Just bought the car. Engine runs fine. Did tune-up the first thing. Replaced plugs, wires, rotor and cap and fuel filter. Engines starts fine but every once in a while, it just looses all power if I am at idle after coming to a stop or while coasting with foot off of accelerator. Engines cranks right back up and continues to run fine until the next time it decides to just "die". It doesn't sputter or choke...it just plain quits dead in it's tracks. Not sure if it's electrical or not since it always starts right back up without hesitation.
1988 Mercedes 190E 2.3, engine dies intermittently when at idle.
Sep 14, 2005
4 Replies
That is going to be hard to troubleshoot, but it definitely sounds electrical to me. If it were fuel related one would expect some sputtering. Perhaps the coil circuit? Or the ignition switch circuit?
Marty
I'd suspect the fuel pump relay - common item on other models but this one is getting to "that age".
Ditto on fuel pump relay.
I looked into the suggestion that it may be the fuel pump relay. When I located what the maintenance manual said was the fuel pump relay it appeared to be nothing more than two fuses in a plug-in type housing but it had no cover on it like the photos depicted. Is this really what a fuel pump relay should look like ? I am an old electronics technician and it looks nothing like any type of relay that I have ever seen. No contacts, no aperture, no springs, nothing...just two fuses in-between typical spring tension retainers.
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