I need help with my 92' 190. I drove my wife to work and it started fine. Made two stops, one being to the filling station. Car ran fine on the way home on the interstate. Car sat for not even an hour....went to start it and heard a faint pop more like a puff and the car won't start. It will engage the flywheel. Headlights work fine so I didn't think it was a low battery issue. Spark plugs were just changed during recent service about a month ago. I checked all the wire connections and I think I smelled gas but thought that I may have flooded it while trying to pumping the peddle a bit to get the car started.

Will the fuel pump go out without warning like that? If it is the fuel pump, how can I get the car started long enough to get it out of my buildings garage so I can access a tow truck to get it to my service person around the corner?

If the engine is turning over the first thing is to test for spark. Pull a plug wire and put an old spark plug in the wire and ground the plug to the engine while holding it with insulated plyers. If you don't get spark it is in the ignition system.
If you get a good spark you need to check for fuel. You can spray some starting fluid down the air intake on the throttle body and if it starts breifly, then its fuel.
If the engine wont crank over with the starter the battery may be low or the starter may be bad. If the starter kicks and wont turn over with a good battery the engine could be seized. I hope that its not. Hope this helps.

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1990 190E 2.6
1996 Grand Voyager 3.3
1985 Mustang GT 5.0 5 SPD
1982 Suzuki GS 750T

JDUB,

Thanks for your help. I checked for spark and have power. Sprayed the airway and the engine turned over briefly. So, we are
dealing with a fuel system problem.

Based on the brief engine start, it is impossible to move the car out of the high-rise garage I live in. So, should I check injectors to see if they are injecting fuel next or replace the fuel pump? I did a search for fuel pump replacement and found several posts but only one who experienced something similar to mine. They replaced the fuel pump and filter and she started up fine with no more problems. I think they had the dealer do it. I have an email in to them to find out what the costs was. I checked fastlane and cost is 198.00 for pump and 17.00 for filter. Now, I just hope the job is do-able for a newbie.

Didn't know a fuel pump could go out so instantly. Based on other posts, others seem to have experienced noises coming from the fuel pump or sputtering, or even idling problems. Also, mine occurred right after sitting for an hour after a fill-up. Only use Premium gas and fill-up everytime I fuel. I even use the gum-out cleaner every three fill-ups. I guess I just lucked on a fuel pump that died after my 133K anniversary

Any other thoughts?

Thanks again

PLEASE check the fuel pump relay! That bad boy will cause your 190 to stop in the middle of nowhere for no reason. You can jump the pins to see if it will start (forgot which ones - a little help from a senior member please). Mine had a cold solder joint. I didn't even have to replace it. I just resoldered the bad joint. If you buy a new relay, it'll run about $150. When the fuel pump on mine went, it hummed and sang for a month. In fact, it never "went out" completely, I just got sick of the noise and the gas smell.

Joseph Monk
85 190E War Pony - 156K

where are the spark plugs
and how do i check them?

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87' 300E champagne - Euro headlights and corners, 8-hole rims, 140,000miles/220,00km.

i know you said you check the spark plugs but sometimes when my 190 does that and i smell the gas smell and have that poping noise, i pullthe plugs, drop in new ones and bingo it starts. don't know what it is but i always have spare set of plugs and a wrench handy. its worth a shot, its only $15 max for a set. Ken

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Ken
87 190E2.6

Everyone Thanks for your replys! I'm back on the road!

After checking the fuel pump, fuel filter, fuel relay, everything was found to be okay. The problem was with a faulty over volt relay. Ended up replacing it for $104 and it starts as normal.