When the engine is cold, it will never start the first time I crank. It fires up immediately on second crank. With engine hot, it sometimes start on first crank and always does on second.

Otherwise, the engine runs fine, a little on the rich side.

Thank you.

Turn the ignition on for a few seconds before cranking. This will allow the fuel pump to get pressure to the carbs or fuel injection pump, it's electric.

Peter

__________________
1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

To get the most information about your W113, you should join the following groups formed specifically for this very special Mercedes:

www.Pagoda113.com
and
www.SL113.org

Your problem is not uncommon, and sounds like the cold start valve.

Good luck,
Tom

Oldcars,

Peter is right. The electric fuel pump needs about 5 - 8 seconds to pressurise the fuel system. (Excess fuel is circulated back into the fuel tank) When starting, the CSV (Cold Start Valve) squirts fuel into the intake manifold for about 1 second. This is in addition to the fuel delivered normally through the fuel injectors.

If the CSV is not working, you may need to use a little throttle at start up to get it to work the first time.

Let us know if it works.

__________________
NOW: 2017 C43 AMG, 2006 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, 1966 230SL, 1980 450SL (for sale!)
PAST: 2006 C230, 1997 E300D, 1994 E420, 1994 Neon Spt Cpe, 1984 300ZX, 1983 Celica GT, 1976 Electra Limited, 1984 Honda Nighthawk 650, 1979 Suzuki PE175, 1978 Suzuki DS100
www.mbca.org - www.sl113.org - www.ohio4x4.com

Gentlemen,

I tried waiting for quite a few seconds after I hear the fuel pump hiss before cranking. Didn't work.

I'll check CSV when I get down to it and report back.

Thank you.

Wai
280sl
280se cabr

Finally, I have time to check the CSV and it is working. I also tried pressing the gas slightly before 1st crank. Not successful.

What puzzled me was it starts everytime on second crank.

I am going to compare settings between my 113 and 111 to see what I am missing.

Thanks to all.

Wai

Have you checked the valve adjustments lately? They tend to tighten up after awhile. And valves too tight will rob compression, especially the exhaust valves......... granted, this is diesel opinion but could apply to gasoline engines too.

Otherwise slow start was symptom of my 280/8 camshafts wearing down. Uncommon problem with single cam engines, but easy to check with visual inspection of cam lobes.

Before I was able to find the "ultimate" fix to my starting problem, I was experimenting with ways to start the car on first crank.

One morning, I started it on 1st crank by pumping the gas pedal in quick successions while cranking. It started in about 4 seconds of cranking.

I successfully repeated this on subsequent mornings. However, I still need to get to the bottom of problem.

Wai