CLK-Class (W208) 1998-2002: CLK 200, CLK 230K, CLK 320, CLK 430 [Coupes & Cabriolets]

320 being a bit lazy

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Old Sep 25, 2021 | 12:51 PM
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CLK 320
320 being a bit lazy

Hello!

My CLK 320 (-98) started acting weird a month ago, would get stuck at 1500rpm no matter the throttle position. Shifting down a gear would make the RPMs jump but then again only to get stuck at like 3000 RPM (or what ever the lower gear at that given speed required). And then all of a sudden it would just go back to normal and the car would shoot away as it should. Mostly did it on cold starts but gradually happened more often.

Disconnected the MAF and the hesitation or what ever I should call it stopped and the car ran fine, except for poor idle and being sluggish. But id say thats normal considering I was driving without the MAF connected. Bought a new BOSCH MAF, replaced the old one and did a ECU reset. Car ran fine, for an hour or two. And then it went sluggish again. It doesnt get "stuck" at certain RPMs any longer, but now feels more like a N/A CLK 230. Its sluggish up until 3500rpm and then picks up just fine.

Im really puzzled. The car runs fine for a minute or two during the first start of the day. And then goes sluggish. An ECU reset usually restores the power, and the car runs fine for a short period of time.

And to the big question, no I havent scanned the car. Went to my local Mercedes dealership and they dont want to touch my car, "its too old", and I cant find anyone with a 38-pin scanner nearby. Does anyone know if the 38-pin -> OBD adapters work?

I've checked countless threads on the topic, but most of them seem to point at engines not wanting to rev above a certain RPM or about engines misfiring. My engine doesnt misfire, not that I can notice anyways. The engine idles just fine, shifts just fine. Revs just fine (albeit sluggish). I noticed that there is no vacuum what so ever at the dipstick/oilfiller, found that a bit strange. Dont know when the spark plugs/leads were replace either.
H

as anyone had anything similar happen to them?
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Old Sep 27, 2021 | 07:57 AM
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Mercedes 300D
Sorry to hear that. The only thing I can help you with is to tell you that I have not had much luck with getting an OBD reader to work with an OBD to 38pin adapter.
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Old Sep 28, 2021 | 11:09 AM
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CLK 320
Originally Posted by g300d
Sorry to hear that. The only thing I can help you with is to tell you that I have not had much luck with getting an OBD reader to work with an OBD to 38pin adapter.
Appreciate the reply. Good to know, wont be wasting money on one of those then.
Might have found a guy who can scan the car for me. We'll see in a couple of days.

The car has been running great all day today though. Strange.
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