'83 300D- running great one second, dead as could be now - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

dinman · #1 05-21-2018, 08:52 PM

As title states, I've put ~10k miles on this 1983 300d in the past year and it's done great, cranked every time except for when I let the battery die.

Last night I was driving, stopped and shut the car off for a mere 30 seconds. Went to fire it back up, nothing. Just clicks. Battery is at 12.8v. Wiggled the shifter around thinking it could be the neutral safety switch, nothing. Here is a video.

https://youtu.be/g9y5IB250MY

Any ideas? Bad starter? I'm trying to jump the starter but I can't reach the starter from above. Going to try and pull the air cleaner off to get to it.

Thanks

tyl604 · #2 05-21-2018, 08:58 PM

Could be the shifter bushings, especially if you have a little give in your shifter. The tranny does not know exactly what gear it is in when you put it in Park or Neutral. If you jimmy around the shifter in Neutral and find a spot where it will finally start, it is for sure the bushings.

I did that for a while in my '81 SD but it got too difficult to find the sweet spot - took about thirty minutes to put in some new bushings (soak them in boiling water first to soften them up). Solved the problem. Had about 260K miles on the old bushings.

Just reread your post. If it is like the SD, you can jump the starter from two screws in a plastic junction box on the passenger side wheel well. Just use two screwdrivers.

Diseasel300 · #3 05-21-2018, 09:31 PM

I'd suspect either the solenoid on the starter has failed or the NSS has died. When the one in my SDL went, there was a plastic piece on the cam that broke off and caused a sudden loss of starting ability. I was very fortunate that I was able to turn the key and rip it through gears to get it to start so I could move it for replacement.

To rule out the starter, definitely try to jump the starter terminal and see if it cranks. If it does, you can go straight to the NSS and/or bushings (I wouldn't suspect bushings because of how your shift lever operated in your video)

dinman · #4 05-21-2018, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyl604

Could be the shifter bushings, especially if you have a little give in your shifter. The tranny does not know exactly what gear it is in when you put it in Park or Neutral. If you jimmy around the shifter in Neutral and find a spot where it will finally start, it is for sure the bushings.

I did that for a while in my '81 SD but it got too difficult to find the sweet spot - took about thirty minutes to put in some new bushings (soak them in boiling water first to soften them up). Solved the problem. Had about 260K miles on the old bushings.

Just reread your post. If it is like the SD, you can jump the starter from two screws in a plastic junction box on the passenger side wheel well. Just use two screwdrivers.

Big thanks! Did that and it fired right up. Is there a fuse or relay somewhere? I'm guessing I have an issue with the ignition communicating with the starter

It may or may not be related, but the other day my aux fan stuck on. It will not ever turn off. I just unplugged it for now as my car doesn't have any cooling issues.