Intermittent non-starts, temporary dying out on 93 300E

George- please let me know what you find out on this. I have a 1986 300e, and the same thing happened toi me twice over the last 3 months. I would come to a stop, go to step on the gas, and the car would die. It would then turn over and crank, but not start. A few minutes later, all was well.

I've replace the fuel filter so far. The problem has not returned, but it's too early to say if it's gone for good. If the problem comes back, I plan on replacing the fuel pump relay.

i'll keep you posted as well....

Best, Chris

Spark plugs wouldn't cause intermittent problems, forget that.

The electric fuel pump is powered by a relay (a big switch). These fuel pump relays get tired over time and become intermittent, more so with time. The curse of intermittent problems is that they can't be duplicated so the only course of action is to replace what one believes is the most likely suspect, in this case the fuel pump relay.

There's also another possibility, it's the over voltage protection relay. Others can tell you more about it, I know only that it can cause strange engine behavior.

Final suggestion, find an established independent M-B shop. Dealer service is too expensive.

George, Our 1994 E320 Coupe had a very similar problem except it would only die when turning left from a stop. Typically when the throttle was applied after the traffic light turned green. This was not only dangerous but very embarrassing, blocking two lanes of oncoming traffic in our lovely little Coupe. It would usually restart in twenty seconds or so. Dealer couldn't reproduce the problem so they finally ended up replacing the "injection control module" (I think that's what it was called). Very expensive part but Starmark paid for it fortunately. After the new module was installed it never happened again. Hope that helps. Dale (not Camille)

Vosnos wrote:

Replace the Over Voltage Relay with part # 000 540 67 45. The original will be 000 540 52 45. Check the numbers first to make sure it still has the original, as most have been changed to the modified part by now.

Ia had exactly the same problem on my 1993 280E (Euro designation for the same model) a year ago. It turned out to be fuel pump relay. Replaced it and had no problems since.

Cheers, Jan

I experienced the same problem soon after acquiring my 1993 300E (2.8). My mechanic installed an updated voltage protection relay (car had original SEIM ENS relay in it). The repair cost $95.45 + labor. I have not had a problem with it since - over a year ago. Good luck!