Intermittent Stalling/Diffifult Hot-starts Solved, here's how....

[Mervyn]

Here's something to share with all MB owners. Recently I'd gone thru a frustrating experience with intermittent stalls, especially when the car is coming to a slow, say at a traffic junction or a bend, and it stalls. Subsequent starts then become more difficult, taking more cranks than usual. And at times, it stalls again right after it got fired up. I've gone thru practically all the threads in this forum (as well as other forums on other makes), and there are really a dozen of possible causes out there. Trust me. In cases like mine where the availability of good and proper diagnostic specialists and equipment is rare, this forum is where it matters. For my case, while my mechanic can only second-guess what causes the problem, at least I can reaffirm it. So guys, if you have a problem and you think you need second and third opinions, go do a search in this forum. Or at best, post a new topic.

Ok, lets get to the point. If you experience the above problems, start by checking these 2 parts:
1. Idle Control Valve/Idle Speed Stabilizer
2. Ignition Control Module

These are the parts that I replaced, and the stalling's gone. It aint really cheap, but they do look way past their time and I feel better changing them. The idle control valve especially, you should see the amount of deposits and gunk on it, its way disgusting!

The car feels like it has a fresh new life now.

Other very possible causes are:
3. Fuel Pump Relay (and perhaps other related relays)
4. Distributor Cap and Rotor (inexpensive replacement)
5. Ignition Coil (inexpensive replacement)
6. Vacumm hose clogged/leaked

My conclusion is that for stalling problems, usually it is either the ignition system or the idle control components, or both. I would advise that if you know your cap and rotors,plug wires, plugs, are old, change them first. And then further diagnose the problem. No point chasing after problems which could in fact be attributed by old parts which naturally could not perform due to wear-and-tear.

Of course there are other causes relating to a stalling problem, but those that I'd highlighted here are at best peculiar to my own. Hope the info is useful.

Mervyn
1983 W126 (280 SEL)