1980 w123 no start/turn over
 

My brother has been using this car for the winter
617 non turbo

It is dead at his work. I work most days so only have time after work to mess with it.

Here is the issue as they have been told to me:
- Key feels loose in ign
- Gets glow cycle
- When turned to start just a click

Worked fine when I started it the other day. I did not notice slop in the ignition. So I am going to mess with it tonight after work and see if we can atleast get it home.

Here are my thoughts:
- Check battery first. It is a new Bosch but maybe he left a light on?
- Check battery terminals / wires
^^ easiest first

-If not that I will check the back of the igniton switch to see if the connection came loose
-Maybe I can jump the starter to get it home??


Any other comon issues that might be causing this? Car neeeds to run so I can atleast get it home and fix it.

Any input would be great. Oh owning old beaters can be so much fun:rolleyes:

If it's clicking, then I'll state the obvious by saying that I'm guessing it's not getting enough juice from the battery.

I have a spare two-year-old Duralast that you can borrow if you want to. I had it tested at Autozone a few months back and they said it was just swell.

I suppose that if the battery and terminals check out, you'd want to have the alternator tested.

I recommend BIG jumpercables... like, #2 or bigger...

...and once it's going, you might want to check to make sure there isn't some odd draw on the battery while the car is off. I think the clock is the only one that's supposed to be pulling juice from the battery.

Just spoke with my father for more details.

He said the key is real loose. I have never heard of this issue

Also he said that the click was just one click not a clicking you get from a dead battery. I am hoping it is something simple like bad connection but it might be more complicated. I will be headed over there tonight to see what I can do.

I am sure it is something I can figure out but was wondering if anyone has run into the loose key issue before?? Maybe the tumbler stripped? Seems real odd to me as it was fine the other day... Just what you get for letting other people use your old car....

The Battery has already been mentioned.

For a non-turbo the Starter would need to be jumper wired down at the small Wire on the Starter Solenoid. If the Starter Cranks Strongly and the Car Starts like that you could be having a problem where the Key Tumbler interfaces with the Steering Colum Lock; the innardes of the Steering colum lock are not working due to breakage or the Ignition Switch at the bottom of the Steering Colum Lock is not working.
The Neutral Safety Switch could case an issue also but that would not effect the Key.

In this past year more than several Members including Myself have had the innards of the Steering Colum Lock break. In My case I also found that one of the Contact Points on the Ignition Switch was nearly burned off (although it still worked)

On mine If the innards of the Ignitio Switch cannot turn the enough for it to line up when the Key is in the proper position for that you cannot pull the Ignition Switch out of the Steering Colum Lock and you also may not be able to get the Steering Colum Lock off without grinding the the locking Pin.
Within the last 3 weeks there was a thread on what to do to remove the Ignition Swith and in the DIY Section there is what to do about removing the Steering Coilum Lock Assembly.

Most sellere sell the Steering Colum Lock, Ignition Switch, and the Vacuum Shutoff Switch that goes on the Steering Colum Lock as an Assembly.

I got My new Steering Colum Lock from the Dealer and it was made in france by Neiman.
Sellers sell the Neiman/Valeo one as an aftermarket part.
Read Ads closely as Myele also sells the Steering Colum Lock with out the Ignition Switch or the Vacuum Switch.

Think everyone is pointing you on the right road.....first thing first.....is to check the connections and attempt to jump the starter.....if you jump the start....let the glow plugs start there cycle and then go out and jump the starter.....just did this myself the ignition wire fell of my starter the other day......if it still just clicks.....check the battery next....of that is charged and good....well it will be the starter.....confirm with your brother that the battery light was illuminating at start up and going up.....if it wasn't it, possible the voltage regulator died and drained the battery.....good luck!

Any luck?

One click is all I have ever had in similar situations, not the rattling clicking you get on a domestic car.

Sorry if I am stating the obvious here, but has someone tried it with the shifter in neutral?

When this has happened to me, around this time of year, it has 50/50 been either the dreaded alternator/battery co-failure that often shows up when the temperatures dip... or an issue with the neutral safety switch acting up.

Have the same problem, i think its the safety switch, got mine started by pushing the car from the front backwards, set to nuetral before pushing then while the cars in motion at a good speed shift to park, youll hear clicking then stop the car and try starting it. Its probably a bad thing to do but it started mine up.