I have a used engine and I'm not sure if it works or not wondering how to start a diesel engine outside of a car. I have an OM616 4-cylinder engine from a 1979 240D. I can find no clear information or instructions anywhere online on how to startup a diesel engine from outside of the car, so I'm hoping some of you may be able to help. I'd just like to see if it starts up prior to going through all the work of re-installing it back into the car.




Here's my current setup:

-Right now, I have the positive terminal of the battery connected to the large bolt on the starter solenoid via a jumper cable. The negative terminal of the battery is connected to the metal casing on the back of the starter body via a jumper cable (as shown in photos). STARTER IS TESTED AND GOOD.

-Battery is brand new.
-I have a push button starter (which you can buy at an automotive store) wired up to the starter solenoid. One end goes to the big screw on the starte solenoid and the other end goes to the small screw on the starter solenoid (see photo). I press and hold this and the engine does VERY SLOWLY turn over (slower than I can turn by cranking the engine by hand) about 5-10 seconds but does not actually start running. It does not turn over as strongly as when I have the key in the ignition and am turning the key all the way to start it. After doing one attempt at this, I disconnect the positive end from the battery to prevent the jumper cables from getting hot and then try again in about 20-30 seconds. I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong here. Do I need the ignition system hooked in somehow? I don't want to start removing all the cables from my car -- I'd like to be able to see if I can just start it with the battery and some wire that I have lying around.

-FYI, I do not have any of the belts or radiator hooked up. I just want to see if the engine can start and run for about 5 seconds and then turn it off. I want to do this before putting it in the car just in case it may be a bad engine. I know I should hook up a water hose and/or radiator if I want to run the engine for any length of time.

-Starter is good and hooked up. I have tested the starter and confirmed to be good prior to mounting it.
-alternator is mounted, but not connected to any power or belts
-Battery is brand new.
-temporary fuel tank is filled up with diesel fuel with both supply line submerged and return line. draining into it. Bled air from the lines prior to attempting start. Primed fuel until fuel flowed out from the return line. I won't start the engine until I've primed it first here.
-I have the glow plugs connected and wiring harness is connected to an 18-volt cordless drill battery. I'm not sure if this is a good setup or not, but maybe someone can shed some light on this. The negative end goes from the negative end of the battery to a screw connected to the engine body and the positive end I connect to the glowplug harness for about 20 seconds and then disconnect it before trying to start the engine so I don't fry the glowplugs. Where I'm at is southern California, so it's about 70-90 degrees Farenheit outside so I'm not dealing with cold weather.

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