I had a problem that happened once about a week ago, twice yesterday, and once today. Obviously, its getting worse. It seems that the car will not restart when left off for only a minute or two. An example would be pumping gas or stopping the car to talk to somebody. I am usually able to get it started, eventually, but without it trying to turn over for like 15 seconds after three attempts. I will probably take it over to the mechanic soon, I need an oil change anyway. But before I go I wondered if anyone had any good advice that won't cost me thousands of dollars.

FYI: The car is getting plenty of juice from the battery. The starter hardly gets weaker, even on the third attempt. I guess that speaks well for the Die Hard International battery, but I'm not trying to show off my battery to people !

This is an 89 300E

Thanks for any help!

 

there is one possibilty what might cause the resistance to start after short stops. There is a back flow valve after the main fuel pump to keep the pressure in the fuel system after stopping the engine. If your car starts ok, after parking for hours and being cold, quite ok (but not really perfect) it could likely be the problem. You can test as follows: park the (warm engine) car for say 5-10 minutes, then turn the key so far that all the dash board lights go on (dont start the engine yet!!!), repeat this 3-4 times, then start the engine, if it immediately starts, it could be the proof the the back flow valve is defect.
What happens during the test I told you, is that fuel is sprayed into the manifold, everytime you turn the key, but not starting the engine. After doing this for 3-4 times it may be enoug fuel to start, even when the pressure in the fuel system has dropped before, due to the defect back flow valve. A mechanic of corse has better test gear to really measure the fuel pressure etc., but my personal experience could be hint where to start to look.

 

Thank you-
I'll give it a try after I get home. I don't want to do this test in the parking lot !!! I'll let you know what happens, but that could be it... It seems as if the fuel pump isn't even trying. I had a problem before with the car starting, but then running rough until I revved. I got that fixed, supposedly, by a mechanic who really wasn't my normal mechanic.

Talk 2 ya later!

 

My 92 300e has a similar start problem. When hot, it will take an extra crank or two to start, and then runs perfect, albeit the idle lopes for a few seconds and the engine mis-fires on one of the cylinders due to fuel leakdown, but then runs smooth as silk in ten seconds or so. Obviously, the rail is being de-pressurized somehow. My local dealer "loaned" me a tech for a couple minutes last week, and he told me not to rule-out an injector leaking dowm, thus dropping pressure in the rail. I have not yet investigated this possibility, but will post back with what I find.

 

Thanks Bamberger_1!
The day after reading your comment, I went to service shop changing the valve and the problem's now gone.

 

Thanks Dave!
I'll check that out soon. Bamberger gave some good advice. I haven't been able to try it yet, though! Whenever I try to restart my car hot, it starts fine now. Stupid! I have noticed my car is harder to start cold as well. I may need to spend some $$ on the starter system. Until winter sets in though, I'll follow Bamberger's advice. When winter sets in and I have to make some "real" fixes, I'll see what I can find out from Dave's post.

Thanks everyone! This seems like a popular problem, not just with me!

 

Thanks for all your help guys!

I seem to continue to have problems. The intermediate problem of not starting is hot is strange. It only happens in annoying locations, every so often. One thing I should probably add is that this all started after driving through a flooded bridge (about 1-1.5 inches high of water). This could have just been a coincidence, or perhaps it is to blame.

Also, the car continues to have trouble starting cold. It takes about 5 full seconds to start cold now. It's been having this problem for a relatively long period of time. Last year it was supposedly fixed by a mechanic who wasn't the usual mechanic. I also notice after I drive to the first intersection at a stop light and stop (about .3 miles away from where I start the car), the car can run rough, acting like its going to die a little bit, but not too badly...

Are these fuel pump related issues? Are they related at all, or are these two different issues completely (hot start vs. cold start)?

Thanks again.