hi everyone. long time since i've posted here as its been a long time since i've had my beloved 300D in my possession.

long story (somewhat) short:

the car sat broken down (needed belts after a crank pulley replacement) at my aunt's house for nearly two years. in that time, a creature decided to take up residence under the hood, and proceeded to eat through a majority of the hoses and wiring.

i got the car to a shop and a mechanic got everything up and running for me. i drove it 18.5 hours from missouri to phoenix, and everything seemingly was working smoothly, except that the dash panel light and radio did not work (no light on my spedometer and no tunes made that night drive a bit of a hellride).

i've had the car back in phx for a month, and i've been driving it to run errands and drive the short distance to work with no issues, aside from a few errant rough starts.

a couple days ago i noticed the engine was starting rougher, but chalked it up to cooler temperatures and a nearing-empty gas tank.

the day before yesterday, i drove to work and found my turn signals were no longer working. i figured it was a fuse or something that i could look into this weekend.

i tried to start it up yesterday morning - the engine made an effort to start on a couple attempts, but never fully turned over. on the final attempt, the engine didn't even engage. i assumed i was out of fuel since i had been running on empty for a while and kept forgetting to fill it up.

today i put a couple gallons of diesel in it, hoping it would start up - no such luck.

when i key the ignition into the first position, normal dash lights come on and everything is fine.

when i key to second position, the glow plug light does not illuminate. there is a weird whining / moaning sound coming from under the hood on the driver's side that lasts about as long as the glow plug light would normally illuminate and stops until i put the key into position again.

when i key into final / ignition position, i hear a clicking sound that stops after a few seconds (sounds like the igniter on a barbecue grill, so i'm assuming this is just normal ignition function).

i've not yet replaced any fuses, but i took a quick glance today and they all looked okay (not that their appearance is really telling me all that much…).

with the glow plug light suddenly going out and not activating (but making the moan like there's some kind of attempt somewhere), i'm wondering if it has something to do with the plugs, or maybe even the relay, but i really have no idea.

any guidance or advice would be most appreciated.

charge your battery, and replace the alternator...

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

it could be as simple as loose belts on the alternator, or if the belts are incorrect, they may be tight, but slipping... also, the alternator voltage regulator could be failing, or the rewiring done by the mechanic may have damaged the glow plug controller, or the glow plug controller may have failed, and is overly draining your battery...

all of this is guesswork, of course.

at a minimum, you need to charge the battery... you may need to replace it.

no amount of fuel is going to get the starter working.

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Yeah, begin with a healthy battery.

If you have a multimeter, check the glow plugs for resistance, diesel giant has a decent write up.

Check your fuses, pull them and inspect the ends.

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83 SD

84 CD

Identify where the moaning sound is coming from.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

thanks for the advice, everyone.

a friend came over yesterday so we could make an attempt to jump start my car. with my battery leeching tickle voltage from his, the glow plug light was back as normal, the moaning sound was gone, and the turn signals worked again. still wouldn't turn over, but now i know the first step is to get my drained battery charged up. unfortunately i have to go out of town for work, so i won't be able to get back to the car til after thanksgiving. going to pick up a battery charger when i get back.

when i was under the hood, i discovered one of the belts had fallen completely off its track (i'll need to double-check, but i think it was the alternator belt, which may account for the drained battery). some of its "teeth" were worn off, so i was able to slip it back in place by hand (this was prior to trying to jump start it). definitely something else that will require attention when i return.

i'm really grateful i no longer rely on a vehicle as my main means of transportation. now problems like this yield no stress, whereas a couple years ago i would have been losing my mind.