99 R129 check engine light on
 

Hello everybody
The car starts normal, runs like it should for 53,000 miles no hesitation, very-very slight shake while on idle easy to ignore, its been there for years, fluids are up to specs. Took the car to the beach , A/C on with hard top. About a 20 mile trip, a very strong smell of gasoline came in the cabin while cruising at 35 MPH, roll windows down, smell went away, can tell wether it came from my engine or somewhere else, the engine never skiped a beat, drove home, parked for an hour. Did a store run , 1 mile, return home parked ,CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON and it won't go away, the car starts , run, drives normal , I'll apreciate any suggestion
thanks

Go to a local autoparts store, such as Advance Auto Parts, and get an OBD II code reader - which should work for all 1996 through 2004 vehicles sold in the United States. The cheapest ones will just read the codes (such as for $35 from JC Whitney), and then they will only read and delete for about $75. Even more fancy ones will see if there are any "pending" codes, that is a trigger of a code on one or two instances, but not the three required to set a code and light up you service engine soon light. It is better to get one that tells you whether the systems are "ready" for emissions diagnostics as many states are now simply checking the OBD II instead of sticking a sensor up your exaust pipe. If there are no codes and the system is "ready" (meaning it has been driven through some diagnostic cycles) then it passes. If you delete any codes, the systems will not be "ready" for emissions testing and you must drive it for about a week until sufficient systems have been analyzed again. My code reader was about $150, but I saw the exact same one on E-bay for $99 buy it now.

Best yet - Some auto parts stores will come out to your car and read your codes for free. If you were in the area I'd do it for nothing, but I hardly think the drive across the country would cost less than just buying a tester yourself.

99sl
 

Thanks for the response
You are definetly quite a ways from Florida. As I understand the check engine light comes on for emission related malfunctions resulting from interruptions or failure of any of it's components, when the light comes on the malfunction is store in the SFI control module.I was just trying to be the optimist , in very rare ocassions the Check engine goes away if the condition that cause it to come on no longer exists after three cycles, but then again something caused it to come on . If I get the codes pulled from the SFI I will need to know what they mean I'm hoping for something like clogged fuel filter or simpler.
Appreciate the help

Check engine
 

I'm crossing my fingers on this one . The light went out after starting, driving, shutting off the car 4 times, maybe is one of those rare ocassions Mercedes clear up a none reccuring code, and according to the owners manual RARE. I'll like to write this one off as an emissions burp. I'll just have to wait and see.