Newbie Needs Help
 

Hello everyone..:)

I have been actively browsing this forum for over 2 years now..
and found it very interesting, very much helpful and knowledgeable.
Whenever I encounter problems with my car or needed tips, I am able to
find it here..:cool:

However, I am now stuck with this problem that I have not seen any of you guys post in this forum previously..I am therefore itching to find the solution..:dizzy2:

O.k first thing first...A quick introduction..

I am from Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, my ride is a 1985 W201 190E 2.0 Manual
that comes with Bosch KE-Jetronic Fuel Injection. Iam the second owner since the year 2000. When I bought the car in year 2000 the odometer was not working so I have no idea what is the mileage like..:confused:
But the engine looked like it had been overhauled before.

It had been running great until only recently. (About a month ago)

The first symptom I had was the engine stalled for a split second whenever I went through a speed bump or speed breaker whatever yuo call it. But this is intermittent. I'll say out of 10 speeed bump I went it will stall about 3-4 times.

Initally I thought the fuel tank is clogged, so I relaced the fuel filter, but the symptom still persist. Then I swap the fuel pump relay and OVP with a friend's unit also does not help at all. (But my fuel pump relay and OVP runs find on his car though). The spark plug has also been replaced.

About 2 weeks after that the problem turned into a nightmare. Now the car is unable to move at all. First it is getting difficult to start.(It will fire only after 10 or 15 cranks) Usually it will fire on the first crank hot or cold.

When the engine finally starts, it will idle nicely but every time I press the throttle halfway it will sputter and die. As though it is starving on fuel. In other words, the engine dies when given load.

I thought the fuel pump is bad, so I replaced a new fuel pump but still it sputters when I press the throttle halfway and very difficult to start.

Before I start to replace more things I just wonder if anyone had experience this problem before..

Sorry for such long posting..:o but I am really curios to find the answer.

Thanks in advance..:)

Speed bumps hmmm... you might want to check the wire/signal from your O2 sensor. I was quite suprised to find out yesterday that an O2 sensor is quite capable of stalling a KE car. Whats your average ambient air temperature there? (What does the temp gage read when it's stalling?) If its hot enough you might get into closed loop pretty quickly and the O2 would be able to do its work. Best quick test is to unplug it and see if it still stalls.

Stalling on bumps
 

Your problem sounds like either an electrical loose connection or a short circuit. If your car has a crank position sensor, I'd suggest you check the condition of the cable which connects this to the ignition system. This cable can deteriorate and the rubber insulation can then crack and fall off. This would allow the wires inside to short circuit and the ignition system would lose the timing signal.

I had this happen on a Volvo. The car would briefly stall and the starting got harder and harder until it refused to start at all. It was the crank position sensor.

I'm not familiarwith you model but my '85 300E has this sensor.

Start jiggling wires (and other parts) when the car is at idle. If lucky, you may find the problem.

RE : Newbie Needs Help
 

Thanks for the feedback guys...:)

I have checked the O2 sensor and tried jiggling whatever wires I can find in the engine bay during idling but the engine just keepin on idling.

The idling is also smooth and all seems normal....until I press the accelerator, then it will sputter and the engine will die. But if I quickly let my foot off the accelerator pedal the engine continues to idle normally. :dizzy2:

For you info, the average ambient temperature is not on the extreme side....77 degrees F to 95 degrees F. :)

I have also checked the spark, looks normal to me.
I also confirmed threre is fuel available inside both incoming and return fuel line.

However I suspect either the fuel accumulator (located close to the fuel pump and fuel filter) or the fuel distributor to be the culprit. But need you guy's opinion before I replace them.:confused:

So guys, could it be the fuel accumulator or fuel distributor. Will it give the same symptom (engine stalled when I press the accelerator) should any of these 2 components fail?:confused:

Thanks again for reading this thread...:)

Cheers ;)

Do you know how to pull the EHA?
(Little black box on the back of the fuel distributor with two prong plug)
You have to remove the air cleaner housing to see it. Pull the plug, reassemble, and test drive to rule out electric engine management components as the source of the problem.

Newbie needs Help
 

O.K ..Thanks Marty....I will try to clean the EHA this weekend.

One quick question, has anyone replace the fuel accumulator (located close to the fuel pump and fuel filter) or the fuel distributor before?

If yes, why and what is the symptom should these 2 components fail??

Thanks guys.

Ok. But remember, you dont clean it. You unplug it. (takes 5 minutes) Then if it stalls you know it is not related to computer management. :)

It's The Ignition Contol Unit
 

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the suggestions..:) Finally I managed to solve the problem.
The culprit is the IGNITION CONTROL UNIT. I swapped it with a friend's unit and it fired on first crank..Never thought it could cause such problem.

It seems like the Ignition Contol Unit failed to produce healthy spark as the engine revs increases. Anyway I bought a used unit for less than USD 100 and it cured the problem instantly...:) While doing that, I also managed to get a used Mallory Promaster Ignition Coil. Man, you guys should see the how fat and strong spark it generates..:eek:

Thanks again guys...now I am a happy man..:D

Cheers,