Update - We checked and its getting fire to the plug wires. I dont know if he removed the plugs to see if they were gassy or not... I will check.

Nope, dont have a fuel pump jumper or any wire... maybe I can find some.

edit - I have discovered that this is actually the A/C relay by another forum and the poster below - thank you.
Anyway, is this the fuel pump relay? I just removed it and took a pic of it. (It was the one closest to the brake booster). Appears its been tested/replaced before... is there any way to test these?

To recap... we have fire to the plugs, fuel pump is "hissing" when switch is on... car will "try" to start, but will not. Maybe at this point replace the fuel filter and see if thats any help?

Thanks once again!

Another update - put the relay back in to try to start (someone said it could be the alarm system malfucntioning causing it not to start, but I dont think so on one this old- disabling the fuel flow), but it did finally start and run good at idle, but it would miss and stumble on acceleration and exhaust smelled strange. I turned it off, then it would not start again.

That's the A/C compressor relay, not the fuel pump relay. Should be right next to it, though.

__________________
1988 California version 260E (W124)
Anthracite Grey/Palomino
Owned since new and still going strong and smooth
MBCA member

Past Mercedes-Benz:
1986 190E Baby Benz
1967 230 Inherited from mom when she downsized
1959 220S Introduced me to the joys of keepin' 'em goin'

There are only 10 kinds of people in the world--those who understand binary and those who don't

Thanks. Yeah, someone on another Mercedes site informed me of this as well... I had forgot to edit.

Guess we are going to get a new rotor for the dist cap tomorrow and see if thats the problem... if not, going to try to purchase a used FPR and go from there. Seems like it could be so many different things.

The rotor is cracked and looks burned... going to replace and go from there....

I've been following this thread and I hope that fixes your problem. Of course the first thing to check is the basics, but sometimes that's hard to get across and people tend to think it's something more serious.
Here's a rotor that worked fine for a long time then one day the engine wouldn't re-start.

Good luck.

__________________

1993 190E 2.3
2001 SLK230
1971 LS5 (454) Corvette Convertible

Wow thats bad. Well, that apparently was not the problem. Car is still running poorly and missing. He had to "prime" it to even get it to start. I am betting its the FPR... but hate to pay $90 for a new one if thats not the problem. Mom needed the car like yesterday. Oh well.

Well, the car may not even be worth repairing by the time my dad gets done with it... messing with things he dont know anything about. Went out and he was about the remove the gas lines to the FI system to check for pressure, etc. I told him that here and most other sites are telling me that its 90% likely that its the fuel pump relay. I am going to get him to call my uncles Mercedes mechanic in South Carolina... supposedly the best there is.

Did you try putting a jumper on the fuel pump relay to run the fuel pumps so you could verify if the relay is bad?

__________________

1993 190E 2.3
2001 SLK230
1971 LS5 (454) Corvette Convertible

Well we dont have a jumper, but someone said we could use a regular wire. ?

We can hear the pumps come on though when we turn the ignition on....

Well, if the pump runs for a few seconds every time you turn on the key, it would seem the FPR is functioning.
Glad to hear it finally cranked and idled good for awhile -- that rules out a lot of things, like a jumped timing chain (ouch) and probably the ignition components.
Just sounds like fuel starvation, and the video sounds like that's it also.

Here's a test; but be very careful.
Try to start it, and hit it with starter fluid; if it revs up, then it's not ignition for sure.
Pull the top of the air filter off & Pour a small amount of fuel, a couple of ounces, down the throttle body, then immediately try to start it. If it revs up then dies, you have a fuel delivery problem. Have a fire estinguisher ready just in case - never hurts.

Instant, catastrophic fuel delivery failure points to a fuel pressure regulator, or as we discussed, clogged filter (or a load of bad gas - you had just filled up, right?). Since you did get it to idle and run a bit, I'm betting on the filter, and/or a bad load of gas, not the pressure regulator.

DG
DG

Before replacing any parts, I would make sure that the lower hose on the Idle Control Valve is securely connected on both ends. Make sure the lower hose is still connected to the bottom of the intake boot.

__________________

1993 190E 2.3
2001 SLK230
1971 LS5 (454) Corvette Convertible

Thanks. Those hoses are tight. Dad talked to my uncles Mercedes mechanic and he told my dad how to test to make sure it was not the FPR by telling him what to "jumper". He did and the car still will not start. He said if it wasnt that, it could be the crank position sensor... we only have no idea where its at? From what I have found on searches its on that black box behind the driverside headlight, but looks like it runs to a very bad place to get to and it has those original wire ties around it.

When pouring fuel in by hand, always use a small cup and empty it completely. There is always a risk of backfire.
Also stand well to the side of the car, not with your head above the engine.

This may seem obvious, but I have seen it happening.

Rob

Rob

Still lookin' huh?
The 103 engine has two crank position sensors:

One is located in the front, just above the harmonic balancer, at about the 1:00 o'clock position when viewed from the front. This one only drives the tach, so it's not your problem. The cable goes over to a module on the LF fender.

The rear one is the one that provides the ignition with it's inputs. It's located at the rear on the upper left, just above the flywheel at the block/bellhousing interface. My car is gone today, but as I remember it's not too hard to spot.
It's cable plugs into the N1/2 module on the left fender, same one the coil wire attaches to.
Don't remember seeing a simple test procedure herein for this one.
May require a scope or scanner to monitor it.
One would think, however, that if the sensor malfunctions, you might get some wet plugs or some backfire if the fuel was entering the cylinders but not firing in the proper sequence.

DG