Occasional miss when fuel level low--300E

[Sludge]

Folks, nobody's been able to pin this one down so any and all help would be appreciated.

Every once in a while (yep, the dreaded intermittant problem) my wife's 92 300E will develop a "miss" or a stumble when the fuel level is below 1/4 tank. Last time it happened to me, the stumble and miss began as soon as I started the car up. Every time I was at idle and tried to give it some gas, it would stumble, missfire, clear up, and then occasionally miss. Sometimes it is worse after going around a sharp corner, and will die completely. Sometimes it will continue to miss even at highway speeds. But it is most noticeable when trying to accelerate the engine from idle. The only cure we've found so far is to fill the gas tank. Naturally, the problem never happens anywhere near a dealer or mechanic. But it has quit just often enough to make us a little nervous about maybe getting hit from behind.

Any ideas would be appreciated. The dealer has checked all the things they can think of, but can find nothing wrong.

Thanks for any and all help
Sludge

[DieselGuy]

Sludge,

Sounds like your gas gauge may be off. The symtoms you describe sound like you are running out of fuel. I can't imagine anything other than the level sending unit in the tank giving you a false reading.

Nolan

[Sludge]

Thanks, Diesel guy. You may be right. Sometimes, however, after a few starts, it will run okay without filling it up. The only sure cure I've found, however, is to fill it up.

Thanks,
Bill

You know - I noticed this just the other day: my 190 2.6 gets just slightly rough on less than 1/4 tank. I open the tank and inevitably there's a HUGE vacuum differential. Then I fill it and it's smooth as silk again. So I'M wondering if the pressure buildup has some effect on fuel delivery.

Caveat: I never put this together until I'm fueling or I'd simply try it out and see if the car ran a little smoother. We're talking really slight stumble here - no loss of power or complete die.

[This message has been edited by makakio (edited 08-07-2000).]