PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post - If the starter gets too hot, will it not engage?

Veloce300DT · #2 05-27-2006, 08:15 PM

A couple of years ago my 300DT was doing the same thing... cool starts fine. Hot starts not happening. I figured it was my starter. I was planning a trip to L.A. and didnt want to get stuck on the road, but the car was acting normal.. it would even start on hot starts. My mechanic didnt think the problem was with the starter so he didnt touch it- and told me to drop back if it wouldnt start up again. But for some reason it was fine for the next few days.
So im on my way to L.A., stop for gas about 3 quarters of the way there. I was hesitant to turn the car off incase it would decide to not start... but I had to in order to fuel. So I did. And of course it wouldnt start after. I was with some friends so we rolled the car into a shady parking spot and popped the hood. After doing some crossword puzzels and reading, the car had cooled down considerably. BUT it wouldnt start. SO i had a friend jump in the driver seat and turn the ignition key, while i got under the car and started hitting the starter with my lug wrench. Sure enough it started right up! As soon as we got to our destination in Huntington beach, I dropped the car off at a shop in Costa Mesa and had them replace my starter. Its been fine since.

There a many things that can keep a car from starting, but id suspect that it might be your starter. A friend of mine had her starter replaced in her 300SD before embarking on a trip to Oregon. However, the replacement starter wasn any better than the old one.. and the replacement unit was a Bosch unit. SO when she got back to CA, she took it back to the shop that replaced it- an MB indie, whom promptly told her that it was probably a faulty unit from Bosch. They replaced it at no charge this time.

Im not sure if this is your prob, but in my only experience with my w123 failing to start, it was the starter.