1990 300 sl hard starting

hard starting when car parked for one hour or longer(cold temp or warm temp),suspect fuel problem?how many fuel pumps?do they have ck valves?an accumulator?ovp relay?how do i ck...(coolant temp sensor and ignition components replaced),with tuneup.any help would be appreciated..thank you....

[pmizell]

Your 129 has 2 fuel pumps with check valves along with a fuel accumulator. The setup is located just forward of the rear wheel, passenger side underbody, under a black protective cover.

You can test to see if both pumps are operating by pulling the MAS relay and checking amp draw between big pins 1 and 2. Proper specs for 2 pumps is 6 to 7.5 amps.

Not sure if the early 3.0 104 engine has an OVP or not, but I suspect it does. Most likely located behind battery on passenger side.

Another suspect could be the fuel pressure regulator or old fuel filter.

GL

what is an mas relay?
can i check the check valves and accumulator or would i just be better off replacing them?
how about the ovp relay,how would that prevent quick and normal starts?
thank you...

[bobterry99]

M.B. Doc explained it to me here.

[stevebfl]

The MAS is a larger OVP. It is just a power supply relay with spike protection. Sort of like a UPS for your PC.

The answer to your basic question depends on the natuer of your problem. If you have a problem cold the accumulator is not involved. If your problem is hot restart it could be. A hot restart problem would occur between 15minutes and an hour after stopping (with hot motor). The problem in these instances is a vapor locking condition due to fuel boiling when it isn't under pressure.

The fuel pressure builds almost instantly so the pressure doesn't have to last any longer than that which is necessary to increase the boiling point during the hottest period.

If on the other hand your problem is cold it is less likely to be fuel delivery related as fuel pumps that eventually work (at 6+amps each), work best when cold. More likely in this event is the lack of fuel enrichment (if this problem is fuel related and not ignition) for cold starting and cold running. This is accomplished by the EHA current being higher when cold. In cars with OVPs the way they affect cold starting is by shutting down the KE controller thus there is no enrichment at all.

[pmizell]

I just learned that the 300SL ('90-'93) has a 103 engine (103.984) with an OVP as well.

GL

i replaced the fuel pump check valves and the accumulator (which was leaking)..NO HELP..the car will not start on the first attempt..either overnight or if it has been shutdown 30 minutes or longer,second attempt,chugs a little then spools up and is fine.it runs good..can it be an ignition coil?fuel regulator?how can i check.i hate to throw parts at a problem.ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED...