, 2007- has 12V reading even after several attempted starts
-New voltage regulator
-Working alternator (as of a few months ago, but I can't start the car to check now)
-New glow plugs
-Valves adjusted 1K miles ago
-Car started down to 5 degrees last winter without adjusted valves, new battery, or new glow plugs
-I live in MA. 40 degrees on average this time of year, but dropping each week

Am I looking at replacing the starter, or is there something else I should check first?

__________________
Andrew

1989 Volvo 745- 202K

Sounds very much like a dead starter. Just replace it.

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

I agree, your starter performance seems suspect. I would make sure I am using a good, SYNTHETIC, oil though. In colder weather the oil thickens and becomes a real drag on the starter which not only has to overcome the compression of your Diesel engine, it has to run the fuel injection pump and the engine oil pump. Both of these are "positive displacement" type pumps and as such, the viscosity of the fluid being pumped strongly affects the demand for power. The Diesel fuel is not as big a drain, but the oil pump is a real power draw. A good synthetic 5W-40 will significantly lower the oil pump load, which will translate directly into improved cranking performance.

If you are already running a synthetic, the improvement from a 15W-50 to 5W-40 won't be as dramatic.

These starters take a beating. All starters are rated for intermittent duty, meaning they are intended to make their rated torque and speed for 15 seconds or so every few hours, maximum. To crank them for longer periods of time converts their "intermittent" rating to a continuous rating, and they fry because they just don't have what it takes to endure the full load current/losses for longer periods of time. We all do this, especially in the winter months, so the starters degrade with time. Don't be alarmed if they don't last many cold seasons as the cars age and become more difficult to start. Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

Make sure the battery is really charged up before anything else.

Battery is fully charged at 12V. All the electric devices in the car work just fine. I am running Rotella T 5W-40, so it is at least partially synthetic. Mobil 1 is a little expensive, but if it is worth it, I'll switch. It started fine last winter without the block heater at 5 degrees, so I know it can start at 35 or 40.

Well, it looks like a new starter moves to the top of my to do list.

__________________
Andrew

1989 Volvo 745- 202K

Your battery at 12 V is likely not fully charged. I believe you should see more like 12.8V or so. 12V is a minimum value. Get a trickle charger and charge it overnight.

What kind of driving do you do? If you are struggling to start the car, then drive with the heat on and the blower turned up, lights on and other electrical loads turned on, you may be failing to fully charge the battery if the alternator isn't putting out 13.6 V or more while you are driving, and you go on short trips to and from work.

Hope this helps, Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

I drive back and forth to school every day, plus to and from work a few days per week. Generally I put on 10 miles or so per weekday, and around 40 on the weekends, averaging out to about 7K per year. I ran the AC all summer and never had a problem with charging- this latest starting trouble really started a week ago, and it has been pretty cold here for a couple weeks. I tried jumping it to no avail, but I'll try the trickle charger.

__________________
Andrew

1989 Volvo 745- 202K

You should have your starter load tested and make sure your battery cables are in great condition before buying a new starter.

Autozone Wal-Mart and other places that sell autoparts do load tests on both batteries and alternators. You really should take your battery there and make sure its good. Just so you don't end up buying a starter and going through the same thing. Or worse buying one bringing in your core and then realizing you have the same problem but they already sent your core in so you have to keep it and buy a new battery.....

anyway first things first in my opinion. Just because it reads 12V+ does NOT mean its good. I went through this 3 weeks ago. Only a load test will give you honest results. Make sure its fully charged before getting it tested too as it may botch the results.

Good Luck

__________________
---------------------
1974 240d "Peace, Love and Empathy" - Kurt Cobain
1982 300sd "It all depends upon the Benz!" - Me
1983 300sd
1985 500sel
1992 300se

Jumping a car is not always that easy, especially if the car battery is really drained. It is difficult to make a good connection with the cables that can carry the amps that the car needs to start, plus people usually have poor quality cables. The clamp on jumper cables should have a strong spring in it so it makes a really good connection. You also have to overcome the resistance of the weak car battery if you are connecting the jumpers right to the battery.

The best is what has been mentioned, charge the battery. Also, make sure you have good clean tight connections when you reattach the cables after charging.

I used to work for the Canadian Automobile Association, and I can't tell you how many times I got cars started by just grabbing a loose battery cable and giving it a little twist.

Peter

In addition to the above, check where the negative battery cable grounds. Use sandpaper to clean the end of the battery cables that hook up to the battery, electrical connection cleaner for anything else.

__________________
1981 230E, 1984 300D.
-
www.ranwhenparked.net

I agree.

I'd fully charge the battery with an overnight charger.........and then try and start it. If that's still a no-go, I'd try and jump it with another vehicle. If it cranks easily and starts with the jumpers, the starter is not the culprit and the battery or the cables are the problem.

If it still won't start while jumping it to another vehicle with a running engine.........you confirmed that it's time to R & R the starter.

Good points. These starters draw a huge amount of current, and when the connections are poor, they heat up, and resistance goes up quickly, leading to loss of performance. Also, as noted, most jumper cables are not rated for jumping a Diesel. They get hot and add resistance, to the point where they offer little more juice at the starter of the car being jumped. This can be very frustrating. Buy yourself a set of really heavy duty jumper cables since no one else will do it, and you will find yourself being frustrated by the whole jumping experience with a Diesel. Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

OK- I'll try cleaning the terminals and jumping it tomorrow. I do have good cables from my dad's 1981 VW Rabbit diesel.

__________________
Andrew

1989 Volvo 745- 202K

Have you tightened the ground strap and the + and - battery cables? The starter motor - power goes through the engine block to the ground strap on the bell housing to the frame on the drivers side (on my 83 300DT anyway) to the negative cable on the frame on the passenger side to the negative battery cable to the battery . The ground strap must provide a good connection for the starter motor to develop full power.

Have you tried jumping the terminals inside the plastic box on the passenger wheel well? That bypasses the starter switch and the neutral lockout switch, which provides power to the starter solenoid and must get full power in order to pull in to provide power to the starter motor.

Never crank the starter if you have a low battery and the starter is groaning and straining and spinning slowly. It will overheat and be ruined.

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

I tried charging the battery up and bypassing the starter switch, but the starter is not even turning the engine any more. It just goes "click...click...click" and nothing happens.

So, I'm in the process of R&Ring it now. That Allen head bolt is a PITA, that's for sure. I just broke my U-joint socket trying to get it off with a 6 ft. breaker bar setup . The Craftsman lifetime warranty is coming in handy again...

__________________
Andrew

1989 Volvo 745- 202K