I just went out to start my '79 240D and the following occurred:
-turned key to glow position, and glow light came on as well as radio.
-turned key to start and nothing happened, not even one crank.
-no lights, no power to anything.

-I drove the car 70 miles earlier today with no problems. Made a 1/2 hour stop on the way home, and the car started right up which makes me rule out the alternator.
-The clock was working until I turned the key.
-All fuses look good.
-If it was the ignition switch, wouldn't I still have headlights and clock working?

Thanks for any input,

__________________
'81 300SD

Check your battery cables and connections.

-Jason

__________________
1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.

This sounds a lot like a loose battery cable. I've had that happen a few times on different cars.

__________________
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.

Loose battery cable or poor connection between cable and post.

cables were the first thing I checked. They were tight. I went out and loosened the negative, wiggled it and now I have power back.
It's always been something simple with this car.Love it.

__________________
'81 300SD

Now is the time to remove and clean the battery terminals and cable clamps of oxidation. Treat the posts with something to prevent or reduce future oxidation. Otherwise the current senario ('pun intended) will probably occur again. Also at present you may not be getting quite the full current possibly available when starting.

x2

I had the same thing in Chevy Diesel truck, I went under hoping to find a disconnect and... I've found it. Cable going to the starter simply came apart from age/rust/vibrations. Check Yours for the same problem, I hope it will be as easy fix as mine was.

If the battery end is good, check where the cables go on the other end. As I recall on my W126 the ground goes right to the body.

-Jason

__________________
1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.

Otto,

Sounds like It may be time to replace the battery Cables with new ones... 'cause the corrosion may be on the wire strand bundle inside the cable insulation especially after 15-20 years. When you "wiggled" the wires, it probably disturbed the wires enough to get some juice to the starter...

Motor on

__________________
Bama1


2008 SLK 280, Firemist Red - "Hurricane"
2001 F150 Lariat 4x4, Black on Black - "Badboy"
1982 240D 4 speed survivor -"Pearl" - Donated to Vietnam Veterans
1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 -"Gertrude"

1954 model original owner - ~2.5M
Gray softtop/solid exterior/modified chassis

Like Freeride said...check connections going to the starter. The exact same thing happened to me and it turned out to be a wire going to the starter had vibrated out.

Thanks guys,

I've looked online for a positive battery cable with starter and alternator connections and can't find one. I guess I'll end up at the dealer. Has anyone purchased this cable for their 123? How much was it?

__________________
'81 300SD

Contact data update

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1985 300SD
1983 300D
2003 Volvo V70

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