99 ML320 Stalls at idle, won't start for 10 min.

[Skibumtx]

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Help me out folks. I have a '99 ML320 with ~80K miles on it and have kept the maintenance up to date. I don't want to sell it, I really don't but....

We moved to Wisconsin from Texas back in November of '05 and the car started to stall when it idles, but it only happens about 1/month or so. Back in Texas I do remember that the engine would occasionally falter at idle but it never died. I thought it might be related to the cold weather but the problem continues to occur now that it's in the 50's here in Wisconsin.

When it does stall it will not start for anywhere from 1 to 20 minutes. Turning the key results in the engine turning over, and over, and over until you have to shut the ignition off completely to get it to stop.

I've had one dealer and one private shop each spend many hours try to get it fixed but to no avail. They have replaced the key, the key switch, numerous sensors but nothing makes a difference. There are no codes displayed by the vehicle.

Help me, help me......

Thanks,
Ski

 

[maybach]

Hello

Does this only happen when the engine is hot ?. If so it may well be the crankshaft position sensor. This is one of the sensors that would not dump a fault code.

 

[Skibumtx]

Hot is kind of a relative term. The engine on this vehicle heats up very quickly, so anything more than about 2 minutes would be hot. SO, I guess it would qualify as hot.

I posted in a couple other forums and, based on those posts, I replaced the crank sensor this morning. We'll have to wait and see if this fixes the problems.

Fingers crossed,
Ski