Hi here's my strange problem. I have a '91 W126 type 300SE auto. It has never missed a beat until yesterday when I was driving it along, engine at 80°, cool but dry outside, ~ 30mph and the engine just cut out! I tried restarting the car, it was turning and coughing but there wasn't enough there for it to restart.
I walked home (only about a mile) and went back with a friend to toe her home - tried to start her when I got there... perfect! Started first touch of the key, ran silky smooth all the way home. So later that day I took her out for a 5-6mile run to check she was OK, but there was a very slight juddering on deacceleration up to a roundabout after about 5 miles and ½ a mile later she did the exact same dying trick! Waited two minutes and she restarted and I drove another ½ mile and she died again... luckily the next restart gave me enough distance to reach my driveway!
It sounds and feels like fuel starvation. When I turn her key I can hear the fuel pump priming. There is ¼ of a tank of petrol in her. I took the two big relays out of the fuse box last night and resoldered all the joints, after which she fired straight up. But... I am worried about taking it out for a run after a voodoo fix like that; what's to say she'll be fine for a couple of miles and then start dying again!
Has anyone else heard of, or had this problem? What is going on, she is usually so reliable you could set your watch by her. My local Merc guy is backed up with cars until the start of next week - buggerations!
Mike P