hey guys,

Got into the '85 this morning. It was cold, maybe 5 deg F last night, car parked outside on the street.

Turned key, glowed, went to start, all I hear is a 'click'. Repeated, 'click' again. Moved shifter, played around with electrical accessories, turned lights on. Tried again, glowed, 'click'.

On maybe the 10th time, it turned over and started fine after 10 seconds of cranking.

Got to my destination 25 miles away and tried starting the car several times. No issues.

Is this the starter solenoid? Can I do any diagnostics?

Thanks!
dd

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'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car

That seems like a long crank time, you sure the battery is not low. When my solenoid failed it would not make any click sound at all. If it does it again you can make sure it is not the solenoid by whacking it with something hard, then trying to start again.

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

Could be a bad connection on the battery cables or a sticky solenoid as a result of cold grease. Also could be a bad connection in the ignition switch. My TD has a tendency to do that in very cold weather and the problem lies in the ignition switch. When it occurs I just jump terminals 1 and 3 in the junction box on top of the fender in front of the battery and off I go.

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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

Check all the major battery connections and grounds- clean them. Also check the ground to the block. You can measure the resistance from the engine block to the battery ground- should be low 1-2 Ohms.

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81 300D Turbo 190K sold
83 300sd 319K best $500 I ever spent-daily driverw/ 2 tank WVO set up

Cool, thanks for the advice. the 15 second crank seemed OK, but I don't know what is normal for these cars starting near 0 deg F with no block heater.

kerry, thank you for the jumping advice.

ill also look at and clean my electrical connections.

Maybe related or not, when I press on the accelerator the lights get slightly brighter, and then dim down to normal when I let off the pedal. i would think voltage regulator...i havent looked at it yet.

dd

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'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car

nope, all guesses wrong.
the CLICK is the solenoid actuating, but not energizing the starter. this is caused by the contacts in the solenoid being worn. you will need to pull the starter, and either replace the solenoid, or rotating the two main bolt heads for new contact with the contactor ring.
most just replace the starter.

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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!

All of the above can cause the problem as well as what vstech said.
Here is a pic of the terminal block to jump in front of the Batter (on an 84 300D). Also another area that sometimes needs the contacts cleaned (cleaned with the battery disconnected of course).



This is a pic of a Delco starter however it is similar to the ones on my year of mercedes. You can see the 2 contact bolts and the Disc (not labled) inside of the Solenoid that vstech was speaking of. However, I am not sure those bolts can be rotated without removing the plastic(?) End Cap
on the Solenoid as I believe the bolts have a square section like a Carriage Bolt the fits into a square holes in the End Cap.
If you try to rotate them from the outside I believe it will crack the End Cap.
However, I have not been inside a Bosch/Mercedes Solenoid to say for sure.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

cool. ill have some time today to look into it.

any ideas from a couple posts ago on why my lights brighten when the engine rpms increase?

dd

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'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car

Because the voltage climbs when the alternator has a decent output above idle. They usually cannot maintain 13.5V at idle with the headlights on.

Thanks Brian. Good to know this is not an abnormal happening on these cars. I've never noticed it on my other 300D.

dd

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'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car

Would not inadequate voltage (resulting from a weak battery, poor connections, etc.) produce identical symptoms?

I had a slowly worsening problem with one of my '80 300 TDs; the starter gear often failed to engage the flywheel, or when it did engage, would fall out and spin freely before the engine could start. A month ago I removed and tested the starter; it acted the same as my (used) spare. I reinstalled it and the problem was not changed. Then I cleaned and refastened ALL electrical connections involved, including the frame-to-transmission ground cable. This solved the problem.
Steve

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1980 300 TD

1997 Dodge Pickup/Cummins 5.9 12-valve