This is my first post so excuse the rookie mistakes. This week I did a few things to my 83 300CD. I put in a new flywheel, oil pan, engine and transmission mounts, starter, and serviced the automatic transmission. After I put the transmission back in the car now has no electricity. The battery is less than a year old and tests at 13. I charged it anyways and still no lights and when I turn the key nothing at all. It is as if the battery is disconnected. When I jumped the posts on the starter there is juice but nowhere else on the car.

To my knowledge I hooked up everything exactly as it was and don't understand what I could have done to create this new problem.

I cleaned the chassis to body ground strap, checked fuses, and cleaned the battery posts all with no results. I'm currently lost and don't know what to check next, any ideas?

Just a shot in the dark here cause something similar happened to the 280 once....

I would look at the wires on the starter first (You mentioned no dash lights were coming on correct?)

I'd never worked on a starter before and found out that day that the positive and negative wires connect together on the starter on ONE post. If they don't touch you won't get any power to the car at all.

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1982 300GD Carmine Red (DB3535) Cabriolet Parting Out
1990 300SEL Smoke Silver (Parting out)
1991 350SDL Blackberry Metallic (481)

"The thing is Bob, its not that I'm lazy...its that I just don't care."

Yes no dash lights no headlights nothing at all... I hooked the wires up just like the old starter was wired on I think it is correct and I double checked to make sure the connections were snug.

Yeah the same thing happened to us when working on the 280CE (We thought we blew something in the electrical system) Again it turned out that we had just screwed up with the wiring on the starter. Make sure the two big cables on the starter are making contact. Beyond that I haven't got a clue, but there are plenty of VERY knowledgeable people here on the forum so it shouldn't take long to get this sorted

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1982 300GD Carmine Red (DB3535) Cabriolet Parting Out
1990 300SEL Smoke Silver (Parting out)
1991 350SDL Blackberry Metallic (481)

"The thing is Bob, its not that I'm lazy...its that I just don't care."

Make sure all the fuses are good. you may have a decent short.

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1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving

It is unusual to have no power at all. This is what I would do.

1) Remove negative terminal connector from battery.
2) Check for battery voltage.
3) Reconnect negative terminal. Any spark?
4) If there is a massive short somewhere the battery would be dead by now or something will get hot and burn. if no burning smell then you should be OK.
5) Remove the -ve terminal again.
6) Use a DVM to measure continuity between negative terminal connector to chasis. It should be 0 ohm.
7) Measure continuty from the positive terminal to the fuse box. Pick some heavy duty fuses, like A,B,C,D. I think they are connected to +ve terminal directly. It should be 0 ohm.
8) If (6) and (7) is OK then the circuit should be OK.
9) Reconnect -ve terminal to battery and check lights. At least parking lights should come on.

I think it is just a matter of measuring the wire step by step to resolve your problem.

Good luck.

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Not MBZ nor A/C trained professional but a die-hard DIY and green engineer. Use the info at your own peril. Picked up 2 Infractions because of disagreements. NOW reversed.

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1 X 2006 CDI
1 x 87 300SDL
1 x 87 300D
1 x 87 300TDT wagon
1 x 83 300D
1 x 84 190D ( 5 sp ) - All R134 converted + keyless entry.

If you have absolutely nothing, I would trace the positive cable all the way to the fuse box and check each connection with my multimeter until I found out where It is disconnected.

If you had the puddle lights, headlights...then that would point me to the ignition switch. (isn't that helpful, a solution to a problem you don't have)

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77' 300D, "Cartman" SOLD @ 150K (didn't know what I had)
83' 300SD, "The Superdon" 325k+ @ 28mpg
95 E320 wagon, "Millennium Falcon" 231k+ @ 24 Mpg
95 E300D, "Sherley" 308k @ 33.69 Mpg, currently anticipating a head
99 Suzuki Intruder "Trudy" @ 45 mpg

Battery in backwards?

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Cheers!
Scott McPhee

1987 300D

You say you cleaned the chassis to body ground strap. Did you clean and reinstall the engine to chassis ground strap? If you have voltage going to the starter but no ground between the engine and the rest of the car, I think it would account for your problems.

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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

This is the most Likely and common cause for the described issue.






.

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I cleaned the chassis to engine strap thats the one that connects to the bell housing right? Still no luck I'm starting to think I must have hooked the starter up wrong as fulcrum said. There is two big posts on the starter is there supposed to be a jumper between the two or do I put the two big cables on one? I know on the old starter I took a cable off each post but now I'm wondering if there was a jumper between the two and if there was I probably sent that with the old starter to the autoparts store.

Shouldn't there be three wires going down to the starter? Two large, one smaller gauge?

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'85 300TD "Puff The Magic Wagon" - Rolling Resto
'19 Mazda CX-9 Signature - Wife's sled
'21 Morgan 3-Wheeler P101 Edition
'95 E300d - SOLD
'84 300TD "Brown Betty" - Miss this one
'81 240D "China Baby" - Farm grocery getter

Ya there is three wires but the smaller gauge wire can only hook up to one spot so I think I got that right at least its the other two I'm worried about.

Like this? The top lug is the main power the small screw is the start. Is it possable you have the wrong starter? I know auto parts stores are Never Wrong

Attached Thumbnails

 

Yes that model, thanks for the pic. It is the exact starter that was on there before. I matched them both up front to back before I left. If I switched the two big wires on the two big posts would that create a no power situation like I described?