Hello All,

I just searched the archives and found some possible answers to the problem, but would like some input from those who know.

The 91 300e belongs to a friend of mine.. a nice 70 year old man. It had been impossible to crank at times. I told him about the Over Voltage Relay and he should mention this to the dealer in Raleigh (Leith) if it happens again. Well, it's happened again and again.

It wouldn't start.. dealer charged $200 and said it was fixed, a few weeks later same thing happened. Took to dealer, he replaced the coil ($400) and my friend left. Car died at stoplight.. this time sputtered and died, would not crank. (It seems things are getting worse) Leith has had it for 18 days now, he hasn't heard from them and he asked me to see if anyone could advance ideas as to why it's now sputtering and dying, whereas before it just wouldn't crank.

I have found in my search that someone mentioned Renassiance (sp) in Raleigh does good work and I will tell him about that. My friend is in Rocky Mount, NC so if anyone knows of good MB mechanics in that area, please let me know. But if anyone can give me some info for him to tell Leith as where to look or what to do, (or maybe "where to go"?) it will be much appreciated.

Thanks

__________________
Nello Tare

1982 300D (266,001 mi.) looking and running great

Previously owned:
1976 450 SLC
1983 300D
1976 300D
also
1982 Jaguar XJ6 (loved, but gone)

By "impossible to crank" means that the starter motor won't work, I'd take a good look at the basic wiring from the battery to both the hot side and especially the ground run.

__________________
'76 240D-Sold
'78 240D-Sold
'85 300 SD, 165K-Sold
'88 300 TE, 165K-Sold
'64 Porsche 356C Cabriolet- under restoration
'86 560SL 124K Miles-Sold
'94 320E Wagon, 74K Miles-128K Miles JUNKED
'06 E350 Wagon, 84K Miles
07 SL550, 14K Miles

Make sure your friends purchases a new OVP! You can even get it here on this website. Good luck..

__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

Thanks Guys! I'll pass on the information to Bill. I guess the bad thing is that I'm not there in person to go "down the list" with the mechanics. But I'll send Bill this info and see if it helps with the dealership. thanks again!

__________________
Nello Tare

1982 300D (266,001 mi.) looking and running great

Previously owned:
1976 450 SLC
1983 300D
1976 300D
also
1982 Jaguar XJ6 (loved, but gone)

I recently had the same problem with our '90 300E - sputtering and stalling. My problem turned out to be a dead alternator. The engine was running the battery down to nothing. The tough part was that there was no warning light, and the alternator even tested good (off the car on a test bench)! I decided to replace it anyway since there weren't too many other possibilities. That did it. It's been fine for 6+ months now.

I hope this helps...

Hmmmm.. I seriously hadn't really thought about the alternator.. thanks Dennis.. I'll pass that along also. Maybe it is something just that simple

__________________
Nello Tare

1982 300D (266,001 mi.) looking and running great

Previously owned:
1976 450 SLC
1983 300D
1976 300D
also
1982 Jaguar XJ6 (loved, but gone)