300TD Electrical - Horn, lights, and starter
 

Hello, I have an 85 300td, that recently has been giving me electrical trouble. The horn stopped working about 2 months ago. A week ago the headlights stopped working (fog lights and all other lights still work) and now the car will not turn over.

The electrical charge seems fine as lights, radio, everything can come on. But when I turn the key to get the glow plug started i do not hear anything, and when i turn it to start it i can hear only a click but then nothing else.

I'm assuming i have a short, or a series of fuses have gone bad, or my alternator?? Any advice?? I'm planning on taking it in to get it looked at but i'm afraid it will be expensive so i am hopeful that maybe people can recommend some "quick-fix options" to run through first.

Thanks in advance.

Tim

For the starter not turning over, check the battery connections they should be clean dry and tight, for the headlights check the light switch, and for the horn check the connections, and/or the switch.
If these things happened all at one time I would say they are related, but they happened one thing at a time with a fairly long time in between issues. It takes more amperage to run glow plugs, and start the engine than it does to run the rest of the electrical system combined, so it is possible that radio, lights, and heater fan will run and the car still not start. It is also possible that the starter has failed along with the other things