I have a 1987 190E 2.6, bought used in 1999. It now has 145K miles on it.

Last Sunday, as I was driving on the freeway, I suddenly found it difficult to accelerate going down a hill. It turned out that the anti-lock brake light suddenly went on and I felt the brakes engage. I pulled over to the nearest call box, and turned off the engine to investigate.

When I tried to start again, nothing happened. There was a clicking sound as I turned the key, and the interior lights dimmed, but nothing happened. Power windows worked, but they were much slower than usual.

I got AAA to tow me back to my house. The next day I tried to jump-start the car. The car started - BUT - as soon as I disconnected the jumper cables, the engine quit.

I checked the battery and starter connections - they were clean. I even changed the fuse in the battery cable. Still, no luck.

Anyone ever have this problem or know how to go about fixing it? Thanks for your help.