1990 MB 300E Stalling - Had been stored 1 year prior...Please help!
 

Hi,

I purchased a 1990 Mercedes Benz 300E w/87K several years ago which is in great shape. I have used it very little since because I have a 1983 300D w/159K as an everyday car.

Usually I would take it out every month or so for a run, but a year ago I changed the oil with Mobil 1 5W40 and hadn't used it since. Took it out yesterday for an inspection and it started up right away, ran it around the block a couple of times and them headed to the station when it stalled. It would not start again until 20 minutes later. Ran a couple of minutes and it stalled again. The stalling occurred while trying to accelerate from a stopped position. So I drove it back home and am looking for advise as to possible causes and suggestions.

- The car was kept in a heated garage.
- Changed the oil as stated.
- Battery Tender on battery.
- Put Stabil (stabilizer) in the gas tank.

Any help on what to do now or how to bring out of storage correctly would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Bob K

You may have water in the fuel system. Run the car until it's empty and refuel with fresh fuel.

put some fresh fuel in it. Fuel that has been sitting goes bad after a few months

1990 MB 300E - Now will now start at all! Help!!
 

Hi all,

I siphoned out the fuel and added fresh gas. Cleaned the throttle body seemed to run better so I went on a two week vacation. Yesterday went to start it up and it will not start at all. The starter turns over but it will not start.

I researched some past threads and realize it could be many parts: overload protection relay (fuse is good), fuel pump relay, fuel pump, fuel filter, spark plugs etc.

Before I start throwing parts at the car I was wondering if someone could suggest a logical order at which to proceed.

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated!

Bob K

I think I can say without too much fear of contradiction that the most likely cause is fuel system related. Varnish can really take hold after a year, and there could be plugged up fuel system components left and right.

For starters, I would replace the fuel filter just because it's a good idea to replace the filter on a car that's been sitting that long.

If that doesn't help things, a fuel pressure test would be my next step.

Meanwhile, let's get under the hood and take the air cleaner off. Get a flashlight and start digging around looking for vacuum leaks. Any old rubber is suspect on a 19 year old car. Check the hose that goes from the valve cover to the intake manifold, it likes to crack on the underside. Check the hoses that connect to the idle air valve.

Also, pull out the plugs and see if they're coated up with oil or fuel. Clean or replace them as necessary.

Take of the distributor cap and inspect the cap and rotor.


All of those are things you can check out in about an hour total.



Good luck. Post your findings.

I vote for rotor arm ...
 

Panzer may have a point but I would start with the ignition system and the cheaper components and then look to fuel issues.

Does it start fine when cold and then stall when hot?

Classic symptoms of bad rotor arm.

Do NOT fit a cheap one. Get a genuine MB replacement.

Why?

Because there's a 1 kohm resistor in the rotor arm that provides suppression. In my case this resistor failed at high temperatures.

RayH

Spray starter flues in the engine and try to start it. If it starts with your foot on the gas and it revs but wont idle start it again. rev till car is warm and if you let go of gass and it idles your idle valve is good. If not bad. your symptom of driving stopping then taking off and it dies sounds like you have a sensor problem. Mine was my temperature sensor. ( the one that controls the computer) But first put new gas in it change fuel and do what everyone else says. I wanted to tell you my story wcause my symptoms were simular.

I had a Bosch rotor installed for 5 months that had the suppressor go bad...it was measuring 1480 ohm.....so I bought a NAPA brand (made in Italy rebranded) rotor....put it in, huge improvement, and the suppressor in it measures: 1000.7 ohm....almost dead on! Its been great for a long while so far....it appeared to be of high quality.

I bet the stalling/starting issue is varnish related. Try running a heavy dose (at least one bottle full) of Redline SI-1 Fuel System Cleaner through the car, it will help a lot. I run it regularly in my 300E, and it runs perfect with it.

Thanks for the quick responses!

Began early this morning by removing and cleaning spark plugs. They were a little coated. Cleaned contacts reinstalled and car still would not start.

Then checked all vacuum hoses that I could see and there was nothing obvious. Before I went for a fuel filter, I decided to use the starting fluid. On the second attempt with starting fluid car started up! There was a slight fluctuation in RPM at idle and when I tried to give it gas there was a hesitation. When gas was applied gradually it was fine but when I punched it there was a stalling hesitation. It did stall once but started right up again.

Idled car for 30 minutes and decided to take it for a ride. As soon as I placed it in drive the car stalled and would not start up again. Starting fluid didn't work this time, just a popping noise. I am not sure how long I to use the starting fluid without doing harm so I stopped and am waiting for more advice.

Have I eliminated any possible causes? Where do I go from here? I am going out to get a new filter, that should be changed anyway.

I have a couple of days off and this is my mission.

Thanks in advance!

Bob

I have a feeling the problem is in the distributor cap and rotor.

Do yourself a favor, remove and inspect them.

When was the last time they were replaced?

Hesitation when hitting the throttle could be a clogged fuel system....run a cleaner and new fuel! And change the filter...it is probably full of varnish.

Also, check the distributor rotor and cap as mentioned.

I gotta agree on the filter and bad gas. My truck sat for a year at a shop- and ran like garbage after I finally got it back, stalling, hesitating, running lean, etc. Turns out- little brown bits of gunk was pulled into the filter from the tank. I replaced the filter, and later had to replace the fuel pump since it had sucked up all that junk. That, and burning several tanks of fuel to dilute and get rid of the old gas I couldn't siphon out took care of the problem.

Update: As suggested I purchased a distributor cap, rotor and fuel filter. Gave it one last try before installing the parts and it started right up!

Idled it for about 45 minutes and it began to run smoother. I got brave and went for a drive. First stayed within a few blocks then when there was no hesitation ventured to the highway for a 5 miles round trip.

Drove it back home let it cool down for a few hours, tried again and it started right up. Tomorrow I install the new parts and will keep using injector cleaner. I will update my progress.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Bob

Changed parts and two more days of driving and it's still running and starting fine. I am noticing that the fuel gauge needle is jumping up and down but settles most of the time at the correct reading. Any ideas on that?

Thank for all the help.....this is a great forum!

Bob K

What was the cause do you think?
 

I lost track of the thread - what was the guilty party? Fuel or ignition?

RayH

Sorry for all the confusion........ Basically the car finally started after I used the ether, it ran rough for awhile stalled a few times then seemed to return to normal. The return to normal was gradual and took a couple of hours of idling and driving. It was starting and running normal again before I changed the cap, rotor, plugs and fuel filter. So I concluded it was a fuel issue.

I think the fuel sitting somehow caused the stalling and no starting until it finally cleaned itself out with the help of "Sea Foam" motor treatment added to a couple of gallons of fresh gas.

Does this make sense?

Bob

A little cross pollination is in order here. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/244582-88-300e-m-103-auto-turns-over-wont-start.html
Regards, Eric

There's always the possibility of a vacuum leak. Rubber can easily go bad when the car is sitting up.

Bob, did you ever get to the bottom of the fuel gauge issue?
Regards, Eric

I've had flaky fuel gauge operation on a couple of my cars. Most of the time it has been a faulty gauge... replaced the gauge cluster (with a good used one) and the problem was solved. On one car it was the sender... this caused the needle to drift slightly up & down, when the fuel level was low. Both items are relatively cheap from a salvage yard or P&P. Worth swapping 'em to see what happens!

:stuart:

I did get the cluster from an 87 W124 diesel a while back (cause you told me to the get the speedo from it). Disregarding the different face markings, are those fuel gauges themselves the same?
Regards, Eric

Yes - all the 124 sedan gauges are functionally the same, except for the 124.036 which has a 90L fuel tank with a different sender. As you noted, the face markings will be different, but that's about it. I prefer to use late 124 gauges as they are more likely to be working properly, since the electronics are 6-8 years newer!

:kid:

I appreciate that but I already have the diesel one. That car had a dropped valve BTW, I never did tell you that. Remember? It was the one where they went through the trouble of pulling the whole engine only to leave the whole thing just sitting there beside the car. I also did get some of the other stuff you told me to get but a lot of it was gone though when I went back to get it. The cruise control unit was the old part number but I got it anyway because the car had fairly low miles. I'm also hoping that fact will weigh in my favor when it comes to the life expectancy of the fuel gauge.
Regards, Eric

I have a '91 300E and if I let it sit just a week, I have the same issues and have to give it a good run through and restart, clean plugs, use starter fluid, etc. I now start it and run it at least every 3 days. I had a custom boat with a Magnum 454 engine and it would usually sit until summer. I always had to hook up a water system and pre run it before going to the lake because the fuel somehow got water, deteriorated or did something within the ignition system that gunked it up. After it blew smoke and grumbled for a while, it would run like a thoroughbred out at the lake. Cars run best when used often, especially older ones (did I spell "thoroughbred" right?).

Eric,

Sorry for the delay in my reply but I was away on vacation! No I never found out what was causing the issue. After solving the stalling and starting problem, I learned to live with the occasional fuel gauge issues.

Bob K