starter
 

Well i just got back from out of town and so my w116 has been siiting for about 2 month now. it does not start. i hook to jump it and it will turn the engine about a half turn and the starter starts to click. kinda like when u are out of battery and the starter just clicks

i probably need a new battery but (correct me if i am wrong) when u jump start u take the charge from the jumping car so it shouldn't be the battery correct?. now i might need a new starter, but i remembered 2 month ago this did not happen and it was just sitting so what could have cause this? or should there be any loose wires? please advice me on where to look. people on this site has always been very helpful, so i would appreciate if u can help me with this problem. thxs

You probably won't be able to jump-start if the battery shorted out. does it put a strain on the other car when you hook it up?

well i took the battery out and hook the jump cable directly. i tried to recharge the battery and the "check battery" light came on the charger. does the car need a battery to jump properly?

ned2683,

These starters draw a lot of current, and you need really high quality jumper cables. Some of the less expensive cables have less cable cross section and, at the current levels being drawn by the starter, there is too much resistance in the cable. That ends up leaving the starter with too little voltage to crank. If the jumper cables are getting hot, they are eating too much of the available power. Also, the battery connections to the car doing the jumping need to be free of corrosion, especially the positive terminal.

I do not see why you need a battery installed to jump the car. Should work fine without a battery there, and better than if a damaged battery is there.

Good luck, Jim

okay thxs the jumpers did get hot, one melted a lil bit. so would it be cool if i used 2 jumpers (side by side), would that work? if not i'll just go get another cable. i'll try this out tomorrow, thxs

cables:
 

If one melted get another set. If you can get your hands on welding lead #2 gauge cable and four {good} clamps. Mark one so you can tell Pos. from Neg. Make them about 12' to 15' long. You got a set that will jump anything. The set you get at AutoZone or Pep Boys are cheap and light gauge wire.Good luck. Charlie

Why not try a new battery? That will probably solve your problem. Its certainly easier and less expensive than replacing the starter.

You do not need a battery mounted in the car. The 'jumper' battery will serve as the car battery. However, if the jumper cables are not heavy enough gauge wire, they will introduce resistance in the starter circuit and drop the voltage to your starter. This voltage drop will appear as a weak battery and the starter may not crank the engine fast enough to start.

If your cables are getting hot, they are definitely not heavy enough wire guage. Cables in parallel will help reduce the voltage drop. This is about the same as using heavier guage wire.

P E H

i will get a battery tommorow, luckly its free with the warranty. so i'll post what happens. thxs again guys

May be a moot point with the new battery about to be installed, but I'd disconnect the alternator or remove the belt before jumping without a battery installed. A non-computerized diesel will run forever without a battery, but the alternator won't last very long if it doesn't have a battery for the regulator to reference voltage.

turns out the battery was bad, when they tried to charge it at the store the was getting really hot. and it was leaking too. i got some acid on my fingers and its peeling my skin out really bad, so anyways they gave me a new one and its starts right up now. thxs again guys