Hi

I tried the search for answers but this must be too vague.

I have owned my 80' 240d for about six months and love it. Tonight on the way to xmas eve service it lost power and stalled then would not turn over at all. Nothing, the glo light came on as usual but when I turned it - nothing.
Seeing that it was 3 below zero without the wind chill and I had the kids with me we headed for the nearest house immediately. Any thoughts from you experts? Can the battery cause the thing to stop running while driving. This doesn't make sense to me. Could it be bad fuel and the battery giving up??

I am no expert, but my alternator went out on mine and of course it kept pulling off the battery to run lights until battery went dead. Is your alternator putting out correct voltage?

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1982 300SD Light Blue
2002 Honda Accord SE
1974 Toro Wheel Horse Tractor
2000 Toyota Tundra Pickup

The original loss of power and then stalling is likely due to fuel issues. Gelled fuel, plugged filters (3), bad fuel, algae in fuel and then plugged filters.......this was not likely electrical as the early diesels don't need it to stay running.

The no start after that, if I understand correctly, was no starter rotation although the glo lite lit and maybe other lites lit. That could be battery, starter, wires, or connections, but certainly sounds like electrical.

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1961 190Db retired
1968 220D/8 325,000
1983 300D 164,150

Given where you were going my first suspect is The Devil Himself...
But Lycoming8 hit all the correct nails in the correct order on the head...
Perhaps you can take solace in your town's close Victory in the NFL yesterday...
If you will wait a few years , given the trend in Global Warming , your area will not be ABLE to reach 3 below zero... an unNatural condition in the first place....

Unfortunately, I believe that you have two issues.

A bad battery and/or a bad alternator cannot ever cause a diesel to stop running. Once they are started they will run forever provided they get fuel.

So, the first issue is to address the lack of fuel. Like previous posts, the issue is fuel filters, gelled fuel, or contaminated fuel. It's a bit of a process to chase it down, especially in this cold, but the fuel filters are the first place to start.

The issue of nothing on the restart could be a bad battery, or bad connections, or a bad alternator. Some history of the battery, how it normally behaves in cold weather, how much you originally cranked it to start it on its last trip, how far you drove before the problem occurred, would point us in a better direction.

Good luck.

if you have no crank, be sure you have it in park or depressing the clutch....especially if it was running a minute before..

__________________

79 240D my current toy
42 years a Diesel addict

240D sold
250SE sold
220D sold
280C sold
280S sold
300D (2) sold
300CD sold
300DT sold
300SD sold
380SL sold

"A bad battery and/or a bad alternator cannot ever cause a diesel to stop running."


But when nightfall hits.....with no battery or alternator...and thus no lights.... a large object in the flight path can cause it to stop running.....
PEH stopped nights on his alternatorless trek across America...

........like a tree..........


........knocks all the blades off the main rotor.........

There is a darker possibility that is difficult to raise on Xmas day. What did the oil pressure gauge read when it stalled? It's possible that an oil cooler line failed or the oil pump failed and the engine seized. This would account for it's failure to turn over.
Considering this possibility is not pleasant but you should look the devil in the eye.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

....if all above fails, I am suspecting bad compression

__________________
"Schwarzbraun ist die Haselnuss":

1979 300D 234.000 Miles "Brownie"
daily driver,
1979 6.9 Sundays to the Tavern
and car shows "Big Brownie"

Gee Whiz Guys, lets give him a chance to find that it is a lesser problem in the vein of what Lycoming8 suggested before we ' Go to the Dark Side '...
A LITTLE XMass spirit is needed here....

dudok,

I am suggesting the worst case: the engine siezed. Low compression doesn't happen all of a sudden and won't stop an engine from running. Electrical problems won't shut down a Diesel either, except the new "electronic Diesels". Fuel problems will cause an engine to stop, but will not prevent the starter from cranking the engine.

That's why I think its a siezed engine. Its possible you lost oil pressure and didn't know it.

Sorry to give you bad news on Xmas. If the engine siezed, its replace or rebuild time.

P E H

Man you guys are like the prophets of doom!! It's pretty cold up there in Green Bay, dump in a bottle of PowerService Diesel 9-1-1, and put it back in Park, I would imagine in a panic state with kids on board you may have overlooked this

James

At 3 below I would be more inclined to think it is a fuel problem (the stallling) and a weak battery problem (lack of restart). Buy a jug of PS diesel fuel treatment at Aoto Zone type store, comes in a white gallon jug. Put about a cup to a cup and a half in a full fuel tank. Check your fuel filter see if it looks like a frozen block of fuel. 3 below is really cold especially if you don't have full winter formulated fuel in the tank.
Disconnect the battery, clean the connections. Follow the ground wire (-), clean the other end as well as whatever it attached too. See if you can get a friend or garage to try a jump with one if those monster battery jumpers (got AAA?). Sounds like the old girl is just too damn cold. Engine really has to be perfect for cold like that.
Good Luck and merry chriatmas.

Maybe an air leak in one of the fuel lines (helped on by the very cold temps). There's also the possibility that the tank vent is clogged. This can be checked by removing the fuel cap and listening for a vacuum. Leave it removed and see if it'll run.

Now on to about the only thing I can think of that can cause no start/low electricity and the engine to quit running too. Hate to chime in with something bad on Christmas day, but it's a very easy check. Is the alternator belt intact? It drives the water pump too, meaning that if it came off you would loose both charging and engine cooling. The later can lead to major engine problems if not caught. Hopefully this is not the case and the belt is intact.

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85 300CD
83 300TD
78 240D (daughter)