Hello,

Can enlighten me on this please...

I notice that when I crank the engine, the voltage gauge drops to 10 and as soon as the car starts it goes back to 14 but always in the green area. This happen even with no loads. Is this normal? The battery is few months old and a original Benz battery. It usually takes between 8-15 sec of cranking before the car starts. The car is a 87 190-16v.

Thanks for any help.

Orlie

With no load a 12v battery usually has about 12.6v. The standard for acceptability is for the battery to maintain 9.6v during a load of three times the amp/hour rating for 15 seconds. This load is about the same as the starter if your battery is the right size.

So... ten volts after 15seconds is acceptable. Taking 15 seconds to start is unacceptable though.

Hard starting...
 

Hi Steve,

What should I look for why the car takes so long to start. It does start though. It has not failed me yet. (alternator or starter is going bad,maybe?) Glad for any advice.

Thanks.

I would look at the EHA current first to verify an active system and second to verify cold start and warm-up enrichment. See my article in the DIY section "evaluating engine controls". If there is no current suspect the OVP relay.

If fuel delivery is alright then I would suspect a secondary ignition problem. Dist cap and rotor or coil.