I am new to this forum, and to mercedes. I own a 1990 300ce, which I like; however, it has a bad habit. If I do not use the car for a week or more, then after I have run it about 10 minutes it will suddenly shudder and stall. It will restart only to continue to shudder and restall. If I let the car sit for about 15 minutes it will work ok. If I drive the car every day I do not have this probelm.

Anyone out there had a similar problem

Thanks

Donald:
Welcome to Mercedesshop.
You'll probably get alot of replies on this one.
What I believe will prove to be the problem is the overvoltage protection relay. It protects some of the control modules from voltage spikes.
It is located in the area behind the battery. There is a black plastic shield behind the battery, just push the top lip of it down and then remove it. the relay I am talking about is distinctive in that it has a clear plastic flip-open lid on top with a 10 amp fuse under the lid. In a case like this, I'd say the fuse is going to look fine. They had a few years back then that a solder joint in the relay would intermittently open circuit and the stalling at times was the result.
I would recommend replacing it. I could get the part number of the relay that was considered "bad", I know it was made by Siemens, and I believe the bulletin said that it was made in either Austria or Hungary. The new relay is redesigned, haven't had problems with the new ones at all. I believe the new part is from Belgium. "no one makes an overvoltage protection relay like a Belgian!".
Like I ay, you'll probably get alot of other folks verifying this problem, it's a well documented concern. The new part I believe is under $75, not too hard to install, you may end up removing the battery to do the job, but that's not that bad of a job.
You can check with this website for the part (partsshop or fastlane).
Gilly

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And yes, I thin, that is your problem too! GOOD LUCK!

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2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

to the best MB forum! The people here like Gilly, will get you fixed up quickly.

Also consider the fuel filter, fuel pump or maybe regulator. If the filter has not be changed, then it's a prime candidate as well as the famous (or infamous) OVP.

Sent an answer to your Email. Enjoy the forum.

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Regards . . . . JimF
-------------------
'94 S500 Cpe

Visit my Mercedes Web Page

donald- your observations are true, which is why
while others walk their dogs, i drive my cars around
daily. these mb cars are built to be driven long and hard.
at european highways, the average cruising speed is
200 kms. plus.
here, we hardly push our cars over 160 kms. firstly,
because it is illegal, secondly, we do not have the infrastructure to safely handle those speeds, and finally, we tend to baby
our mb cars, conserve the mileage for higher resale value
in the future. nothing wrong with proper care, but i think
our cars need a regular workout, moreso being driven daily.
just my opinion.

I had to react to this
Here in the Netherlands on our highways the max. speed is set at 100 km/h and 120 km/h depending on the highway.
In Germany however some of the highways are limitless.
But in no country anywhere in Europe is 200 km/h an avarage cruising speed.
With the amount of traffic at our highways the only chance you have on driving 200+ is in the middle of the night and here in the Netherlands you will need radardetection to tell where the speedtraps are.If you are caught driving over 50 km/h above the speedlimit you can easely loose your drivinglicence

Thanks for the diagnoses.

I will check the opr, and probably replace; preferrably before I go out of town again (without my car). I will let you know what happens.

ps- I once drove a vw bus around europe and doubt I ever went much over 100 km/hr - my brief times on the autobahns of germany were all spent in the slow lane! As for the value of a real workout for my mercedes (at less then 200 km/hr); how about going over a 9,000 foot high pass, followed by hours of winding steep hilly roads, all at temperatures over 90 F; without trailer of course.