help. car died at stop, won't start. - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Sapperbmet · #1 08-29-2007, 10:12 PM

I was bringing my 1981 500SEL to my residence, from the location that it had been stored at for 4 months. I checked all of the fluids and the general condition of the engine before I left the facility.

While I was driving home, I had a mixture of driving conditions along the route. 2 miles of surface streets, 35mph. 15 miles of highway, 35-55mph average (slow traffic.) The final leg of the trip is 3 miles of surface street at 35 mph. I came to a stop at a traffic intersection and the car coughed, and belched black smoke. I have not been able to get the car restarted. The engine turns over, no problem, and she sounds like it will catch, but no start. I'm going to tow it home and see what I can figure out.

Oh, the outside temperature was about 105 when it died.

A264172 · #2 08-29-2007, 10:32 PM

Spray a little carb cleaner, or dump a third of a shot glass of gas down the intake to see if it starts up for a bit.

190eand me · #3 08-30-2007, 06:24 PM

you may need to replace the fuel filter, you could try to start it with ether, if it hits then you have a fuel supply issue......could be pump\filter\ or it could be varnish in your fuel line from sitting......if the filter is clogged with a yellowish brown gunk then you need to flush out the fuel line and the gas tank. There may be some additives that could help

Sapperbmet · #4 08-31-2007, 08:45 PM

Fuel Filter has less than 500 miles on it. I replced the filter shortly before parking the car. I'm going to pressure test the fuel delivery system the car is acting like she's starving; and there was a fuel pressure problem (supposedly fixed) before I parked the car.

Sapperbmet · #5 09-18-2007, 10:03 AM

Well, now there is a new fuel filter, and I have verified that the car is getting plenty of fuel, all the way to the injectors. Additionally I do not believe this was the proble to begin with as I had a strong fuel smell from the exhaust before starting this process when attempting to start the car. After replacing the fuel filter and verifying fuel flow, there has been no change in attempting to start the car, any additional reccomendations?

david s poole · #6 09-18-2007, 11:07 AM

sounds like either the coil or ignition box died.if you have fuel and car won't start must be spark.have you checked distrib cap and rotor?