190E 16V Hot Start ("Hot Soak") Problem

[Jim Herold]

My 1987 190E 16V exhibits classic hot start ("hot soak") symptoms according to what I read and copied from a post elsewhere in this ShopForum:

Engine cold - no problem starting
Engine warm but not fully warmed up - no problem
Engine fully warmed up (30 min driving) but only parked a short while - no problem
Engine fully warmed up (30 min driving) but parked a long while (over 1 hour) so it cools down - starts (but idle is so low that engine will die-- need to keep foot on accelerator until idle returns to normal)
Engine fully warmed up (30 min driving) and parked about 10-30 min - turns over normally but will not start

The car runs perfectly in every other respect. From reading various posts, I suspect a faulty fuel accumulator. At the minimum, testing the accumulator seems like a logical place to start.

I have a C.I.S. fuel injection pressure tester which I have never used on a Mercedes. I would appreciate advice on making the proper two hose connections (one for the hose with the valve on it and one for the hose without the valve) and the correct way to test for the drop in pressure that would identify a faulty fuel accumulator.

I also copied the following test procedure from another ShopForum post. This test doesn't require any test equipment:

"The accumulator is located by the pump, back of the right (passenger side) rear wheel. It has 2 fuel lines pre '80 and 1 fuel line post '81 and all have a little fuel hose on the back side running back to the fuel feed hose from the tank. The testing is kind of low tech. Plug/clamp the little hose on the back side going to the feed hose then disconnect it from the accumulator. With pan to catch the gas start the car and look to see if fuel comes out the back side of the accumulator. You will have a squirt of gas when you first start it which is normal, remember it is hooked to the fuel feed hose, but after that NO fuel what so ever should come out of it. I really mean NONE! Let the engine run a couple of minutes and watch it to see if it leaks. Shut off the engine and watch it some more to see if any fuel drips out of the accumulator. If any fuel comes out while it is sitting or running the accumulator is bad and needs to be replaced. I replace the check valve in the end of the fuel pump whenever I replace an accumulator just for good measure plus they are cheap."

If I'm on the right track, I'd very much appreciate any advice on the best way to make a test of my fuel accumulator.

Thank you very much--Jim Herold