Yes! My kid brother just got himself a 1990 190e 1.8 (call it Kidbenz). Pic to be posted soon. It's got 15" AMGs and is lowered. Looks good but has an intermittent hard start problem, hot or cold. He just called me a couple of minutes ago and said that he managed to run the car on the 10th start with some help from the accelerator. Earlier starts with accel did not help. Idles perfectly thereafter. No stalling problem. Also mentioned that while idling, there is a loud, low humming sound that comes on every few minutes for about 5 seconds from the rear of the car. Fuel pump going bad??? Slight smell of fuel everytime the car is parked. What gives??? I have spare OVP and FPR that we will put in tomorrow and see how it goes. But I am pretty sure the humming is a sign of the FP going south. Am I wrong? Lastly, while idling, there is a significant hissing sound in his 190e near the fuse box that is not apparent on my car. Is it a leak? Kidbenz has just been around for 6 days and I really want my kid bro to enjoy his Benz. Anyone have thoughts about this long list of crap? Fortunately, cooling is no issue in his car and i am helping him to install a second aux fan as his only has one. His electromag fan is working, unlike mine... Azhari Singapore Babybenz 1991 190e 1.8

azhari - go after the fuel leak/smell first. Not good. Then figure out the hard start problem.

I think you are on to something regarding the fuel pump. Check to see if the fuel filter has been replaced recently.

Often fuel leaks and problems can easily be found on the cars by removing the air cleaner housing. Gives you a good view.

Haasman

__________________
'03 E320 Wagon-Sold
'95 E320 Wagon-Went to Ex
'93 190E 2.6-Wrecked
'91 300E-Went to Ex
'65 911 Coupe (#302580)

Yep.

We're gonna be doin' that tomorrow!

Azhari
Singapore
Babybenz 1991 190e 1.8

Azhari... Congratulations to your kid brother on becoming a Benz owner for the first time! Welcome to the club! Just reading your comments about the rear humming sound every few seconds. If you look at my previous threads somewhere around and others, we have found this to be vacuum leaks in the car's vacuum circuit which cause the vacuum pump on the right wall near the fuel filler door to over-activate in order to keep up the correct vacuum levels. Every few seconds it humms or buzzes, this is the vacuum pump noise. Usually the pump is not at fault. Costs at least A$1200 to replace it when its actually the vacuum hoses or the vacuum open/close rubber diaphrams which have gone bad and these are cheaper to replace. A techie here was over enthusiastic in replacing the pump as well as doing a full A$1200 sunroof repair job when another more honest techie did a grease job for a couple of dollars and fixed the sunroof jamming!!!! It pays to look around. I think the fuel pump does not humm or buzz, it has a high frequency hiss instead.

Hey Hocky

Took a look again at Kidbenz a couple of minutes ago and it really sounds like a low hum instead of a hiss.

Sort of like a ship's horn.

Logically, it looks like a vacuum problem. By the way, the hissing sound near the fuse box has gone...hmmm...have to look for vacuum leaks i guess...

But the slight petrol odor near the right rear sight is still there.No visible petrol leaks.

I swapped his OVP relay (old single fuse type with black?? top) with my spare one (dual fuse with red top) and we'll see if it solves his starting problem. Haven't swapped out his Fuel Pump Relay with my spare one coz we wanna see how it goes with the OVP.

Yipee-ki-yay!!!

Someone mentioned about this same ship's fog horn thing a while ago, but I thought mine sounded more like a deep buzz. Anyway, aside from the accuracy of the actual noise, I still think that its the vacuum circuit thats stuffed or one of the other smaller components along the circuit rather than the vacuum pump itself(hopefully!). Didn't you hear this noise during the test drive? I have seen people and car salesmen who deliberately turn on the car radio or show off the hifi loudly during the test drive to drown out any suspicious noises they know will warn you of problems ahead. This is what happenned to me. Are all the vacuum activated stuff working like the doors, aircon thingies(under the dash) and the dropping rear headrests(if you have them)??? Good luck in your search and report your progress, thanks.

Kidbenz is here!

Thanks for the reply guys. The hissing seems to have gone away. But guess what Babybenz, i waz going to a wedding yesterday and had problems with the start up again. i tried pumping the accelerator for a bit and slowly ....very slowly .....releasing it. It work to keep the engine running. So I guess the new OVP relay replacement wasnt the exact cause.

As for the horn sound, doenst seem to be giving any obvious problems but just wanted to be sure thats it's not gonna cause any!

Other than that the baby runs like a beauty....of course aside from the WHITEness of the car. Gets dirty like every 10 mins after i just wash the car. (Babybenz got the pic ready to post?)

And finally thanks for the welcome to the club. I know Babybenz has been waiting for me to join!

Ladies & Gents...

Pls welcome Kidbenz!!!

Azhari
Babybenz 1991 190e 1.8

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And this is Babybenz again...



Azhari
Babybenz 1991 190e 1.8

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While changing out Kidbenz's bulbs to "white lights", we all heard a fog horn coming from the rear of the car.

Car had been switched off 10 minutes earlier and was not running when the sound was heard.

What gives???

Seemed to us like it was air being released...

Anyone???

Babybenz was hit in the back this morning by a big reversing truck and will be in the shop for a couple of days.

Kidbenz will be with me for a couple of days coz my kid bro' is outta town.

I'll be looking at trying to solve his issues.

Seems that his car (hard-start prob) will start provided the accelerator is pressed whilst starting and maintained for a couple of secs before allowing to idle.

Hmmm....

Azhari
Babybenz 1991 190e 1.8

Check the EHA on the fuel distributer for leaks.

Hi kidbenz! Very nice one you got there! You know my last trip there, I was passing the Ocean Building one evening going out for dinner and we passed a white Benz and I mutterred some obscenities about the taxi and guess what? The owner who was standing nearby gave me a very dirty look as it wasn't a taxi!!!LOL. I nearly bought a white one too, a 200E which belonged to some diplomat who was upgrading and it was only S$3000 without any COE for export. However, the Govt here didn't allow my cheap import cos it would make the Benz dealers here "broke" if you can believe their story! Have fun with it, hope there's not too much hidden unrepaired stuff to be done to it. Be prepared like the Scout's motto!

I was driving down a country lane last weekend and saw a delightful 180E with a phone number on it. Will explore this one if its cheap, just for the wife! Will see it again tonight after work. Doesn't get dark here until 9pm Summer time! Possibly only A$12,000 to 14,000, not more.

Have to buzz off to work now, so until then, have a good day!

Been around in Kidbenz since yesterday and every 20 mins or so while driving, there is a "ship's fog horn" sound coming from below the car that lasts abt 3 secs.

Sounds like a vacuum leak. But all the vacuum operated stuff is working. Apart from the sound, the hard start problem is still there, needing a prod on the accelerator with the key turn to facilitate starting.

What the...

Azhari
Babybenz 1991 190e 1.8

Ha, ha, ha! Has this happenned to anyone else before.............................. a _arting Benz!!!! Must have had a full load of beer in the tank or drank some Cognac instead of premium unleaded!

Told you that mine had this too, but the duration was about 3 seconds and every 2 seconds from engine start to about 10 minutes into the trip, then it stops automatically for the rest of the journey, why I don't know. The engine also produces a vacuum and together it may be sufficient for the system.

It only happens now on engine start, just 1 solitary _art only, then its the sound of silence(if you can call it that). My engine is a bit noisy, due to the timing chain and maybe lack of sufficient sound deadeners in the front, under the dash and floors. The muffler is a lot quieter now with the change. Left some cars way behind yesterday when I did a dash from the red lights like one of those supercharged cars. They were surprised I tell you. I just floored the accel. to test it. Can't believe it went so fast!

Yeah, tell me abt it!

Kidbenz seems much more eager to sprint than Babybenz. I gotta take a closer look under the hood coz somethin's wrong here...

Babybenz seems heavier to get up to speed (w/o aircon) than Kidbenz (with aircon)!What's up with that???

Must be truck's engine under the hood. I can't think of anything else.

Well, this morning, the _arting sound was not apparent (30 min drive) so if it ain't broken,........



Azhari
Babybenz 1991 190e 1.8