230 SL Won't start after starting once with new battery

[badali]

I went to start my 230 SL yesterday and it cranked over 3 times with out starting.  Then it acted like the battery was low and would barely turn over.  I went and got a new battery today and the car started right up so I drove 11 miles and shut it off at my parents house.  The car ran fine with no problems at all on the highway and in stop and go traffic.  The car acted like it had a dead battery when I went to restart it the same as yesterday with the old battery.  It will not start even with jumper cables.  Testing the battery it shows 12.86 volts with the cables off.  What would cause this sudden problem after trying to start the car?  I had to have the car towed back to the house.  This is the first major problem in 9 years and 11000 miles...

[Tyler S]

Bad B+ cable/ cable connection at the starter motor or failing starter itself. Also check the ground cable where it bolts to the inner fender well. They can look ok but corrosion can be hidden by the crimped connector. Feel around the cables and cable ends after attempting a start. If they are hot to the touch then there is high resistance.

[badali]

Will it hurt anything else if I keep attempting to start while testing these connections?

[badali]

I ordered a starter today.  The battery has 13.85 volts after I fully charged it.  The battery cables seem to be well connected.  How difficult is it to change the starter?  It doesn't look like there is enough room to get it out...

[kampala]

Brad,

Starter is not difficult (even for me as only do the simple stuff).   Search for threads or follow this in the Tech Manual: 

https://www.sl113.org/wiki/Electrical/Starter

Be safe and disconnect battery.   Use the access panel on passenger side trans tunnel under the carpet.  That's the key that I learned from this site.   Stater comes out from under the car. 

Good luck.

[badali]

Thanks,  I should receive the new starter in the mail tomorrow from the Classis center.

[badali]

I spent the day under the car with the starter and my father in-law.  We had quite the bonding experience and I suspect he may think twice about helping me work on this car again...

The starter must have been the original since the screws on the access panel on the hump had the original tar covering them.  That was the only easy part of the job.

Breaking loose the top bolt through the opening was a struggle because it was on so tight.

The bottom bolt was not easy to get to.  We had to raise the car more after we could not fit under it but could not get it high enough to be comfortable.  Using the insert from a 10mm Allen socket and a box end wrench was the only way to get on the bolt head.  It had a limited amount of room to move and was difficult to loosen...  The bolt was threaded into the starter not a nut.  The new one needed a nut and a slightly longer bolt.  Side trip to Fastenal Store for hardware.

Removing the wires was easy.

Reinstalling the wires was easy. 

Then the trouble and struggling began.  We could not get the top bolt back in.  We took the starter in and out three times.  We finally found that the new starter was so tight it was difficult to fully seat.  Finally we started by inserting the bottom bolt fully and tightening it to seat the starter then loosen to align the top.  It worked.

The good news... after 4 1/2 hours some struggling and cursing and some severe bodily distortion the car fired right up.

I'm ready for the summer.

[Tyler S]

Glad you got it sorted, sorry I should have warned you about the bottom hole needing a longer bolt and nut. It depends on the starter type ordered.

[badali]

That was no problem.  That gave me a chance to take a break....