'85 107 500SL Starter Question/Alert - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

sublettd · #16 08-07-2006, 10:02 PM

Gilly,

I'll charge the batteries in my digital camera and when I get the two starters in hand tomorrow I will take a picture. I'll have to e-mail it to you since I'm not able to compress the images enough to upload to the site, nor do I have a site to host the picture.

Tomguy · #17 08-07-2006, 10:34 PM

Mike: This intrests me as well. If you email them to me, I will be able to post a link to the pictures by tomorrow evening.

sublettd · #18 08-07-2006, 10:57 PM

Tom,

You can PM me with an e-mail address and I'll send you the picture as well. Thanks.

sublettd · #19 08-08-2006, 10:55 PM

I hate it when folks don't tell us how their problem was resolved, so let me do that this evening. Also, I believe Tomguy will be posting a couple pictures of the two starters.

Both starters were the same, except that the new starter's bolt holes were rotated left by about ten degrees on the Compass Rose. The holes on the new starter look to line up with about every other SL, as well as the SEC and SEL...at least through '85. However, they definitely did NOT line up with my 500SL. Thus, the source of my difficulty. I wound up taking the two starters...both had the same Bosch part number, 000 131 4028 (SR86X)...to a local mechanic today and he switched the nose of the old one onto the new one.

My mechanic should mount the new starter with the old nose on the car tomorrow and I expect to be able to drive off into the sunset...not to have to deal with this problem again. You other Euro 500SL drivers might want to take note of how your starter is mounted...solenoid top or bottom. If it's on the bottom, you may well have to jump this hurdle sometime in the future.

Finally, a special note of thanks to Gilly and Tomguy. Both went out of their way to help me run this to ground. Thanks guys!!!

Tomguy · #20 08-08-2006, 11:17 PM

note the solenoid location, and new starter's (NOT SR59) angle difference

sublettm · #21 08-09-2006, 08:26 PM

I just read the rest of this thread and thought I'd add my last two cents on this one. I really don't think the starter could have been mounted with the solenoid on top. It was all I could do to get my hand up there to feel the top bolt on this thing. If we had tried to mount it with the solenoid on top, the exhaust manifold, or something else that was REALLY hot would have been in the way.

Gilly · #22 08-10-2006, 08:15 AM

No problem Don, wish I could have been more help. I didn't pick up on the Euro thing til it was too late. I don't remember seeing either a US spec or a grey market with the solenoid on the bottom, but I know it would work fine this way. One of those things where "everybody KNOWS" the solenoid is on top, what planet did YOU come from!? Good work Tom!
Gilly

sublettm · #23 08-10-2006, 03:55 PM

I'm going to have to crawl under the wife's 300D to see which position the solenoid is in on her car. I could have sworn it was on bottom. You really have me wondering if someone didn't replace the starter with a non standard one at some point in time. Maybe the solenoid is supposed to be on top and with the offset it would fit. This is clearly one of those cases where you see how something is mounted and put the new one in exactly how the old one came out. I really hope we didn't go through all of this because someone modified this at some point in time.

ARINUTS · #24 10-07-2006, 03:04 AM

My uncle has a euro 1986 500sl and we have the same exact problem. the starter that we ordered from the dealer was the wrong part, so was the one from every where else. the opening is off and one of the holes is not threaded. there is no way to stick a nut on it. On top of all that, the top bolt has the 10mm allen head stripped.

The starter works fine when cold, but when hot, there is no click.

I suspect there is a relay that does not like to work when it's hot. I believe that even if I change the starter, we will have the same issue.

I had a BMW 635csi with the same issue, I had installed a momentary switch to give the starter solenoid a signal to turn the starter. these cars also had a relay somewhere. Thats Why I have this theory about the benz. .

t walgamuth · #25 10-07-2006, 03:49 PM

sometimes a car with these symptoms will respond to an auxiliary ground strap that goes from a starter bolt to the neg of the battery.

is that euro 500sl an iron block car?

tom w

ctaylor738 · #26 10-07-2006, 09:06 PM

FWIW, neither the 380 nor the 560 have any sort of relay in the start path. The 123's had an AC relay that would fail and produce the same symptoms, but on a 107, I believe that the only thing between the ignition switch and the solenoid is the transmission switch to make sure you are in Park or Neutral.

Since the 500 block is aluminum, a ground strap from a starter bolt to the frame is a good idea. The 126's and many other models have them.

sublettd · #27 10-09-2006, 08:14 PM

ARINUTS,

My problem wound up being a wire from the wiring bus that is between the battery and the anti-freeze reservoir being almost burnt in two in two different places. Don't know if your battery is in the trunk or under the hood. Mine is under the hood. I would certainly check the wiring before tossing hundreds of dollars at the problem. I probably spent close to a thousand bucks running this particular problem to ground.

On the starter problem. You can have the noses switched if it turns out that you need to install a new or rebuilt starter.