Hey all.

I was wondering if someone could possibly give me a little insight into my issue.

I've got a 1987 SD 300. Living in Northern Ontario (it's cold).

Yesterday morning I pulled the car out of the driveway and around the corner to shovel.

Shoveled; pulled her back into the driveway and shut down for the night -- plugging in the block heater operations thus far normal...

Go to start up this morning, after a particularly frigid evening --- minus 27 C...

Realized that I had shut down in gear the day before... because I'm a num-nut not too sure if it has anything to do with the problem but it won't even cough. Battery is fine seeing that I had it plugged into a reliable outlet all night and the light interior and exterior lights work just fine. Turn the key --- absolutely nothing. Haven't had any starter trouble recently... tried rocking a little see if maybe the gear shifter was stiff... still nothing.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

- J

try putting it in neutral and see if anything changes.

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punkinfair

leaving it in gear shouldn't make any difference assuming you put it back into park before trying to start it.
if neutral doesn't get it cranking, take a pair of pliers or two screwdrivers and short the front and the rear screws on the terminal block and see if the starter still works.

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Sounds like a neutral safety switch to me. Try running the shift lever through the gears a few times then try starting it.

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Just had this same problem two hours ago on my 87 300D (not quite as cold mind you, but chilly for Maryland), I messed around with the shifter and then it started in neutral.

that has to suck so much....

anyway i'm sorry for the problem but a neutral safety switch would probably just be too convenient right....

so first off it'd be nice to know if when you try to crank your engine if you're hearing a "click" as in the solenoid engaging but the starter not actually cranking. It's time to get down to specifics if you haven't been able to start her up yet. You may have a bad battery that the cold weather is draining. If your starter proved strong before the incident then I would feel confident in saying it's probably odd that your starter would not work all of a sudden. Check battery connections as they are important especially in colder weather.

If you're a decent mechanic I'm sure you can figure out what to do next. But incase you're not you should have your battery tested by taking it to autozone in another vehicle or have someone give you a ride. They'll usually be able to tell you if you've got a bad battery or not assuming your battery is at a decent charge. Afterwards if your car still isn't turning over and you've checked all connections you should try jumping your starter in the terminal box as a previous member advised.

This is only to determine if your starter is still working or not. You need to jump the 2 outer terminals of the rectangular black box located on your passenger side fender. You can use 2 screwdrivers or a piece of fat wire...whatever. When you jump the two make sure your key is turned on. You only need to jump them long enough to ensure your starter is still functional and to rule out a problem that may be occuring before the starter. If your starter turns over then at least you can rule out your starter as the problem but if it does not turn over you can narrow down your problem to all systems before the starter. This would include the battery the battery cables or the ignition switch (which you should probably ignore for your diagnosis).

Just simply test your battery and afterwards jump those two terminals to determine if your starter is still functional and this will help me (an others reading) to help you diagnose your problem as I know these problems are horrible to have in the cold weather. I just hate working on cars in the cold maybe...but who wouldn't...

Good Luck! Post up your results when you get a chance.

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

I would also think that the neutral safety switch might be the problem. With the temperatures you speak of, any moisture on the switch may have caused it to freeze, and fail to function as designed. Leaving it in gear overnight may have frozen it in that position and now is failing to return to its "neutral or parked" starting position. Good luck

hey guys Thank you all for your advice! Things turned out okay after a day of warmer weather -- now I have another problem! I'm posting my distress call right after I double click!
-j

Hey all yet another key turning issue I throw your way.

Same as before -- I'll just review.

I've got a 1987 SD 300. Love it but seems to have some issues loving me...

Started up yesterday afternoon without a problem. Drove about 10 mins to a friends house for dinner no issue. Parked and plugged in as per usual. After a wonderful dinner and conversation go to head-off home and it won't even cough. Not a click not a whir. Battery seems fine I even tried boosting it with a portable bootser. Seeing that I had it plugged into a reliable outlet and the light interior and exterior lights work just fine I am not even sure where to begin. Granted I'm not all that much of a mechanical wizard. So I crashed on the couch for the night and tried again early this morning -- Outside temp approx - 35 C. Turn the key --- absolutely nothing. Haven't had any starter trouble recently... tried rocking a little see if maybe the gear shifter was stiff... still nothing.

And the temp did drop significantly from -20 to -35 ISH from the shut-down to the attempted restart. Not too sure if it has anything to do with the problem. The tank is 3/4 full with added anti-gel. Again I'm not all that Auto-savy...

Any ideas?

- J

still sounds like a neutral safety switch issue- you never did clear up exactly what's wrong in your other post, but you started another one w/ the same issues???

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That's a tough call. It could be something as simple as a bit too much corrosion in your battery cable, most likely near the clamp on the positive cable. If it were me, I would jump the starter directly. This involves hooking the jumper cables from your battery, or another good one, to the starter. The positive cable goes to your solenoid (where your car's battery cable connects) and the neg. jumper cable goes to ground somewhere (frame). If your starter is okay, it should engage when everything is connected (watch your eyes for sparks). If it engages, you will know it's not the starter or your battery and may be cables or ignition or tranny.... Somebody correct me on jumping the starter, it's a bit hard to explain clearly.

Okay, I saw your other post. Jumping the solenoid is also a good idea to tell if that is shot, but only useful if it's getting good juice. You say it starts right up when it got warmer? That makes me think there's too much corrosion somewhere (battery cables) and the battery can't overcome the corrosion in it's weakened state when it's cold out. Battery cable clamps are cheap and easy to replace if they look even a little bit corroded. If you replace your clamps (I did on mine as a preventive measure), make sure that you cut the cable back a bit to get a clean end - don't cut it too short though.

The cables and connections seem to me to be clear of corrosion.

Also;

Would I be able to jump the starter with a portable booster pack? I've got one of those pretty handy.

Okay, that's a good start. Just remember, looks can be deceiving.

Not sure on the booster pack. Seems like a good one might work. No jumper cables?
Have you checked your battery voltage by the way?

voltage is around 12

In search of my cables as we "speak"

thanks for your help!