thanks so much for the clarification -- this forum is great! i hope it was just bad gasoline, but i'd have expected the idle to be inconsistent/rough if there was water in the tank. instead, the engine ran nice and smoothly, as long as i kept the RPMs up with my foot on the gas pedal. so i guess i'll get the wiring harness checked out and ask my mechanic about the other components you guys mentioned.

by the way, the ASR light didn't light up until day 2 -- does this have any significance?

another related question: since i've had the car (about 6 months now), it always has done the following: i turn the key, engine starts, rpm goes up, then dips to like 300-400, then settles in at 500-700. no shudder, no rough idling, but for a split second it always feels like the car will stall out (though it never does). do other people's 400Es do this, too?

i should add that this is different from what happened in canada -- there, the car wouldn't start at all unless i had my foot on the gas as i was cranking the engine, and i had to keep my foot lightly on the gas pedal to keep the rpms in the 700 range at "idle".

thanks again!

-janos

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Janos
1989 560SEL
1993 400E
1994 E320 wagon