When my 300TD did this, the problem turned out to be a bad diode in the alternator. I replaced the rectifier assembly (twice) and both replacements also failed. Finally, I replaced the alternator with a Bosch reman from Rusty and it never failed while I owned the car. Use care not to damage the pulley moving it to the new alternator; even a small burr will destroy the belt in short order.
Troubleshooting this (current leak) problem is straight forward assuming you have and can use a multimeter. I use leads with alligator clips to free up my hands. Most loads are fused so pulling fuses, one by one, while watching the meter, will tell you if one of those circuits is the problem. The start relay has its own fuse. The starter and alternator are hard wired to the battery (no fuse). The ETM for your vehicle can be quite helpful. I doubt a battery is the root cause but running a battery to zero will kill the battery, especially if done repeatedly and if left discharged for any time. > -----Original Message----- > From: Mercedes [mailto:mercedes-boun...@okiebenz.com] On Behalf Of Andrew > Strasfogel > Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2014 10:23 AM > To: Mercedes Discussion List > Subject: Re: [MBZ] Battery charger bright sparks - W123 300TD > > So when I got home yesterday afternoon the car would not start. Turned a > little, but died. I am leaning toward the "battery won't hold a charge" > explanation. The battery was only slightly drained, jsut enough to > prevent > starting. Tonight I will the glove box door, which I doubt is the > problem. > > If it isn't, and there are no other obvious answers, the low hanging fruit > picking approach has me remove the battery and take it to Sears. They can > test it and if it's unable to take a charge I will simply trade it in for > one of their totally awesome 850 CCA Diehards. I will from that point > live > happily ever after. > > Once the battery problem has been solved and I can drive the '85 > 300TD again, I will start a new thread about whining (it's not what you > think). > > Andrew > Who looks forward to warm days so he can fiddle with his garage and two > station wagons. > Go Nats! > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
