Been a while since I posted, but the dynamics of the MB fleet has changed a lot recently. Engine in '83 SD finally gave up the ghost, then an unfortunate meeting with a deer took out my '83D.
Suddenly I had no operable MBs. That issue was soon resolved when a friend sold me a '79 240D for little more than scrap metal price. It had been sitting for 10 years until just before I bought it. Just prior to my purchase he had put on new tires, battery, and ignition switch. It ain't much to look at, but gets me from here to yonder. Until ---- one cold rainy day it wouldn't start. I was pretty sure the problem was the neutral safety switch (it had been touchy in that area). I jiggled shifter around and fired right up. Took it home and bypassed the NSS. Thought my problems were solved until ---- another cold rainy day it failed to start again. This time I was able to jump the solenoid and it fired right up. Took it home and cleaned and tightened those connections and was pretty sure all was well - until ----- another cold (no rain this time) day it wouldn't start. Wouldn't fire up glow plugs, gauges, or crank. But the headlights burned strong, so I was guessing the problem was in the ignition switch rather than battery issues. I looked on this forum but did not find a wiring diagram. Or any archive issues that closely paralled my dilema. After a bit of testing and standing on my head under the dash, I found that the main power feed to the ignition switch was coming from the headlight switch and that connection was corroded. Cleaned it up and am back on the road. Hoping the next cold rainy day sees me cruising along with windshield wipers and heater tooling away.
03-22-2013, 09:22 PM
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