230E Cold starting probelms

[Flemo]

Hi. I suspect that I might not be the first person to start a '230E cold starting problems' thread on here so forgive me if I'm covering old ground.

My Mercedes is a 1988 230E saloon and it is very difficult to start from cold. It will start eventually but it takes a lot of cranking on the starter - the colder the weather, the worse it is. When it does start, it'll settle into a smooth idle after about a minute or so.

I thought it might be the cold start valve but it hasn't got an electrical feed - tested with the ignition on but not cranking the engine, I was working on my own.

I thought it would be the thermostatic switch (the two pin coolant sensor to the front of the head on the near side) so I fitted a new one but there is still no feed to the cold start valve.

Is the cold start circuit controlled by a relay? I've removed the fuse/relay box cover but there isn't a fuse/relay list on the inside of the list. I don't have the hand book for the car and the Haynes manual doesn't have a fuse/relay list - surprisingly.

I would be very grateful of any advice, it's rather spoiling an otherwise brilliant car.

Thanks

 

[Blakey]

Hi Flemo,

Welcome to the forums. Hope you have found some answers to the problems you've been experiencing. If not, check out this search...

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/search.php?searchid=1092516

Best of luck,

Blakey.

 

[wireman]

Make sure your spark plugs are in good order before you spend money on anything else.
The leads, distributor cap and rotor arm can also be trublesome after a few years of life.

It may be the fuel problem that you suspect but without a good ignition system starting problems will manifest themselves.

 

[Flemo]

Thanks for the two posts.

wireman - I agree, starting is problematic without a good spark but the plugs and leads are new (replaced just before I bought the car last month) and the distributor cap etc is in good condition.

Blakey - thanks for posting the link to the search for me, I found the answer in your list of posts. My basic problem was no feed to the cold start valve. There is a relay (possibly a surge protector?) next to the ECU behind the plastic panel that fits behind the battery. There is a 10 amp fuse in the top of it and has someone had posted, the fuse had blown. Pop a new fuse in and all is well.

Thanks.

 

[television]

That will have been the fuse on the OVP relay