I wish I would have read that before I ordered a new one from Pelican. I'm also getting rear shocks and a couple of Mann oil filter kits. Parts should be here next week.

In the time it took me to figure out the glow plug relay was stuck, I managed to drain the brand new battery flat. There wasn't enough time to get it charged before work, so I had to ride the bike again.

Plan for tomorrow: Get up and get battery on the charger while I do some other stuff. Then start the car and unplug the glow plug connector from the relay and verify normal charging voltage. If I get that, drive to work as normal, then plug the glow plug connector back in start the car, then unplug it before I leave. Should work, right?

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

Sounds like a reasonable plan to me .

Remember to disconnect the ground cable at the battery and always use the lowest charge rate you can ~ slow charging is better & deeper and doesn't beat up on the battery like quick charging does .

Keep us posted, there may be more to this .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

It gets better. The battery was somewhat drained, but that isn't why it quit starting. The starter is going out. I managed to get it to start one more time after many tries. I called off my civilian job and headed straight for NAS Fallon where I have drill this weekend. I can walk to everything I need to get to until it's time to go back to Carson. I'm hoping to get one more start on Sunday afternoon.

I wonder if the ghost of Joseph Lucas got tired of hanging out in my dormant Jaguar and decided to play with the Mercedes.

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

Never mind the Ides of March; beware The Prince of Darkness.

Be aware of bad battery cables and those crappy replacement cable ends .

If that's all find and you have the proper 850CCA battery and still need a starter, be cautios of whom you buy the starter from ~ only BOSCH branded rebuilts are really going to work out well .

Your F.L.A.P.S. on the shelf rebuilt usually has a used "reconditioned" solenoid on it and there will be endless starting problems .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Original problems solved. I've replaced the alternator, battery, and glow plug relay, along with installing the charge indicator light and bulb. However, I have a new problem. I had the gauge cluster apart and must have done something wrong putting it back together. Now the fuel gauge is pegged on full, and the temp gauge goes to full within about two minutes of starting the car. The gauge lights don't work, but the high beam indicator stays on. Additional info: A bit of the printed circuit board for the dash lights flaked off about ten years ago, and I added a jumper wire from the rheostat to the pin where the round connector goes. I have it connected to Pin 3. Is that right? My manual doesn't have the pinout for that connector.

I'll start a separate thread about this issue, but I'll still monitor this one. Thanks to all for your input.

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.