Ever since I replaced my cap and rotor, I've discovered that on very hot days, my '87 300e wouldn't start. It'll crank right up in the morning or evening, but not when the sun is out and it's HOT. Some thought it was vapor lock, some thought it was heat soak, I thought it was the battery, but Autozone checked mine in the car and said it was fine.

"596 CCA, 12.96 Volts @ 107 degrees, battery's fine for an 87 benz."

After a few more non-starts (which were always fixed by a handy jump), I replaced the battery this morning.

It turns out that my battery was an 805 CCA battery, so there WAS a problem with it (it was also about 6 years old). The tech assumed that I had a stock 550 CCA battery.

I put in the new one (850 CCA), got it started and drove the freeway a while to charge it up.

I'm pretty sure this gremlin has bit the dust.

Whew!

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1987 300e "200,000+ and going strong"