I drive a 1985 380 SE (gas) that was running perfect until yesterday. After work I went out to the Merc and the engine spun over but did not even pretend to fire. I wore the battery down trying. I hate seeing a Mercedes on the back of a tow truck (especially mine!). Any ideas of what I should look for? I like to do my own repairs when possible. jfuller.

You probably want to try one of the tech forums. I'd look for lack of spark, lack of fuel, lack of air, or lack of compression, probably in that order.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Ahh my old car...a 380.

Put it this way...get used to this!

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99 C43
98 S420
99 C230K
01 C240

If the car was running one minute and not the next I would look first for a broken vacum line to the brake booster. If it is cracked it could cause a intake leak large enough for the car not to start. More likely, I would check for spark. The ignition amplifiers have a tendency to die and leave you with no spark, a cheaper reason for no spark would be a shorted rotor in the distributer. Be carefull and have a fire extinguisher handy: First, pull a plug wire and see if you have spark using a sparkplug, if you don't have spark then pull the coil wire out of the dist and hold it 1/4 inch from a good ground. You should see a healthy blue spark. If you do, then your cap/rotor are probably worn. If not, your ignition amplifier MAY be bad. IMHO.

After making sure you have spark, I would check for fuel. I would check the The easiest way to do this is to turn the key to the on position and check to see if there is resistence of movement on the flap under the air cleaner. This would mean there is some fuel pressure. It would take a guage to know if you have enough to run the car however. Don not put your hands or head near the flap while trying to start. A backfire will make you use curse words you didn't know existed.

If it was me, I would bet on no spark. It's just a guess. Good luck.

Don't look at anything except the fuel pump relay. Then. after you have looked at it, take it out, open it, resolder the bad joints, stick it back in and turn the key. Then if it still doesn't go, it is most likely the transistor controlled ignition module. They are cheap on ebay but cost thousands in dealerships.
Please let us know what happens.

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Andrew
300e 294,000mi
380sel 185,998mi
380se 309,980mi

They don't cost thousands. You can actually have them repaired. It's not very scientific to assume it's one specific problem. Just because a fp relay is cheaper than the ignition module doesn't mean it's more llikely to be the problem.

Ask anyone. The fuel pump relay is the most likely cause.
And, why get your ignition module repaired when you buy one for 100 bucks on ebay?

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Andrew
300e 294,000mi
380sel 185,998mi
380se 309,980mi

Because the large transistor(sp) inside the ignition module is what usually goes bad. A ePray part may last 2 days or 2 years.

IMHO, I have seen more shorted rotor buttons and cracked vacum booster lines cause more not starts than the fuel pump relay. I just don't see how one is more likely than the the other.

Fuller, did you manage to sort it?

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Andrew
300e 294,000mi
380sel 185,998mi
380se 309,980mi