... here goes.

You shut the engine off hot, and it cools down, but not enough to activate the cold start mechanisms. The fuel in the system contracts as it cools leaving a vacuum in the system. For some reason, it takes a lot of cranking and fuel pump running to overcome this and get some fuel to the cylinders.

So the solution was a quick shot of fuel from the cold start valve when the starter cranks.

I am not making this up.

__________________
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