Hi, this is regarding our '96 C220 that my wife has posted about. I'm not sure if my wife explained the problem right, and it sounds like some of you might be confused too.

FYI:

The owners manual might be incorrect. I have noticed that with the alarm activated, the starter will engage, but the ignition won't. I believe that the relay you guys are talking about kills the ignition, not the starter. Any comments?

Our problem:

The starter seems to engage just fine. If I try to start it, the motor will start for a fraction of a second, then stall immediately. If I touch the gas pedal at all, the engine floods. On the rare occasion that it does start, the motor runs and idles just fine. To start any motor requires fuel and spark. Since it almost starts, and runs fine when it does, I assume it's getting both fuel and spark. Since the engine seems to flood if I touch the pedal while starting, I'm assuming it's getting enough fuel. My theory is that it's not getting enough spark, or not cranking the engine fast enough to start.

Any ideas? Could faulty plug wires or fouled plugs cause this? Could the starter not be cranking fast enough cause this also?
The motor has almost 100k on it and probably needs new plug wires anyway.

Thanks,

--Mark