300CD Starter
 

Tried to start my 84 300CD the other day and got one crank then nothing.

Checked the starter and found the braided short strap that goes from the solenoid to the main starter body had completely rotted away and broke off. It doesn't look like its bolted on to the starter body.

Is it possible to run a heavy gauge wire from the solenoid and ground it to the chassis?

Yes you can add a ground strap from the engine/tranny to the chassis,. make sure it's at least a 4 gauge wire, I normally use 0 or 1 gauge .

My transmission to chassis ground strap seems in good condition

As it's too hidden to photograph I found this image of where my problem lies

There's a short strap that goes from the starter body, can be seen in the image with the plastic ring around it on the starter body directly above the word 'battery' in the image. This strap completely rotted and broke in two.

Not sure exactly how to remove that end of the strap from the starter. The other end has a ring connection and a nut and fastens to the solenoid.

Planning to buy a ground strap cable and run it from the solenoid to the chassis and see if that works.

Thanks!

That braided wire is the power going into the starter. If you put a gound strap from that terminal to chassis you will destroy your solenoid.

Look for a local shop that rebuilds starters and alternators. They can easily fix that wire.

When you get the starter back, grease that wire well to keep salt and water from wicking into it.

O.K., I got it, good photo skills ! .

You need to have this starter repaired or cheaper replaced with a good used one .

OK, glad I looked at this before I added the wire.

Makes sense now, thank you!

If you remove the end cap on the Starter Body you may be able to see where the braided cable goes.

Starter Service
 

If the car isn't you daily drive, consider dismounting it and taking a look inside ~ the brushes will almost certainly need replacing and it's easy ~ they're soldered in place, you should also clean and lubricate the bushing so it'll keep working a long time yet .

If it's too burned up inside just get another, be sure to KEEP THE DEAD ONE UNTIL THE CAR IS WORKING TO YOUR SATISFACTION ! .

You can return it for the core value after because once you leave it, it's GONE FOR GOOD, remember this warning .

Plenty of good used starters out there, I only buy BOSCH branded rebuilts when forced to buy, no other brand is as well done .

Let us know how this turns out ~ I bet you can fix it at home cheaply and if you can't, just button it up and use as a core _after_ .

I recently bought a winter car to try to save my CD from any further rot. I wasn't planning to take it off the road just yet, but this was the decider for me. Unfortunately it was stuck in my driveway blocking my other vehicles. I managed to convince my wife to give me a tow around the block to jump start it and it worked a treat!!

I have the CD parked at the side of my house now so I'll pull the starter at my leisure and work on it over the winter.

Thank you all once again for all the advice and I'll be sure to update once I have the starter on the bench.

To get the upper starter bolt out is a PITA, I use every 3/8" drive extension I have plus a u-joint, then my longest flex handle (NEE :breaker bar) .

I substituted the wire with a piece of stainless steel ribbon strapping. By drilling a hole at each end.

I replaced the braided wire as it let go with the last owner over cranking the engine. Plus that wire had probably deteriorated with age.

It passes a fair amount of current to service the solenoid. Not the starter motor load itself though.

The wire he's talking about carries the entire electrical load from the solenoid to the starter motor proper, no ? .

Yes he is, but reading is a skill that's lost on most these days. :(

Don't feel bad, as I age out I discover many new things not working as well as I'd like .

At least a beautiful Woman made a pass at me the other day, that was certainly a surprise .