got me confused??? help!!!

hi all im hoping someone can help me with a problem i have had
my wife has a 1994 110 station wagon 200tdi and its allways been a bit slow to start i mean sometimes you crank it and it seems to have a low battery and may start first time or you have to stop and crank it again
normally when its running it we can turn it off then start it soonish and its fine
but since thursday it wont start at all

i have changed the battery to one off my 110 station wagon which has been perfect and no change

i tried running a lead from negative from battery to engine block and no change

i have tried running positive from battery to the back of the starter and no change

it will start and run if i leave it connected to a running vehicle via jump leads but it needs about 10 mins on running vehicle it and revving it hard then it starts perfectly

i have changed the starter motor abd solinoid from mine and everything work fine on mine

i have also dropped the sump of oil (about 4 litres) and have replaced this and all still the same

the battery is fully charged and still the same for some reason it needs loads of amps to get it started any ideas????

thanks a lot and help is appreciated i have searched on here but cant seem to find anything with this issue?

thanks
andy

it sounds like a bad earth try running a lead to the starter body

Hi there,

Have had the same problem as you for the past few months until the other day it just wouldn't fire at all. Was turning over fine and battery was fully charged.

Decided to change my glow plugs, took them out and had oil all over them. Tested them for resistance and they were all dead but one. Replaced them and my 300Tdi has never started so well in all its life. Even in -2 which we have at the moment.

Hope this helps.

hi thanks for that i have tried earth lead from negative on battery to starter body on both starters and even positive from batter to starter and still the same

and would the glow plugs slow the engine down it seems to be like the batterys flat and all the dash lights dim ,and barely turns the engine (like a flat battery)

i have tried it with the glow plugs disconnected and still the same
i have done the same on mine and it still turns the engine over perfectly
in fact parts that i have taken from her one and then put on mine works perfectly even her battery has been on mine for 4 days without a charge and ive been starting and stopping mine allday and it still has not needed a charge, its got me stumped

andy

Your situation sounds just like mine. Interior light would go dim as the engine turned over. I know people say these engines should start up without the need for glow plugs, this wasn't the case with mine. I think once they have passed 150,000 miles they start to loose compression and need help starting.

I also tried the jump lead from negative to the engine block, and it did turn over slightly faster, but still wouldn't fire up. Take your time removing the glow plugs, last thing you want is one stuck in your engine.

try changing the starter. mine had pretty much all the same symptoms apart from the starter was occasionally sticking. was winding over for atleast 5 seconds before starting even with jump leads attached. got the multimeter out, the starter was drawing 310amps to turn. im told it should take 170 ish so no wonder the poor old battery was struggling!
new starter fitted it starts in a split second like it should again

Yh new starter. A faulty one will drain the battery and never spin the engine properly. Put a new one on mine 2 weeks ago after symptoms like yours and starts like a dream now.

hi chris i will have to check the glow plugs but i didt think these engines need them , i have currently disconnected the glow plugs and its still the same
i disconected my glow plugs and it starts fine

and m1keyh i have changed the starter onto mine and its fine and put mine on to hers and its still the same put it back on mine and its fine
so im sure the
starter is fine
the earth and positive is fine
the battery is fine

it wont turn over normally unless i have another battery connected and another car running connected
once started it drives fine and the alternator charges
ta andy

Is the battery to chassis earth clean?

hi 300tommie yes the earth strap is clean i have cleaned it and where it goes on to the transfer box
i have run a jump lead from negative terminal on battery to body of starter motor and a
jump lead from the positive of the battery to the positive connection on the back of starter and still the same
i have even put jump leads from running vehicle on to body of starter and to the positve lead from the battery and still the same????

ok , just that your original post says,
''i have changed the starter motor abd solinoid from mine and everything work fine on mine'

the problem in mine was the motor not the solenoid.

Did you try the jump leads trick with both of the starter motors you tried?

hi tommie yes it did the same with both starter motors and both work fine on my one
im going to try and remove all the oil and try a filter change as it seems a bit thick to me and ive only emptied the sump so far

wont know till the weekend tho
ta andy

t

have removed the fan belts today to make sure they were not binding but all running smooth so not them
is it possible to put a live feed on the solenoid connector on starter to see if it spins?

oh well what do i know , i put a brand new starter on it today and fired up straight away!!

strange why it would not start on my starter even tho it starts mine no problems??

must be a landy thing

thanks for all your help guys
andy