1986 300sdl wont start please advise - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

calimercedes · #1 12-07-2005, 05:07 AM

my car does not want to start.. im here in california.. its not like we have very cold weather.. i was driving the car 3 days ago.. i parked it .. and this morning i tried starting , and it just cranks over but does not want to start. its not the battery, because the battery is brand new. but even that crancking so much , it drains the battery and i have to put a charger on it.. do you think i would have problems with my glow plugs? or glow plug relay? or do you think its a vaccum shut off valve problem which mightve stuck close.. i was thinking about fuel filters , but i dont think that will cause it not to start. the car is cream puff, with only 141.000 miles, and the earliest appointment my mechanic gave was next monday , so i thought i should post this up and maybe i can get some suggestions that will help me out before taking it to the big buck mechanic.. well any suggestions will help really... thank you .
john b.

iNeon · #2 12-07-2005, 05:17 AM

it might help, might not...

my 240 had 129k on it when i bought it and the filters(there are 3) were all clogged. it WILL cause the car to not start.

the big screw on filter, the small prefilter and the tank strainer.

the second problem i had with not starting was the fuel gauge sender was off and the automoble would run out of fuel at 1/4 tank.

and finally...

a problem i have is running the automobile on fumes until i get home. it hasnt run out of fuel on the road in a long long time(since i fixed the gauge) but it really seems to like to run out of fuel at home!

check all that before you check the glowplugs

MS Fowler · #3 12-07-2005, 05:45 AM

I woukl loosen a few injector lines at the injector end, crank the engine for a few seconds, and see if fuel dribbles out of the loosened end. If no fuel, then you do, indeed, have a fuel problem.
If that shows fuel, then I would suspect the glow plugs. If you have a volt meter, attach one lead to a glow glug, and another to a good ground. Watch the display when you turn the key to preheat, If it shows no voltage then you need to trouble shoot why the plugs are not getting voltage. If it shows voltage, then pull a couple of glow plugs--pick the ones easiest to get to. Use a heavy wire to connect them to the battery, and ground the other end and see if they glow red-hot. Be careful, they can cause severe burns.
I suspect you will discover the problem with one of the above checks.
If it all these checks are good, and it still doesn't start, then I would suspect that the battery/ starter --the engine is not spinning fast enough to start.

Keep us posted on the results.
Michael

Dervman · #4 12-07-2005, 08:59 AM

Its easy to check the vacuum shut-off valve by the position of the lever on top of the Injection Pump. Normally if the valve is faulty it will usually fail due to vacuum leaks and the car won't shut-off from the key switch. You then have to stop it using the "STOP" lever.
I guess its possible that this lever is stuck in the stop (down) position, but a quick look at its position should tell you right away.

dieseldiehard · #5 12-07-2005, 12:43 PM

First, check the strip fuse in the Glow Plug timer box.

If your engine still has the Trap Oxidizer installed, it could be plugged up, I recently had the experience of learning that.
here's the thread: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=137241

If you don't know what the trap looks like see: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showpost.php?p=1032460&postcount=21

calimercedes · #6 12-14-2005, 05:11 AM

hey guys finally got my car started.... i replaced all 6 glow plugs, and i replaced the intake manifold gasket, now the glow plug light comes on and it starts at a turn of a key even when outside temp is 45 degrees... all my glow plugs were shot.. wow.....original..

Hit Man X · #7 12-14-2005, 05:18 AM

Well the shop that my PO went to over torqued some of my GPs to the point where they were bad. I was starting on 3-4 of them only until I replaced all 6 about two weeks back.

Diesel Giant · #8 12-14-2005, 06:55 AM

Bad glow plugs will stop these cars in their tracks!

Hit Man X · #9 12-14-2005, 07:00 AM

Also for the 603, it's a great time to crank the ALDA up.

calimercedes · #10 12-17-2005, 12:24 AM

the whole case was about the glow plugs.... problem fixed.... changed all 6.. gracias.and thanks

pawoSD · #11 12-17-2005, 12:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel Giant

Bad glow plugs will stop these cars in their tracks!

Our 83 started in 12 degrees Farenheit with only 2 glow plugs working. took 50 seconds of continual cranking but it gained enough heat/compression and got it self going, huuuuge plume of white smoke when it did too, for the first 40-50 seconds, it was amazing. Then it settled back to its old self with a light black exhaust.

it had 256,000 on it or so during that event....pretty impressive. We later replaced all the plugs when we got home, and it starts instantly now, always on the first crank till about 15 degs or less, then it needs a few more cranks. I hope to finish this huge sway bar project sometime in the next week to two weeks so we can get it back on the road again......