I had a talk last night with my ultimate resource, a tech team lead at the area's largest dealership. He suggested first checking the basics: battery charging, grounds, clean leads, etc.

Then he mentioned three possible causes: bad base moduel, bad ECM, and the trans module locking up the torque converter and killing the engine. He also said to check the harnesses for oil "wicking" from the transmission and from the cam ajdusters.

So I took a look at the base module and noticed some oil in the bottom of the relay compartment. To get a better look, I unhooked the trans module and noticed oil around the connecting pins. Then I removed the trans module, and trans fluid spilled out of it as I turned it. I put it in a pan, and I would say a cup of fluid ran out.

So my working theory is that being full of oil caused the module to malfunction and occasionally lock up the TC.

I will try to get the case off try to clean it up and see what that does for the stalling problem.

__________________
Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe