I'm looking at a 1981 240D on eBay where the buyer claims to have an electronic problem that he can't fix, but that the car is otherwise mechanically sound. I sent him a message asking for symptoms and received the following:
"The electronic problem seems to be systemic. This year, after initially only the hazards quit working and the battery quit charging, I replaced the battery, the negative top pole, and the alternator. It then ran well for another couple months until the starter went out, which I replaced. Everything was fine for another month or so and then i ended up replacing the glowplugs and the glow plug relay (which had to be ordered from germany.) The car then ran until the end of the summer, when it started acting like the alternator had gone out again. I then started grad school and had not time for the car. I lost the only key, hence it needing to be replaced. I never checked to see what went wrong the last time, though I also never tested the ignition. It seems to me like a positive short is happening somewhere and causing a cascade of effects."
I'm trying to find something for my son to drive and although we won't mind a fixer-upper, I don't want to get saddled with some impossible electrical problem. Any ideas from the gurus?
Thanks,
-Ken
1984 300SD
11-23-2005, 09:45 AM
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