190e fails start on first try

[toddro]

Hello,

My 190e rarely starts on the first try (hot or cold). It turns over fine, it just doesn't quite "grab" when it is supposed to fire about 90% of the time.

The second try is 100% effective in starting. Under the same conditions (hot or cold) it always fires right away on the 2nd try, though it does hesitate and stutter for about 1 second before the engine comes to full idle. After that it is as smooth as silk...

I just had a full tune-up with the last 4k, and I use 93 octane all the time. I'm about to run a tank of gas with techron added to see if that helps any. I would appreciate some ideas of what to check and look for to smooth out the starting...

Thanks,

Todd

[Gilly]

The 6 cylinder 190's are notorious for needing valve stem seals replaced.
Pull the plugs and inspect for deposits, it will look chalky with a slight glaze.
Are you running the correct sparkplugs?
Does a replacement of sparkplugs give you a good "first time" start for maybe 100-200 miles?

Gilly

[toddro]

I'll check the plugs and see what they look like. I don't remember if it did the same thing immediately upon their replacement or not, but I will check for the deposits you mentioned on the plugs and see if it leads in that direction.

Thanks!

Todd

[Duke2.6]

The fuel injection rate goes through a rather complex series of phases during either hot or cold cranking and start, and the 103 is notorious for not cold starting very well at around room temp and not hot starting particularly easily either - often two tries are required.

The cold start problem in warm weather is because the "cold start" temperature used for the EPA certification test is about 70F, so the cold start calibration is marginally lean at near this temp and is very sensitive to fuel vapor pressure. At colder temps, say below 50, they cold start much better.

The hot start issue can be ameliorated by depressing the throttle about 1/4 to 1/2 distance just after you turn the key and it starts to crank. It's all in the technique.

Duke

[toddro]

Thanks Duke,

My plugs look fine, and with very little oil consumption (about 1/2 quart per 3000 miles) valve stem seals do not seem to be an issue.

The fuel mixture at start-up seems to be more of the problem, but since my 2nd tries are always 100% and the engine runs beautifully once at idle, I'm not going to sweat it much. I'll see what happens once the weather gets a little cooler here...

Thanks,

Todd

[Mercedes Fred]

Ive tried letting it crank until it runs...i think the manual says as long as 5 seconds, which might sound short but its a peck of time as it cranks.

[haasman]

Todd

Try turning the key to the ON position and just wait a couple of seconds, then start.

Keep us posted,

Haasman

[toddro]

Haasman - you may be onto something...

If I turn to "on" postion and wait long enough for my antenna to go all the way up, it will fire right up on the first try.

It has been a little cooler here lately and I don't know if that has anything to do with it as well (re. previous reply) but letting sit for a few seconds in "on"position before cranking seems to be doing the trick!

Thanks again for all the replies.

Todd