well, its been pretty cold ever since i picked up the CD (anywhere b/t 10-40F) and its always started right up. went out this morning to get her warmed up and nothing. doesnt even want to turn over now im stuck at home b/c my wife already left for work in the truck! doh!

Measure voltage at battery to see if the cold killed a weak battery....

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

yeah, i checked it already. reading a bit over 12 volts. now the starter isnt even clicking or anything. fantastic.

Did you try wiggling/cleaning the battery cables? Let's hope it isn't the starter...

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

Try jumping wires 1 and 3 in the junction box on the right inner fender in front of the battery (after glowing).

__________________
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

yeah, it seems to have battery power. i drove it all day yesterday w/o any problems. its always something.

My SD does this to me once in a blue moon and it's an ignition switch problem in my case. Give the ignition tumbler a squirt of WD40 and wiggle it a bit with the key in the accessory or ON positions before turning to START.

Just a shot in the dark. Otherwise it sounds like a wiring or ground problem. Usually the whirly parts of the starter (advanced mechanical terminology) fail before the solenoid does.

If all fails, have a cup of coffee and warm up. At least you are at home and not in the middle of a deserted parking lot at 2am.

i am supposed to be in class right now, but i am glad im not stranded in a parking lot. my kids would be with me. ill give the key idea a shot. the guy i bought it from didnt drive it b/c he said it was "hard to start" in the cold. i figured when i went to drive it and it started in cold weather i could probably get away with "anti-gel" addative or something.

i guess it would be worth mentioning that the ign. is a bit tricky. you have to wiggle and move the key just right to get it to move to start position. think that could be taken care of with a new tumbler/lock cyl.?

Jump the wires I described and you'll have your answer. If the starter engages, the problem is almost certainly the key switch. (although there is a possibility it could be a problem elsewhere in the wiring--but this unlikely given your description of the key switch)

__________________
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

the tiny box with 3 junc. points?

Could also be the shifter lock-out. If messing with the key switch doesn't do it, try making sure it's in Park.

__________________
'83 300D Turrrbo 295K miles

well, it seems as if ye ol starter has crapped out. after glow i jumped at the junction block and all i get is a click. thing is, how much of a PITA is the starter to take out on this thing. with my luck im sure its a nightmare.

It ain't fun on the turbo engines, but it ain't rocket science with the right combination of extensions and swivels. You should be able to search and find instructions with pics.....

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

So what is the voltage exactly? 12.00 volts is a pretty dead battery. 12.65 volts is fully charged, so even a voltage of 12.2v is only about 50% charged and you will need a lot of juice when it's cold. even a small drop in temperature will really test your battery strength.