Over the last week my 82 300d turbo slowly quit starting. The symtoms were exactly as if the battery were going dead, however this is deffinately not the problem. It just kept cranking slower and slower and now nothing, not even a solenoid click. I jumped the solenoid from the battery and nothing. I cleaned all connections and grounds. Is there some other possible culprit or am I in for the treat of replacing this thing?

What makes you so sure it is not a bad battery? Sure sounds like a dead battery.

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Mark
1983 300TD Wagon
Even a broken watch is right twice a day

Did you try to jump the terminals on the passenger fender block to see if it will turn over?

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1981 300D 147k
1998 VW Jetta Tdi 320k
2001 Dodge Ram 2500 141k
1979 300D 234k (sold)
1984 300D "Astor" 262k(sold)
Mercedes How-To and Repair Pictorials
I love the smell of diesel smoke in my hair

The batttery in there is brand new. Just to be sure i threw it on the charger overnight. Just to be extra sure i pulled the battery from the 300td and stuck it in there. Same symtoms no matter what. I hadnt tryed jumping the terminals because i thought if i jumped it right to the solenoid from the battery, this would bypass everything else. Makes sense right?

Is your ground cable between the starter and the body clean and tight at both ends? That's a must.

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'82 300SD - 361K mi - "Blue"

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."

listen, look, .........and duck.

i had not realized there was a ground strap from the starter, i just assumed it was grounded through the starter body. I'll take a look at that . I already took apart every other conection and cleaned the hell out of them and it made no difference. Does that mean that these old starters are grounded only through a terminal on the starter body and not straight to the block?

The starter has no ground cable to the engine. The ground cable referenced above goes from the engine block to the chassis. This cable is what typically gets corroded over time. You must remove the end at the chassis and wire brush it to be sure.

The negative battery cable is directly connected to the chassis. This connection should also be checked, however, it's up high and usually would be OK.

i didnt think there was a ground on the starter. anyway, pulled the starter and sure enough bad brushes. thanks for the advise.

Is this the one that is rung to a bolt going through the tranny bell housing holding it to the engine? Or is there another one i missed only on the engine?

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What Would Rudolph Do?
1975 300D, 1975 240D, 1985 300SD, 1997 300D, 2005 E320 , 2006 Toyota Prius