ran out of gas - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

greengurl · #1 04-24-2010, 11:19 PM

i ran out of gas, right on my street thankfully, and so went and got the diesel, its on a flat surface, and it won't spark. The light and the beeping comes on, but when i go to turn it over, nothing happens; i get a little bit of turn movement of the key, but next attempt and nothing happens. i've been told that the fuel system will lock itself in order to prevent air from seeping in the lines. i tried jumping the car, nothing. i just put a brand new everything in here practically, but the stereo, so i just dont get it... help!

bluetypewriter · #2 04-24-2010, 11:21 PM

What is the year/make of your car?

You probably need to prime it. See the cream colored circle in this photo? If your standing on the drivers side of the car leaning over the engine you should see it. Unscrew it until it pops out then press it in and out until you hear a buzz from the engine. Then press it back in and screw it back.

kerry · #3 04-24-2010, 11:32 PM

Need more info. It sounds as if your starter is not turning the engine. If so, that is usually a bad battery or bad connections. Jumping most diesels takes a heavy set of jumper cables and a goodly amount of time to charge the discharged battery.

layback40 · #4 04-25-2010, 01:27 AM

Welcome to the forum greengurl.
You need to say what year and model car it is.The pic of the priming pump is for a late 70's to mid 80's 300d ~w123 and some other similar vintage models. if you have a later one, say a w124 300d from 1990, it doesnt have a primer pump.
If some one hasnt already helped you get it going, get back to us with some details and we will help.

H-townbenzoboy · #5 04-25-2010, 01:45 AM

Good thing you ran out of gas. It needs diesel fuel anyway!

Sorry, I couldn't resist!

Welcome to the forums!

greengurl · #6 04-25-2010, 02:51 AM

ok, sorry bout that, my car is a 240D; upon closer look of the picture, i'm wondering if u are referring to the cream circle (appearing 2-D) or the coke bottle (more 3-D) apparatus to the immediate right of the cream circle. thanks for the prompt reply!

Skid Row Joe · #7 04-25-2010, 03:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greengurl

ok, sorry bout that, my car is a 240D; upon closer look of the picture, i'm wondering if u are referring to the cream circle (appearing 2-D) or the coke bottle (more 3-D) apparatus to the immediate right of the cream circle. thanks for the prompt reply!

The one I highlighted in BOLD.

compress ignite · #8 04-25-2010, 03:25 AM

What y'all are calling the "Cream Circle" is the top (Handle) of the Primer Pump.
["Coke Bottle" apparatus in the picture is the Primary Fuel Filter]

If you have the Hand Primer Pump ,it unscrews Counter Clockwise and y'all will
Pump until your hand goes numb.It'll take quite a few "Pumps" to bring the Diesel
all the way back up front from the Tank.

To make it easier...CLEAN the area around your Secondary (Looks like a "Spin On " ) Fuel filter and act as if you were gonna change it out...INSTEAD fill it
with CLEAN Diesel [or Redline/or Lubri-Moly] and re-attach.

Then go through the Priming Pumping.

As you're trying to start:

Crack the Nuts on top of the Injectors Loose (To Allow Air to escape) and when you see fuel tighten back down.

Don't spin the Starter any longer than 20 seconds (So it won't overheat)

Skid Row Joe · #9 04-25-2010, 03:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by compress ignite

What y'all are calling the "Cream Circle" is the top (Handle) of the Primer Pump.
["Coke Bottle" apparatus in the picture is the Primary Fuel Filter]

If you have the Hand Primer Pump ,it unscrews Counter Clockwise and y'all will
Pump until your hand goes numb.It'll take quite a few "Pumps" to bring the Diesel
all the way back up front from the Tank.

To make it easier...CLEAN the area around your Secondary (Looks like a "Spin On " ) Fuel filter and act as if you were gonna change it out...INSTEAD fill it
with CLEAN Diesel [or Redline/or Lubri-Moly] and re-attach.

Then go through the Priming Pumping.

As you're trying to start:

Crack the Nuts on top of the Injectors Loose (To Allow Air to escape) and when you see fuel tighten back down.

Don't spin the Starter any longer than 20 seconds (So it won't overheat)

That sound rather complicated....without pictures.

I didn't know that injector plugs had to be unscrewed when changing fuel filters on any diesel Mercedes-Benz.

Would you have some step-by-step pictures of your "DIY procedure?"

compress ignite · #10 04-25-2010, 04:12 AM

Joseph,

To Quote Yourself:
"I didn't know that injector plugs had to be unscrewed when changing fuel filters on any diesel Mercedes-Benz."

To Quote Myself:
"Crack the Nuts on top of the Injectors Loose (To Allow Air to escape) and when you see fuel tighten back down."
[ON TOP OF THE INJECTORS][NOT THE INJECTORS THEMSELVES]

Pictures whenever I find myself with an OM 616 out of Diesel!

layback40 · #11 04-25-2010, 04:45 AM

greengurl,
I hope you were able to work out from the rantings what you need to do to get the car to start.
I am surprised that some of these guys are not jumping over each other to help a damsel in distress !!!
If you need any more help, post another message on this thread.
Good Luck !!!

JB3 · #12 04-25-2010, 06:42 AM

Also, you will feel the fuel in the hand primer pump. You may have to pump it for a while (like 75-100 times), but there will be a resistance when the fuel is moving up through the pump, it will get harder to pump.

If when you unscrew this pump and it leaks diesel while you are pumping, you will have to replace it. Fairly easy job. If its been replaced already, you may have a black handled pump which does not need to be unscrewed.

Cracking the injector lines will need to happen if you really really airlocked it bad, but you should try that after pumping till theres fuel, retightening the hand pump, then getting inside the car, putting the throttle pedal to the floor, and cranking.

When the engine catches, it will blow a huge cloud of white smoke which will clean up after a few minutes of idleing or driving. Make sure to keep your foot into the throttle a bit until you know its running normally, as soon as it starts, don't let off the pedal and let it idle, back off and keep it around 2500-3000 rpm for a while.

Most of all, don't get discouraged if it takes a number of tries to get it started. Its possible to massively airlock a diesel so bad that it may take quite some time to get the air out of the fuel system.

Many an excellent diesel mercedes has been picked up for real cheap by members of this forum because they were air locked.

vstech · #13 04-25-2010, 12:16 PM

ok, if you don't have a whiteish knob here, circled in red, but have a black small round knob, you can just start pumping. also, if you loosen the bolt at the top of the green highlighted line, it will pump faster, and you will see fuel when you are ready to stop pumping. actually, now that I look at the pic again, the line I drew in green is the fuel output line, look at the lower pic, loosen the nut with the green arrow on it, NOT THE ONE WITH THE RED X!!!
then tighten the nut down, and pump a few more times. most of my cars leak fuel when pumping the primer pump, but don't leak when it's screwed down, so don't worry too much if you get fuel squirting all over your hands.
next thing you will likely have to do is bleed the injectors.
hopefully not.
get the battery charged up well, and run the glow plugs for a good 30 seconds, then try to start it. hold your foot to the floor on the accelerator, and start cranking!
if if fires up, great you are good to go. if it does not, then read on.
next thing you will need if it did not start is a 17mm wrench. I find it easiest to loosen the nuts by the injection pump. then when they get wet from fuel, tighten them up from the firewall end of the pump towards the front. then loosen the injector nuts and you will need to crank some more. when all the air is out of the first nut, tighten it, then move to the next, and the next. it will probably start before you get to the last nut, but sometimes it doesn't. I hope you have a good battery charger, or at least a friend with a running car you can keep your battery up during all this cranking!
THIS WILL CERTAINLY MAKE SURE YOU NEVER RUN LOW ON FUEL AGAIN!!!
experience like this sure teach a lot!

this pic!

welcome to the forum!
get your userCP edited, and come back here a lot.
we help everybody, and the only stupid question is the one not asked!

junqueyardjim · #14 04-25-2010, 03:34 PM

I hope you get it fired up shortly. Can be frustrating for a new diesel owner. Always use the word "diesel" or "fuel" when working with a diesel engine. If you consistantly use the word diesel, you or some one else is much more less likely to fill the tank with gas (gasoline). You might be surprised at how often it happens!

LUVMBDiesels · #15 04-25-2010, 07:39 PM

Greengurl,

Were you able to get the engine started? From your original post it also sounds like the starter is not turning the engine. Is this the case? Make sure the shifter is in 'N' or 'P' You might have to wiggle it a bit as there is a safety switch that can wear out that prevents you from running the starter when the car is not in Park or Neutral.

Let us know how you are making out...