Stuttering Engine problems
i have a 91 300CE and having stuttering problems everytime i slow down.
problem started the other day when i attempted to start my car and heard a soft pop coming from the engine, then a little bit of smoke came out of the driver side of the hood...at first i thought it was a blown vacuum hose that was busted, so my dad replaced that...but, the stuttering is still there...
i have a feeling something else is blown but dont have any idea what it is. any thoughts? thanks in advance


i have a 91 300CE and having stuttering problems everytime i slow down.
problem started the other day when i attempted to start my car and heard a soft pop coming from the engine, then a little bit of smoke came out of the driver side of the hood...at first i thought it was a blown vacuum hose that was busted, so my dad replaced that...but, the stuttering is still there...
i have a feeling something else is blown but dont have any idea what it is. any thoughts? thanks in advance
i checked the fuses and relays, and everything looks fine and no where burnt...my next hunch was maybe i need new spark plugs??
it bothers me everytime i slow down, cuz it feels like my car might die out
thanks guys
Last edited by jassoone; Sep 30, 2007 at 09:28 PM.


What do you mean by stuttering? A regular misfire, or just uneven idle? Is there a sound that is different? Is the engine shaking? Check Engine light?
every time i slow down to a stop light, right when it hits 7-5 mph, the engine struggles like its gona die but it doesnt. kinda like struggling for air or stalling. misfire?...the engine shakes but smooths out at a complete stop, other than that engine sounds fine.
ill try and take another look at where the smoke came from, i checked it again earlier today for like 20 mins tryna find out if something burnt or what not, and nothing...ill take a sniff for burnt parts tomorrow.
thanks for your help
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every time i slow down to a stop light, right when it hits 7-5 mph, the engine struggles like its gona die but it doesnt. kinda like struggling for air or stalling. misfire?...the engine shakes but smooths out at a complete stop, other than that engine sounds fine.
ill try and take another look at where the smoke came from, i checked it again earlier today for like 20 mins tryna find out if something burnt or what not, and nothing...ill take a sniff for burnt parts tomorrow.
thanks for your help
Something really strange though - I noticed it started doing this after a good dose of 93 from the local no name gas station
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When your alternator brushes start to go, battery voltage gets low which makes car run too rich (yeah, great German engineering). Charge light never lights to give you a clue (even when your brushes are completely gone).
On my car it idled rough, fouled plugs and plugged up my exhaust. Eventually car wouldn't start (even when I charged the battery).
I changed plugs, wires, cap and rotor to get it to start. Then tried to get away with just replacing regulator (which has brushes) in alternator but slip rings were already shot so had to change alternator.
When your alternator brushes start to go, battery voltage gets low which makes car run too rich (yeah, great German engineering). Charge light never lights to give you a clue (even when your brushes are completely gone).
On my car it idled rough, fouled plugs and plugged up my exhaust. Eventually car wouldn't start (even when I charged the battery).
I changed plugs, wires, cap and rotor to get it to start. Then tried to get away with just replacing regulator (which has brushes) in alternator but slip rings were already shot so had to change alternator.
I'll check the voltage and see what I get.
Even if your alternator doesn't look exactly like above (most have screw terminals not plug), if its Bosch, it has a replaceable voltage regulator with brushes which looks like this:
If you replace the regulator/brushes before they go bad (like every 60,000 - 70,000 miles) then your alternator may just last forever. Once the brushes go bad they tend to tear up the slip rings (that they ride on) and you'll need a new alternator.
You can replace the regulator without removing the alternator. You can replace it without going under the car if you can do it by feel (I did) because you can't really see it from up top.
The regulator actually regulates the voltage between the alternator case and the "D" (excite) terminal on the alternator. This should be equal the the volts stamped on the regulator (14, 14.1 or 14.5 depending on car model). The volts you'll see across the battery will be less depending on the load.
The charge idiot light doesn't indicate the most common alternator failure modes. About the only time it comes on is when your belt breaks. However some of your other idiot lights may come on when your battery voltage is way low.



