newbie question :)

[harvmn]

Ok.. i was recently given a 1986 190e 2.3 from a friend who bought a new car. Battery was dead so we changed that .. then had problem getting the car to start.. had a "mechanic" friend look at it .. who then replaced the spark plugs, air filter , and the fuel filter .. car started .. then all of a sudden lights flickered and stopped.. now when we put the key in the ignition it wont even turn.. any suggestions as to what this problem is .. and what i can do to fix it???? read a couple of posts .. but none really seemed to fit my problem..

desperately seeking help in the right direction..

[MTI]

Interesting catastrophic failure . . .

Since it fired up for a few moments, it seems that you got a some fuel, air and spark. The shutting down would then seem to be related to a "subsystem" that provides the engine with those three things. As a rudimentary checklist, I'd have a look at all the relays and fuses, in particular the OVP relay. The OVP is located behind a false plastic wall behind the batter. It is recognizable by being the only relay that has a fuse mounted on the top. Check the condition of the fuse. If it is the OVP, then you can search the topics here, there's more than one way to blow an OVP.

Then there's the fuses in the fuse box, once you get that ill designed plastic top off. Don't be fooled by the appearance of those torpedo shaped fuses, they have a tendency to "look" good but have a very small break in them. Check them by replacing with a known good.