Problem starting W124

[Me22]

After few years of storage, I put a new battery in my 1991 3L W124. But, I am having difficulty getting it to start.
I will buy the Easy Start spray can. It suggests spraying in the air inlet, but that is not easy to get to as it is behind the front chrome grill. So, I assume I should spray it inside the large circular air filer compartment.
1. Anyone has experience in using the spray?
2. Will it be better to remove the circular air filter so it will not get dirty from the spray?
3. Will it be more effective if I spray it into the carburator through the gap in the middle of the air filter compartment?
Thank you.

 

[LostKiwi]

Take the air filter unit off and spray direct into the carburettor.

Have you drained the old fuel out? Anything more than 3-4 years and it will be toast.

 

[Me22]

Take the air filter unit off and spray direct into the carburettor.

Have you drained the old fuel out? Anything more than 3-4 years and it will be toast.

Thank you for the reply. I believe the fuel has evaporated. The fuel gauge was on zero. So, I added 5 litres of unleaded petrol.

 

[LostKiwi]

Check you have fuel flow then. If it's evaporated it can turn to red powder which can block filters. Diaphragms in pumps can also crack if left to dry out.

 

[mioba]

Get some redex in there. Could well be your carb has gummed up.

 

[Me22]

Get some redex in there. Could well be your carb has gummed up.

Good idea. Thank you. I used it many years ago on my previous car.
Do I remember right that it should only be used if there is a lot of petrol in the tank?
If so, should I add more petrol to the 5 litres I have put in before using Redex?

 

[mioba]

Look at the dosage on the bottle, also a change of the fuel filter may well
be in order.
ps fuel hoses that have dried tend go brittle and break up. Thats all secondary yet.

 

[rayhennig]

Could well be your carb has gummed up.

Just to be clear, it is unlikely that a 1991 3L W124 will have a carb. It should have either the M103 or M104 engine. Judging by the "circular" air filter description, I vote for the M103. It will have the Bosch KE Jetronic fuel injection system.

Either way, the engine needs fuel and spark. Are you sure you have spark?

Before going any further I'd check the state of the HT system and make sure it's 100% OK and clean.

Then try the Easy Start spray.

Good luck.

RayH

 

[DREAMER NO2]

Car is a W210

 

[LostKiwi]

Car is a W210

1991???

 

[Me22]

1991???

It is imported w124 1991

 

[mioba]

W124 were also well known for disintegrating leads. Again take it stepwise ....

 

[DREAMER NO2]

Never see any W124 in the uk where the leads have disintegrated ,i wont say it never happens .I know they have biogradable insulation on the wire looms . But over in the USA, after all there are lot of very hot climates .
Also i see nothings been checked and that the car might not have a spark ..thats one thing to check for first .

 

[LostKiwi]

Biodegrading wiring looms were 93 to 95 I believe.
My r129 suffered this and I repaired the top engine loom.

 

[DREAMER NO2]

W124 ?

 

[LostKiwi]

W124 ?

Yes it was a change in material spec introduced across the board in MY 1993 so will have affected all cars of that time to a lesser or greater extent. V8 engines are more prone due to the greater heat retained in the V of the engine.

In my case the engine ran fine but would randomly throw an ASR fault. Hardly surprising when you saw the state of the loom.

 

[DREAMER NO2]

Looking on the USA forum they say its early W124 cars over there as well as 1995 and so on . So they can all have this perished cable insulation problem . But at the same time , the wires can have shorts, and overloading. And this again can cause the cables to get hot , and to go through a stage that the cable will end up with cracking on the insulation. But as i said before i dont know of very many that have had this bio degradable loom problem .