I thought it was the battery, so I put in a new one but have the same problem. The symptoms are just like a dead battery, and have been getting progressively worse over the past few start ups.

I read the thread about starters, slow starter speed etc. Hoping this is the problem after all. Will knocking the starter with a sharp blow help, if not just to diagnose the problem?

I was going to chime in with the similar post below to keep things uncluttered, but didn't want to hijack the thread.


It has been running fine otherwise.

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79 300D 238K mi

Check how much amperage your starter is drawing.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

It certainly always makes me feel better...

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1983 300D-Turbo - Deep Blue w Palomino MB Tex (total loss in fire 1/5/09 RIP)
1995 E320 W124 Polar White/Grey Mushroom MB Tex
2005 F150 Supercrew - Arizona Beige - Lear topper
1985 Piaggio Vespa T5 - Black and Chrome

www.cphilip.com

Sounds like the starter is going. Kerry's suggestion will tell you for sure. The only problem is that you'll have to pull the starter to perform the test, unless you're lucky enough to have one of those nifty current meters that clamp over the batter cable.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 401,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 26,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.
99 Mazda Miata 183,xxx miles.

Inductive amperage draw meters that sit on the wire are pretty cheap.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Thanks Kerry, what should I be looking for, good vs. bad?
I'm not sure how to do this either. Do I hold a meter on the battery posts while cranking?

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79 300D 238K mi

Take a jumper cable and run it from the positive battery terminal directly to the starter. See if the condition improves.

If not, take the same jumper cable and connect it from a good engine ground near the starter to the negative battery terminal.

See if the condition improves.

Report back.

If neither approach helps the crank speed, replace the starter.

I have an inductive meter which I just lay on the positive battery cable while cranking. It shows the draw. People have reported about 200 amps on a good starter. Someone was drawing about 350 amps in a post last week and I believe the consensus was that is was too much.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

The thread with the 350 amp pulling starter prompted me to check mine (witn an inductive amp meter) as spoken about above and my good working starter only pulled a little over 100 amps (weather at the time around 76 degrees).
If the Starter Solenoid or something else is sticking in the starter hitting (use common sense here) it some times loosen it up.
The contact points inside of Starter Solenoids burn over the years. I believe I have read that some of the members cleaned them (do a search for this).
Always an issue is the Starter cable and wire connections. One of the small wires of the Starter Solenoid I believe gets its power from the terminal bolck (not all modles have it) just forwerd of the battery.


Always a good idea to clean the connections before testing Starter or Alternator. (Cleaned after disconecting the (-) battery cable for safety.)

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Starter replaced, starts better than ever! I wanted the Bosch, but for $110 less I had to go with an autolite reman w/lifetime warranty. Anyway, good to go now. Thanks for the tips.

A question about starting, but about glow plugs. Is it always necessary to glow before starting? I used to work on a ranch and operated a little Kubota, and that thing just wouldn't start w/o glowing. The MB will, but it cranks a little longer before starting - I think...perhaps I haven't had it long enough to make a fair evaluation. Anyhow, is i t necessary or should it start w/o glowing if compression is decent?

BTW, what is compression ratio on 617's?

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79 300D 238K mi

I glow when ever I remember to hot or cold. The less raw fuel that goes in my engine the better. But when the engine is hot it will starts without them but I do haveto crank the engine longer.
It all depends on the condition of your engine,starting system and fuel injection system. With some cars you may need to glow most of the time or your risk not starting at all even in warm weather.
One of the members commented that using the glow plugs reduces the load on the starter/battery.
In the end it is your choice. Also about a month ago there was a thread asking the same question.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Thats standard operating procedure
1. disconnect negative battery
2. hit suspected faulty part
3. repeat till fixed

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"the old-fashioned German automobile design culture, which proclaims that the engineer knows best, and considers studies of real people driving their vehicles irrelevant."
Donald Norman, in his new book Emotional Design,

Arguing on the internet is like competing in the Special Olympics. Even if you win your still retarded.