Idle problem and stalling.....
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Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 55
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From: Orange County, CA
E550
Idle problem and stalling.....
hi, i have a 95 e320, lately when i drive pretty slow speed and stop example: parking lot, drive thru, etc.....my car seems stall and turn off, i have to restart again, and i am having idle jump under 500 and go back up again when i brake, does anyone have this ever happened to them?? i check the search and no one has ever seems to find the problem, i dont wanna go to a mechanic and have them rip me off (i got ripped off in the past by fletcher jones newport) is this an eletrical problem or something else?? any input is appreciated, sorry this is long but its kinda embarrassing that you are driving a benz and it stalls on you....TIA
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From: San Diego, CA
1992 Mecedes-Benz 400E
I have that problem too. What I think it is, is the wiring harness. As far as I know the newer engines all had bad wiring harness' put into them, the protective coating around them peels off and exposes the wires directly to the heat off the engine. Another thing it could be is the OVP relay, but my car does not have one and I don't think the newer 6-cylinders did either. I would rule the fuel system out because if your situation is like mine the car stalls primarily in the first 5 minutes of driving then acts normal. It seems that it is something that controls the idle speed of the engine that is causing the problem and since it is computer controlled (at least I think it is) the wiring harness might be the problem. This piece is expensive to replace but I heard from someone on this forum that MB extended the warranty to 150,000 miles. I went to the dealer to verify and they said it was not, but **** the dealer they are *******s when it comes to people with older cars so I hope they are wrong.
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From: FL
86 300e
I am not sure if your car has one but,
it sounds like the OVP (Over Voltage Protection) Relay is bad. Check behind the battery, by the firewall, look for a small silver box with a red top. Pull straight up and check the fuses. If they are blown, that is your problem. Have you replaced any stereo components or jumped the car recently?
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Joined: Feb 2002
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From: N. California
1994 C280, 2002 E320
My 88 300E has done the same thing on occasion. What I have always found to be the problem is that I missed a tune up interval.
Okay, maybe I'm cheap, but at $150 for a rotor and dist. cap, I put it off as long as I can. The plugs are always fine, but I do change them - what the heck, they're cheap insurance. And if I'm not planning any long trips, I can usually get another 6 months out of the cap and rotor if I take them off and file off the electrical burn marks on the contact points inside the cap and on the end of the rotor.
Before trying anything exotic, I would pull your dist cap off to see if your contacts have been thrashed.
Okay, maybe I'm cheap, but at $150 for a rotor and dist. cap, I put it off as long as I can. The plugs are always fine, but I do change them - what the heck, they're cheap insurance. And if I'm not planning any long trips, I can usually get another 6 months out of the cap and rotor if I take them off and file off the electrical burn marks on the contact points inside the cap and on the end of the rotor.
Before trying anything exotic, I would pull your dist cap off to see if your contacts have been thrashed.
Thread Starter
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From: Orange County, CA
E550
i just had a tune up by my main mechanic, he says my cap and rotor is fine.......but he says that my car is gettin old thats why of the problem, but hes just a mechanic not a benz mechanic, i need some mercedes expertise.....
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This sounds like a total OVP failure. I would definietly completely rule out the OVP before anything else. It's so cheap and I have heard of people complaining about that thing, getting it fixed, and this problem disappearing.
Replace the OVP's fuse, and/or just go to a dealership to buy the OVP.
I'm not familiar with certain W124's not having them, all cars must have some sort of voltage regulator...
Either way, doesn't hurt to check. It's behind the battery, you'll have to remove a black plastic barrier thing. Behind it you'll find the fuel pumps and the OVP either mounted or unmounted depending on whether it was serviced or not and if it was serviced by lazy mechanics.
Good luck! The OVP is only a $60-$90 replacement and you can do it yourself.
Replace the OVP's fuse, and/or just go to a dealership to buy the OVP.
I'm not familiar with certain W124's not having them, all cars must have some sort of voltage regulator...
Either way, doesn't hurt to check. It's behind the battery, you'll have to remove a black plastic barrier thing. Behind it you'll find the fuel pumps and the OVP either mounted or unmounted depending on whether it was serviced or not and if it was serviced by lazy mechanics.
Good luck! The OVP is only a $60-$90 replacement and you can do it yourself.
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From: San Diego, CA
1992 Mecedes-Benz 400E
Guess I was wrong, it's the V-8's that do not have the OVP; how, I do not know. All the 6 cylinder engine do but I do know for sure that you DO NOT have a distributor. The newer engine had three separate coils for every 2 cylinders so you can rule that out. The coils pretty much work or they don't.
Thread Starter
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From: Orange County, CA
E550
well i have a 95 e320, mine's still the inline, i think they didnt change the 3.2 L into a V until 97 i think, well i hope its the OVP, i have an appointment at house of imports next week, i will never take it to fletchers anymore......
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From: San Diego, CA
1992 Mecedes-Benz 400E
Yes your car still has the inline but it is a newer vesion as well as the last version of the inline 6. When you see the older engine you can see what a relic it is compared to yours. If H.O.I finds the problem can you please let all of us know, thanks.
