well, this morning my girlfriend had trouble getting the sd started in the cold. she got it started, then it died after about ten seconds. she tried again, but it wouldnt turn over, and she kept trying until the battery got worn down. we couldnt get the thing started all day - the battery was so low that the started would barely stutter through a few cycles. we tried a portable battery pack, but that wasnt enough. finally, AAA game and jumped it from a truck. it coughed and wheezed, but finally started. so, i just drove it around for about 45 minutes to charge the battery, parked it, waited 30 seconds, then tried to start it again. sure enough, the started tried to turn over, did sow a few times, slowly, and that was that. its been quite cold here in boston.

what am i likely looking at? ive got new brand new glow plugs, a new relay, new fuel filter, new tank full of ulsd, rebuilt starter from ************** from a few months back. the battery's less than a year old, and hasnt given us any trouble until now. alternator? or could the battery just suddenly die?

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1982 300sd, 230,000 miles, svo/wvo conversion... yellow

http://www.jaymoschella.com

I would check the simple things first. Are your battery connections tight and corrosion free. Are the cables in good shape. Eyeball the connections at the starter and ground and see that all is tight and clean. Batteries are the subject of much debate here. It is possible that you have a dud. Try hooking up a charger and after charging, measure the voltage. There is a thread here somewhere that specifies the values at cold and running. Autozone has a good value on batteries, a search here will reveal which one to buy if you need to. Once you rule out the routine, bad connections and battery, you can move on to check the alternator.

If I had to make a bet........you're looking at trying to find a warm garage that's above 25 degrees F.

You appear to have maintained that vehicle properly and several folks in the extreme cold are finding out that the new ULSD doesn't have any kerosene mixed in with it.

Get yourself some Power Service conditioner in the white bottle and find a warm garage for it.

my confusion here, though, is with the fact that i drove for a good 45 minutes, parked for thiry seconds, and was then unable to get the engine to turn over. at that point, everything should have been nice, hot, and charged, which is why im puzzled.

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1982 300sd, 230,000 miles, svo/wvo conversion... yellow

http://www.jaymoschella.com

You're right........I missed the 45 minutes of running time. Fuel is certainly warm by that point.

So, the only possibility is the battery is not getting a suitable charge from the alternator........or........it's not accepting the charge.

If you can jump it and get it running again..........check the voltage at 2000 rpm. It should be at least 13.5V. If not, the regulator is probably the culprit. If so, then the battery is not holding the charge and needs to be replaced.

thanks. but, did you mean to type, "if not..."?

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1982 300sd, 230,000 miles, svo/wvo conversion... yellow

http://www.jaymoschella.com

also, with respect to the regulator... there are no other discernible electrical problems - lights do not dim, etc. everything appears to be working fine.

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1982 300sd, 230,000 miles, svo/wvo conversion... yellow

http://www.jaymoschella.com

If you don't get 13.5V then the regulator is the most likely culprit................

sorry, i got confused. the way you typed it... i thought you were saying, if the regulator is the culprit, the battery needs to be replaced.

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1982 300sd, 230,000 miles, svo/wvo conversion... yellow

http://www.jaymoschella.com

If the regulator is not the culprit, the battery becomes the primary suspect.

I presume your battery cables are all up to snuff...........??

its late at night and ive inhaled too much diesel smell today to have read your reply, (which i now see was worded properly), correctly. i'll give it a jump and test it out tomorrow.

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1982 300sd, 230,000 miles, svo/wvo conversion... yellow

http://www.jaymoschella.com

........yep..........diesel fuel will do that to 'ya........good luck with it........

Did your battery charge light not come on at any stage while this was happening? My 240D had a similar issue recently. Simply would not turn over the engine, but the charge light had been on for a while before that. Turned out to be the voltage regulator. Really simple and cheap fix.

- Peter.

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2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

hey -

my battery light has not come on at any point, and there have been absolutely no other problems leading up to this. i havent had a chance to run any tests yet, but will try later on today, hopefully.

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1982 300sd, 230,000 miles, svo/wvo conversion... yellow

http://www.jaymoschella.com

I'd bet money on the battery. The fact that the battery will charge enough to start a warm engine, and the observation that your headlights are bright while the car is running, indicates your alternator is probably fine. (A headlight is a pretty good voltmeter) The battery is just not quite up to the demands of cold weather starting. Autozone has the least expensive at $60ish.

Sometimes you can save the battery by topping up the cells with distilled water. Add just enough to cover the plates. Don't overfill, as that can lead to battery acid puking out of the vent. That said, I'd probably just replace it.

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83' 300SD 302k "Frau Blue Car"
85' 190D 5-speed 150k