Taken by surprise

mike102

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1990 300 E class
Dear Members,
Having had two years of trouble free driving, today my Merc totally took me by surprise. It fired up first time no problem, drove a steady 50 for a couple of miles again no problem but as i slowed for the lights it started to jerk to a stop. From then on the idle speed was very eratic dropping, raising, very uneven, Tried setting off and the car just cut out, Left it for about 20 mins and it started up, at this point the temp had cooled down and all seemed fine up until it reached normal 80C, where it started to lose power and again cut out. I waited half hour for services where the mechanic thought i was going daft cause by then the engine had cooled and started and ran fine, but again as it reached normal running temp, guess what same problem.
Anybody relate to this and if so does it sound serious.
Thanks.
Mike.
PS. The mechanic didn't have a clue.
 

Markieboye

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Temp sensor mis-reading and therefore sending the wrong data to the ECU ?
 
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mike102

mike102

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Hi Markieboye.
Mines a 1990 300 E, Does mine have that technology.
Thanks.
Mike.
 
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mike102

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Hi Malcolm.
Yeh that looks pretty much like it.
Mike.
 

AMGeed

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Isn't that the usual symptom of a crankshaft sensor failure?
 
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mike102

mike102

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Hi AMGeed
God that sounds serious. Is It?
Mike.
 

AMGeed

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No. If that is the problem its easily and relatively cheaply fixed.

Malcolm (Television) has far far more experience of fault finding than me though.
Only mentioned it because I had a similar fault and that was the solution.
 

television

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I asked as the ignition coil could fail if it gets too hot,, it might be an idea to get some spark tester from Halfords that you can put on the plugs so that you will know if it is a spark or injection fault
 

Top Cat

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I asked as the ignition coil could fail if it gets too hot

Just had exactly this problem on my OH's car this very week (not an MB but same symptoms and diagnosis). It ran OK when cold, but as it reached operating temperature it started to run like a tractor, missing and spluttering and bringing the engine management light on.

A new coil pack, HT leads and plugs sorted it all out (i suspect just the coil pack would have been enough, but the other bits weren't expensive and were 2 years old so no big deal to renew them while we were at it).

And yes, it also took us by surprise and without warning, it seems to be like that with coils (so i was told).
 
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mike102

mike102

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Thanks Topcat.
Think after 20 years of the original coil pack, leads etc, tis about time i went down that route.
As pointed out by Malcolm and yourself, i'll give it some attention.
Best regards.
Mike.
 

star

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Also check your distributor cap and arm for tracking/ moisture/ worn center carbon pin.
 
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mike102

mike102

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Star.
Noticed your Star Motor Services.
Wonder if you could put me right on this one.
I'm looking for an interim service for my 1990 300E, up to now iv'e had quotes for around £160. Question is, Is do they charge these prices be it a brand new E class or like mine at near 20 years old, For a start the technology on a branny far exceeds mine so would have thought less work on my model.
Just curious.
Regards.
Mike.
 

star

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The thing to check is what they are actually doing for the money, at a dealer you will get a discount for an older car but the labour rate is much higher. It might turn out, that a dealer you just get an oil change for your money! whereas at an independant you will get a safety check etc inc. We personally shy away from "A" services as they are only gloryfied oil changes and do not regard them as a proper service. Our labour charge is slightly higher than an A service, but you get a lot more for your money as we do not itemise each individual job carried out, ie fitting of pads etc. Hope this helps.
 
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mike102

mike102

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Star.
Thanks for that, very inciteful, and helpful.
Pity your not closer to where i live i'd have made a booking with you.
Best Regards.
Mike.
 

malcolm E53 AMG

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I had this exact problem on my 300TE and it turned out to be the distributor cap and rotor arm. Common complaint on this engine. From cold start the distributer cap condenses up for a couple of miles then causes the engine to stall, by the time 20 mins has lapsed the residual heat in the engine clears the condensation and the engine starts.

My money is with Star on this one!

Hope this helps!
 

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