My '83 TD is making a horrible bearing noise. It started yesterday, today I checked the fan cltuch and it aapears to be the culprit , BUT, just now I started the car to double check it and my brake light, battery light and brake wear light are staying on after starting the engine. I immediately thought that maybe the bearing noise was from the Alt. I checked the battery voltage while she was running and it read 12.2. I shut the car off and the voltage was the same. I need some advice guys. Right now I can't afford to be down to 1 car. Now if we buy the 380 SL (another thread)that we are looking at, then I can afford to have one car down for the count. However until then, help!

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1999 MB SL500 (110,000 mi)
2004 Volvo V70 2.5T (220,000 mi)
2014 Tesla Model S 85 (136,000 mi)
MBCA member

the real experts will chime in shortly.

Get a length of hose and investigate with the other end placed to your ear.

Is it possible that the bad fan clutch (I am unfamiliar with "Bearings" in it),
can be slowing down the drive belt enough to make the alternator produce
less voltage?

I believe that the alternator is your culprit.(12.2 volts is running everything
on the battery)13.5 volts would be minimum produced by the alternator to
run accessories and keep the battery charged[14.5 volts would be better]

12.2 volts is awfully close to a discharged battery.

a 12 volt battery only has about 1 volt difference between fully charged
and discharged.

Somewhere around 12.90 volts is fully charged.
" " 12.00 " " ": discharged.

Of course you could have won this weeks "Offend the Automotive Gods"
contest
(and begin to understand the term Bad Automotive Karma) and have both
a bad fan clutch -----and a bad alternator.

good luck! let us know

Not possible.

Bad bearings in the alt wont necessarily make the alt not charge. I think it could be just a coincidence that you fan clutch bearings went at the same time as your voltage regulator.

If the bearings are bad in the alt it would be fairly easy to tell if you take the belt off and grab the alt pulley and see if you can feel any play or roughness as you turn it.

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82 Rabbit diesel (first d), 84 Jetta turbo d (300k when sold), 83 240d (305k when sold), 84 F250 6.9d w/Banks turbo(parts truck), 86 F250 6 cyl.gasser(waiting for 6.9d), 84 300d ( 347k Sold 8/04), Y2k New Bettle TDI (185k miles), 95 740IL (wifes), 87 300TD (206k Sold 7/05), 05 Passat TDI Wagon

If indeed the volt. reg is bad. how long can I drive the car? Since this car is a diesel, I only need electric to start the car and run the radio and lights. However I could avoid driving the car at night to lesson my electrical usage. Or is the car a dead duck for now. As for the fan clutch, fortunately it's not summer yet so the temps aren't up there. I can live with some bearing noise until I get a new one. Opinions?

__________________
1999 MB SL500 (110,000 mi)
2004 Volvo V70 2.5T (220,000 mi)
2014 Tesla Model S 85 (136,000 mi)
MBCA member

There is no real limit to how long you can drive the car. But there will be a limit on how many times you can start it. For a free jump, call 800-for-merc.

I would remove the fan and clutch. I did just that to my TD last month. I picked up a $17 fan switch at autozone and hooked it up to the brown wires on the a/c dryer. Now if my motor happens to heat up in trafic then the electric fan kicks on and keeps it cool. This will only work until it gets hot out but i am in the process of doing a dual electric fan setup.

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82 Rabbit diesel (first d), 84 Jetta turbo d (300k when sold), 83 240d (305k when sold), 84 F250 6.9d w/Banks turbo(parts truck), 86 F250 6 cyl.gasser(waiting for 6.9d), 84 300d ( 347k Sold 8/04), Y2k New Bettle TDI (185k miles), 95 740IL (wifes), 87 300TD (206k Sold 7/05), 05 Passat TDI Wagon

UPDATE: With the engine running, I grabbed the fan and stopped it from spinning. This didn't make a difference in the noise I was hearing. The noise really sounds like it is coming from the Alt. area I used a pair of mechanic's stethiscopes (sp) and the alt. doesn't sound too good. Also I took out the reg. and one of the brushes has a serious groove cut into it and the plastic part that the brushes sit in is chewed up, from a spinning object. I swap the reg. from my wife's TD and this didn't fix my lights on the dash problem. I then removed my wife's reg. to put back in her car and there is evidence of it getting worn just like my original reg. I put her's back in her car and luckily there aren't any problems. I am fairly confident that the alt. bearing inside in gone, rounded out, whatever you call it. It is Sunday, I can't get a new alt. from Fastlane TODAY, but also don't want a Mcparts alt. from Autozone.
Advice, opinions?

__________________
1999 MB SL500 (110,000 mi)
2004 Volvo V70 2.5T (220,000 mi)
2014 Tesla Model S 85 (136,000 mi)
MBCA member

Order a new alternator tomorrow. Keep driving in the mean time. If you don't have a battery charger, could you rotate the battery with the one your other car? That way you could keep it charged enough for daytime driving. Just minimize the electrical load, and call Mercedes roadside assistance if you need a jump.

Jump starting isn't the problem...you can do this with a completely dead battery.

If your alternator isn't providing enough voltage, components requiring juice will not operate properly.

You have nominal voltage to operate minimum circuits during the day. Avoid driving at night.

My personal experience showed I could get away with this for about 3 or so days...

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

The beauty of diesel is that once she is running, there is no electrical except the instrument panel and radio.
Just ordered the alt. from fastlane, should have it by Wed.

__________________
1999 MB SL500 (110,000 mi)
2004 Volvo V70 2.5T (220,000 mi)
2014 Tesla Model S 85 (136,000 mi)
MBCA member

And maybe headlights, tail lights, brake lights, turn signals. Minor stuff.

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Norm in NJ
Next oil change at 230,000miles