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300 Tdi Starting Issues

2K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  Uncle Douglas 
#1 ·
lOOKING FOR A LITTLE WISDOM FROM THE 300 OR 200 TDI CREW. My 300 has become a hard starter here lately. Here is what it is doing. Acts like the battery is too low to start, it cranks and turns over but won't fire up. The batt. is less than a year old. Starts fine when the outside temp. is above about 38-40F and once the eng. is warmed up. Will also start when I jump it. plugged in the block heater last night and this morning at 12F it took forever to finally start and run. This makes me think glow plugs or starter. I have tested the power supply to the glow plugs and it is fine. Timer light still comes on and goes off for the glow plugs. How else can I test them?
Wondering if it is my Batt., glow plugs or starter?

thanks for any help and ideas
 
#2 ·
Hook up a charger to the battery. Turn on the ignition and let the glow plugs come on. Does the charger show power being drained - say 5 amps? If so, they're working. However, there are better glow plugs out there.

A second battery does wonders. I have a Walmart 850 CCA and it struggles in 10-20F Boston weather. I initially had dual batteries and never had an issue.

Now I have an Eberspacher heater and 5 minutes of that running is enough to EASILY start the motor in 10F weather - like today.

Try a second battery connected simply parallel - cheap solution.

Also, are you using an additive for fuel conditioning?
 
#4 ·
With my 300, I don't even need to use the glow plugs until the temp gets down below 30F and the engine starts up immediately. Below that I give it 5 to 10 seconds and it fires right up. If I use the block heater I also don't need to use the glow plugs. -8F this morning and no problem.

I have duel batts so there is some serious crankage going on. Even though your battery is less then a year old, it is not unheard of for newish units to fail. When you jump it, is there a noticable increase in cranking speed. If so, I would suspect the battery. If not, I think either you have some dirty connections between the batt and the starter, a poor ground, or your starter is just getting tired.

Brett
 
#6 ·
It is possible one or more of your glow plugs are burned out. To test them, you'll have to remove the jumper wires that go one to another. While cold, each should have a resistance of about 0.4 Ohms. If your Ohm device reads zero or "dances", (not fixing on a value), it's burned out. RDS George has plugs.

A block heater should make it start like a charm. KATZ makes one that fits perfectly, If anyone is interested in a block heater (freeze plug type) I found one that fits perfectly ! I bought it from Valu-Bilt Tractor Parts, part # 2356467. The heater is actually made by KATZ, frost plug # 11441. It's a 600Watts, 120VAC unit.
 
#8 ·
I currently have rotella 15/40 in the engine. We only get these kind of temps once every 3-5 years so was not ready with thin oil. I do get more cranking power with jumper cables attached. A couple of days ago I needed jumper cables and a jump box to get it started, although I had power to accessories and lights etc. This morning the batt. seemed to have plenty of power but the engine just turned over and over and over again until it finally started very reluctantly. when I bought the car a year ago it started no problem in the cold weather picked it up in Vt in the winter. guess I need to test starter,batt., and the glow plugs.
I used to have a 200 w/out glow plugs connected and it always started, no problem. I have some glow plugs on order thanks to Doug C.

thanks for the advice. any more greatly appreciated.
 
#9 ·
Just had similar symptoms with my 1998 300tdi D90 (98000miles) this side of the pond - took some canking to start first time especially when the weather turned cold - then when it fired up there was almost a "misfire" as if it was running on 3 cylinders and lots of smoke for about 5 seconds then it ran normally and the smoke cleared. I changed the glow plugs, which looked rough and also the fuel filter, just in case. It fires up a treat now often without waiting for the preheat. So whether it was the glowplugs or shitty fuel filter I dont know, but it was a relatively cheap fix. May also be worth cleaning and greasing the starter and battery terminals - every little helps....

Good Luck!
Paul
 
#10 ·
Forgot to mention that just before I replaced the glow plugs, my alternator gave up as well, I know I have a good battery, but perhaps the alternator wasnt charging the battery as well as the new one does, especially considering winter loads on the work run - lights/heater/wipers/heated rear screen/etc - so it may be worth having the charging side checked also..........

Paul
 
#11 ·
Bad glow plugs won't affect how well (fast) the engine cranks. Is it cranking substantially slower and won't fire? Or is it cranking slowly? If the later, check all your battery to starter connections, including the grounds.
If it cranks fine, but won't fire, follow what others have said about checking your glow plugs.
 
#12 ·
I think I am leaning more towards a battery or electrical connection issue. I do have new glow plugs which i will fit anyway since they were cheap and it looks like a fairly easy job, please correct me if I am wrong on that point.
Yesterday when I started it the engine did turn over slowly and finally started, but today when I turned the key, nothing just click,click. Jumper cables did not help until I disconnected the batt. cables gave them a brush up and then refit them as tightly as possible then it started.
Of course now my parking brake is stuck engaged and she is immovable, Just another day in 13 year old LR ownership. Any good suggestions for this problem?
 
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