1988 MB 190E Intermittent Stalling Problem
 

Hi all,

Great List! I purchased a 1988 190E with 146K for my son to use for college 3 years ago. It had an intermittent stalling and rough idle problem. After researching the issue I decided to replace the Idle Speed Actuator. Problem was still there....bad decision $237 non returnable part. Next up was replacing the Overload Protection Relay. This worked at a more reasonable $67.

Two weeks ago my son called from school and said the problem returned. When he approaches a stop or is traveling at low speed the engine would occasionally stall, this would occur a couple of times close together. It would usually restart after a little effort and be fine for the remainder of the trip. This would not happen everyday and always with a warm engine.

Before the most recent problem started he had to jump start the car after the battery died and be bought a new battery.

Could the Overload Protection Relay have been damaged by the jump start?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Bob K

Could of been damaged but the problem is more involved. It could be a leak in the fuel system, bad sensors, vacuum leaks, bad fuel pumps, bad electric parts of the fuel management system.

I had a dealt with the same problem on someones car and I fixed it by replacing the all the hoses at the fuel pump assembly because i saw a few drops of gasline left on the plastic cover. rebuilt everything for $110 and the car has been running fine. But I checked all the electrical parts of the fuel management system, replaced the ovp, checked all fuses, checked for vacuum leaks, check the fuel pumps and listened for air bubbles in the system.

<Could the Overload Protection Relay have been damaged by the jump start>

First Check:
Tell him to check the fuse on top of the OVP. They blow if the jumper was attemted without regard to battery Polarity. Very Common fault after battery jump.................

Update. The fuse on the top of the overload relay was OK. So I purchased another Overload Relay (new part w/ 2 fuses). Installed early yesterday and no stalling so far.