W213 300TD crank no start!

[camsauce]

Hey guys, been doing a little reading on diesel giant and been running some tests on my girl's 300TD.

Car's been sitting awhile, and we've been trying to get it started. New battery! 166k, we tried loosening the injector lines while we cranked it. It didnt exactly gush out but some fuel did come out. The fuse on the relay is good.

Next we tested the voltage at each plug. Got 10.5 volts on each one. Although after like 20 seconds i heard an audible click at the relay thing and then all voltage was lost.

I tested power going to the relay thing itself, i got 11.1 volts, then after 20 seconds it clicked and it jumped to 12.4 volts. Not sure if thats normal?

Any ideas on what could be the issue? Thanks in advance and hope you all had a good labor day in the states!

[junqueyardjim]

Well all it needs is good fuel, air and compression. Perhaps it is really pooped and has very poor compression on say 3 of the 5 cylinders. In that case they are almost impossible to start with the starter, but might start with a tow and might even run half decent when started. You have a new battery. Is it fully charged. Could be the starter - maybe starter speed is slow. Starting fluid is not recommended, BUT, if nothing else works I would disable the glo plugs. That is where the big problem is with starter fluid as the glo plugs fire the fuel way before the timing is correct. So I would say, disconnect the glo plugs, have battery fully charged take the aircleaner hose of where it connects to the turbo and I think a little time to stretch an old sock or a good piece of cloth and clamp that down over the intake of the turbo. Make sure it is clamped down tight! If it is not clamped down tight the turbo could ingest it. Not good. OK, got that, get the girl friend to get it the car and crank it. When good cranking speed is achieved carefully spray starting fluid on the cloth. If you use a good piece of cloth it will prevent a big surge of S F getting in there and doing damage. STARTING FLUID IS NEVER RECOMMENDED! Use it carefully and it can be helpful. Have you looked under the valve cover. A friend called me a couple of years ago with about the same story. Cranking didn't "sound" quite normal so I said, lets look under the valve cover. Sure enough, chain was gone and the engine was trash as the cam shaft was broken in three pieces and the top of the head was a mess. However, if yours is spitting fuel I don't think that is your problem.