Run fine the other day, went out this morning and she won't crank. Dash lights come on but go back and forth between dimming and not dimming. I can hear a clicking in the engine compartment but have been unable to track it down. GP light isn't coming on. Bad GP relay? K40? or just let it sit in the sun today and dry out? It's been really , really wet here in NC the last few days.

Appreciate any input!

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'98 E300 Turbo Diesel 274,000 miles

So key turns, correct? Are you sure battery is charged? A bad GP relay wouldn't prevent it from cranking.

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Yep, key turns with no problem. GP light doesn't come or it comes on after a few minutes.

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'98 E300 Turbo Diesel 274,000 miles

Have you put it in neutral and tried starting it?

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Jim

Yep, tried that too. I haven't tried jumping it....but have had no reason to think battery is down.

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'98 E300 Turbo Diesel 274,000 miles

It would be good to eliminate the battery as variable.

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

OK, I'll if I can get it jumped off. Be a little while before I can but we'll see if that is the problem.

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'98 E300 Turbo Diesel 274,000 miles

From what I understand, these cars are pretty temperamental when it comes to voltage. We had an issue in the dead of winter on the 99 where, after sitting for a few days, the key wouldn't turn AT ALL. Then all of the sudden it did. I strongly suspect that battery weakness was the culprit....though I have no proof.

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Sounds like battery is low to me.

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Jim

Jump didn't do any good. Hearing a clicking under the hood, sounds as though it's coming from driver side of the engine but I can't isolate it. Is there a relay there that is perhaps stuck open? Battery test was inconclusive as it registered noise in line which makes me think something is running.

Stumped.

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'98 E300 Turbo Diesel 274,000 miles

My suggestion is to disconnect the negative cable and put a battery charger on it over night and try again tomorrow. I have seen this same issue when the battery was weak. If you can verify it is a good battery then the next place to look would be the starter. The clicking could indicate starter issues but only focus on that after you have verified the battery is good. I have only had hit or miss success just trying to jump start them.

How old is the battery?

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Jim

X2 on fully charging the battery.

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

'Line noise' ?? Are you on the DC scale ?

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1985 300D 198K sold
1982 300D 202K
1989 300E 125K
1992 940T

"If you dont have time to do it safely, you dont have time to do it"

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

clicking and lights flashing has always been battery in my experience. And even if it registers 12.6 v on the meter, it could fail under load when you try to start it. So grab a battery out of another car and test if thats the case or take it to auto zone for a charge and load test. If the battery is old and ready for replacement anyway. I personally like the optima red tops or the ones from mercedes dealer . Both run around 220.00 but any good battery will be at least 175.00 for that car.

If you get one from the mercedes dealer it may qualify you for free roadside assistance.

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

Battery is about two years old.

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'98 E300 Turbo Diesel 274,000 miles