Replaced Starter, Now no Power
 

Just replaced starter on 84 300 turbo diesel, after connecting fully charged battery, I have no electronics, did I disconnect something? Am I missing something?

Does the car start?

No, getting no power at all to anything, it's as if there is no battery in the car.

Do you have headlights? Maybe battery needs to be recharged.

OK...

so, you changed the starter... did you put the cables in the right place? the starter cable has ALL the battery power going through it. if the connections are not tight, you will have issues with power for sure.

first, measure the volts at the battery. if it's 12.7, the battery is good. next connect the meter between the battery negative and the starter main lug. if it's still 12.7, you're good there, next start checking for power. check the alternator terminal block, check the battery cables itself. it can be a negative cable problem, a battery terminal problem, or anything in between. one step at a time should find the break.

If you don't have a multimeter, you can get free w/ coupon at HF Tools. Should be a simple diagnosis. The connections are in the black plastic terminal strip just fwd of the battery. There is no fuse between starter and battery, just a direct cable. I hope you removed one battery cable (usually BATT-) before replacing the starter. If not, you could have gotten a massive short circuit if the starter cable touched grounded metal (almost assured). That would have been like an electric welder, but perhaps happened when you weren't around to see it. Could melt the cable or destroy the battery.

The battery & main lug is reading 12.6, is the main lug the top bolt on the solenoid?

BATT+ should go to the largest terminal on the starter and should have a rubber cap. Whether "top" or not can depend. My 1985 CA 300D has a different starter than my 1984. Besides the hot side, verify BATT- post to car frame (resistance <1 ohm). There is also a ground strap from engine to frame on the driver's side, at tranny interface. Those connection can get corroded (sand the aluminum), but that strap would only disable the starter, not the dash.