Boy, you guys are cheap!

__________________
Ed
1981 300CD (Benzina)
1968 250 S (Gina) 266,000 miles!
1983 Alfa Romeo GTV6 (Guido)
1976 Jaguar XJS-saved a V-12 from the chevy curse, what a great engine!
1988 Cadillac Eldorado (better car than you might think!)
1988 Yamaha Venture (better than a Wing!)
1977 Suzuki GS750B
1976 Yamaha XS 650 (sold)
1991 Suzuki GSX1100G (Shafty Gixser)
1981 Yamaha VX920RH (Euro "Virago")
Solex Moped
1975 Dodge P/U camper


"Time spent in the company of a cat, a beer, and this forum, is not time wasted!"

240ED,

Not cheap, THRIFTY.

P E H

Ah Yes, I stand corrected.

__________________
Ed
1981 300CD (Benzina)
1968 250 S (Gina) 266,000 miles!
1983 Alfa Romeo GTV6 (Guido)
1976 Jaguar XJS-saved a V-12 from the chevy curse, what a great engine!
1988 Cadillac Eldorado (better car than you might think!)
1988 Yamaha Venture (better than a Wing!)
1977 Suzuki GS750B
1976 Yamaha XS 650 (sold)
1991 Suzuki GSX1100G (Shafty Gixser)
1981 Yamaha VX920RH (Euro "Virago")
Solex Moped
1975 Dodge P/U camper


"Time spent in the company of a cat, a beer, and this forum, is not time wasted!"

So is the system supposed to be charging at
idle with full load?

Should the dashboard idle knob be set to higher
idle under full load? What /is/ the idle speed
adjustment (dash board) really meant for anyway?
Mine ('82 240D) idles smooth at the low setting.

I've got the same symptoms as others in numerous
threads. 2 year old battery was flat on cold
morning. Jumpstarted it, replaced battery and
two weeks later the battery is flat again.

Replaced alt. belt as it was loose. Hopefully
that is all I need, but I noticed that it does
not appear to be charging at low idle speed.
It's okay as soon as I give it fuel (almost
said gas). No light in cluster indicating a
problem either. Bulb is good.

- Jeff

__________________
- Jeff

1957 W121 190 (history)
1966 W108 250S
1967 W108 250S (parts)
1982 W123 240D (history)
1989 W124 260E

I'd check the brushes in the voltage regulator first. Cheap and easy. Just unscrew if from the rear of the alternator.

Don

__________________
DAILY DRIVERS:
'84 300DT 298k (Aubrey's)
'99.5 Jetta TDI IV 251k (Julie's)
'97 Jetta TDI 127k (Amber's)
'97 Jetta TDI 186k (Matt's)
'96 Passat TDI 237k (Don's
'84 300D 211k Mint (Arne- Undergoing Greasecar Conversion)

SOLD:
'82 240D 229k (Matt's - Converted-300DT w/ 4 speed

Jeff,

To answer your question, the car should be able to handle all the loads at idle and still have something left over to prevent the battery from discharging. When the engine is on the battery should be under charge, not discharge. When you do things that suddenly load the system, the battery can come into play until the voltage regulator has time to respond, but that is less than a second (you can see a volt meter needle flinch, but it recovers to a steady value, usually over the battery charge state).

If you are not able to maintain well over 12 Volts at idle (more like 12.6 or so), regardless of what you turn on, you need to have the system checked out. Sears or any decent shop can do it and tell you what the problem is. Or you can do like diesel don suggested, and spend 15 minutes to check the voltage regulator's brushes. If they are little stubby things when you get the regulator out, they are shot. If one is shorter than the other, or if the wear surface has grooves in it, you are in for an alternator rebuild or replacement, depending on how adventurous you are.

Good Luck, 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 thought I would mention for new readers that one should unhook the battery connections before messing with any wires in the car... while taking them off or putting them back on... I am sure yall did this ..... Greg

Brushes for me a couple of times too. They cost about 50 cents and solder them into the brush carrier. Went to a wrecker and bought an old brush carrier fitted it with new brushes and keep it on board as a spare. Change out about 10 min once your used to it. The first time I was in the sticks, just slackening the brush carrier and moving it a bit brought the brushes back into contact with the sliprings and journey continued. Easy once you know how.

After replacing the alt. belt, I charged the
battery (since it was discharged from earlier).
Then I was getting about 13.6V at idle after
everything warmed up. Hopefully that will be
that. I'll see how it goes and when some warmer
weather comes, check out the regulator and
brushes. Thanks for the help,

p.s. no more free spell checker? I'm in trouble!

Jeff

__________________
- Jeff

1957 W121 190 (history)
1966 W108 250S
1967 W108 250S (parts)
1982 W123 240D (history)
1989 W124 260E