Hey friends, I have my '91 300E m103 that's been an ongoing project that I drive every day. The other day, due to a shift in the radiator, a radiator hose was sliced by the clutch fan and spewed coolant over the entirety of the engine bay, save the battery compartment. When this happened, all dash lights flickered but the car was still running fine.

The next day, I went back where I left the car to meet up with AAA to tow it back to my house, at which point the car started fine and I could run it long enough to line it up with the tow truck. Got it home, put in the new hose and fastened down the radiator a bit better, and the car was stone dead, battery was totally done for. It's a new battery, maybe two months old. Jump it up and the car runs fine, I can drive it wherever and it won't cut out. It also starts right up, after turning it off, but if the car sits, the battery is stone dead again. Could this be a draw? I deleted the wiper fluid bottle and lines the day if the radiator hose slice, could that have anything to do with it? Is it an alternator problem? Anything would be greatly appreciated.

Also, cooling problems. Car occasionally with overheat at standstill, could this be due to a faulty thermostat? Waterpump is brand new, and everything else seems to be in good working order. Maybe bad flow in the radiator? Again, any help would be nice thank you!

I had just the same problem,after google search i was told to replace brushes in regulator ,it sits in the alternator .It is secured by 2 screws. Or do as i did and replaced the brushes only.You will find them on the bay The place is Gold Lion Auto Electrics .Ps this can be done while it is in the car.

Benn have you oil in you washer bottle,or oil in the radiator.? You can remove the stat to get you on the move .Back flush your radiator. You will find lots of information on Google .But other help may come to you ,so keep watching your post. .Or check your battery with volt meter without engine running. .Then start your car ,then check battery again. And no change will tell you its not charging,for one reason or other.

Why not pull the battery and have it load tested at an auto parts store?

My guess is the battery was becoming marginal and running the vehicle off of it finally killed it off. I am lucky to receive three years from a battery in my climate. Be ready for sticker shock if you need one, they have skyrocketed recently.



How hot does the vehicle run at idle? Most 103s have an 87°C thermostat and it is pretty normal to see them around 100°C in stop/go driving. Problem to me is this keeps the fan clutch locked and makes them fairly doggy around town. I run the 79°C

Could be a fan clutch, be aware the brand that works is a Sachs. The rest are garbage I have tried. Either no lock up or stuck locked.

Any radiator over 8-10 years needs to be replaced due to the plastic tanks.



Keep us posted.

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