Starting issue with 1980 300SD
 

Hi everybody,

I'm new to this forum and to my car, but I'm really looking forward to learning as much as I can.

I recently bought a 1980 300SD with 165,000 miles. There were a slew of things replaced and it seemed to be working fine, but now it's giving me trouble starting. I turn on the glow plugs, they work fine (all the power instruments work fine when this happens so I highly doubt it's a battery issue), then I turn the key all the way and nothing. No chugging or coughing, nothing but a single, very faint click. This has happened to me twice now.

The first time, I took it to an independent Benz place and they replaced the neutral switch. Now, a few months later, it happened again. I pushed the car down the block (I needed to change parking spots) and an hour later it started up fine.

What is going on here? A loose electrical connection? A stretched starting chain? A bad ignition switch? I'm not sure if this is related, but both times this has happened, the ten or so times I've started it beforehand the car has started faster than usual and then has a few light shaking fits (as though I were tapping on the gas pedal.) A fuel injection issue?

Any help or insight you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

RE: Starting issue with 1980 300SD
 

A stretched starting chain? I would put a question mark after that too.
I would insure all electrical connections are clean and tight. When your having trouble see if you have electric to the starter soleniod. You can use a spray cleaner with a tube inside the key switch not sure on a benz if it will get to the contacts

RE: Starting issue with 1980 300SD
 

Next time this happens try clipping one end ofa jumper cable to theengine block and the other end to the negative side of the battery then try to start it. If it starts this way then the ground strap to the engine is loose or broken and is an easy fix. This is more common than you would think. Another possability is a dead spot on the armature of the starter motor and then you need a new one, this is what happened to mine and it would work some times and not others. The reason I mention the second thing is that you would hear the solenoid click but the starter would not turn.