I cleaned the connections that I could get to. I used "qd electronic cleaner". Wasn't sure what to use. I will try to turn the pulley and see if the belt slips.

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1984 300td euro turbo

Did you physically take apart the connections? Clean the with some fine sand paper or emery cloth

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2004 F150 4.6L -My Daily
2007 Volvo XC70 -Wife's Daily
1998 Ford F150 -Rear ended
1989 J-spec 420SEL -passed onto its new keeper
1982 BMW 733i -fixed and traded for the 420SEL
2003 Volvo V70 5 Speed -scrapped
1997 E290 Turbo Diesel Wagon -traded for above
1992 BMW 525i -traded in
1990 Silver 300TE -hated the M103
1985 Grey 380SE Diesel Conversion, 2.47 rear end, ABS -Sold, really should have kept this one
1979 Silver 300D "The Silver Slug" -Sold

Used a wire brush. I'm getting the starter replaced as we speak.

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1984 300td euro turbo

Get your old starter tested before replacing it with the new one to make sure it is bad.
I hope you didn't buy one of those lifetime warranty reman starter from Autozone.

Sent from my MB860 using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Your starter is old and requires more power to turn. The result of this is that it is drawing larger loads from the battery which in turn requires the alternator to work harder. You'll go back and forth replacing batteries, voltage regulators, and alternators until you address the starter. If there is a local shop that can turn the commutator and replace the brushes it would probably work just fine.

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'82 300D - Light Ivory, 2nd Owner (Back in the wind April 2013!)

'95 E300D - White, grey interior. (Suffering from stuck/broken glow plugs)

Deuteronomy 22:4-
"Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again."

Huh? That makes no sense to me. A starter is used for less than a second to start the car then not used anymore till the next start. The glow plugs probably uses more power than the starter for a start. His battery is less than a year old. Battery can be killed with improper treatment. His symptoms can also be attributed to bad electrical connections or a low battery. For his sake I hope it is the starter since he is getting it replaced.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

I can only go by what's reported here. Unless it's a coincidence everytime, it seems the starter is not the problem, but some electrical problems that is sensitive to heat outside of the starter.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

This is the same exact sypmtoms my car has. Down to the "jumping the car" portion if it doesnt start with the key. Same "click" and no start when hot. If I let it cool for five minutes or so, starts fine. 90% of the time starts fine even if hot, but on that rare occasion I either wait for it to cool or "jump" it..
1984 300SD, 138000, original starter, two year old alternator and battery.

Not exactly sure, why people have such a hard time believing a starter will go bad....its the same basic principal of an electric motor....there are brushes....brushes wear, leave carbon....grease gets hard....commuter wears....the thing just goes a slow death....when the car clicks, fails to start hot..it is telling you....replace me!

Here's a write up..

Starter Service repair diagnosis symptoms bad starter help

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I guess my issue with calling it a bad starter is that every single time when it just clicks once and nothing happens, the starter spins when I jump the two bolts in the black box on the passenger side fender well. Every time, it will turn.
So I think it's either the solenoid, or smth else between the key and the starter..

I would start by disconnect battery and remove the wires to the starter and wire brush them clean and put them back on. Don't forget to check tightness of the nut on the short wire from solenoid to starter.
Don't overtighten the nuts! It will break the plastic insulator. Do the same with the ground strap and battery cables.

If that doesn't help, I'd be checking the ignition switch and NSS switch. The starter solenoid draws 8 amps and needs a good ign switch and NSS to pass the 8 amps.

If that doesn't help then I'd be looking at the starter.

If you're handy rebuild it yourself rather than buy a reman, which from what I read, is not easy to find a quality unit.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked