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?

__________________
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.

__________________
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"

Awe Frank, come on! Give the poor guy some credit for some brains!

Call me stupid, but I have done this as has my wife - once each. Get out of the car, leave it in drive and then freak out when it won't start. Same symptoms he has described - full lights and electrical but no cranking at all. It is a lesson you learn once and well.

__________________
Rich Mason
Chapel Hill, NC
1990 300D 285k miles
1993 VW Cabriolet converted to 1.6 TD
1985 VW Westfalia 1.6 TD

Well, satan didn't ruin Christmas for me, just made a fool out of me and I can live with that - seems to happen a lot lately. There it sat in daylight in Drive! However, the fuel line from the tank was gelled up as the primer pump would not move fuel into the prefilter (changed both filters). I got her home by putting a soda bottle full of diesel under the hood with a fuel line into it. At home I blew compressed air back to the tank, hooked er back up and the pump worked like it was supposed to. All is well (I also treated the fuel in the tank w/ power service).

Thanks to all who helped when it was just a stupid oversight on my part. I'll try to think the next one through better before asking. cheers.

In a stressful situation, bad things can happen to any of us.

We can be thankful that the situation was easily rectified and that none of the dire consequences, mentioned above, came to pass.

I have seen this happen alot.

__________________

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