S-Class (W126) 1979-1991: 300 SE, 300 SEL, 380 SE, 380 SEL, 420 SEL, 500 SEL, 560 SEL, 360 SEC, 500 SEC, 580 SEC, 300 SD TURBODIESEL, 300 SDL TURBO, 350 SD TURBO, 350 SDL TURBO

strange fuel supply problem

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Old Jun 20, 2020 | 07:58 AM
  #1  
amira's Avatar
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1986 560SEC Straman
strange fuel supply problem

Hi all the 126 gurus,
I'm new in this thread and wonder if I can be furnished with advice as of the following fuel supply problem.
It is about my 1986 560SEC. I own it for the last 6 years or so. The car is original, 150K miles. I'm the second owner and it is pristine.
Sometimes (totally random) when I start the engine it start and die immediately. It takes it less then a second to die and it would never start again.
I have installed new original fuel pumps, still the same.
I installed a new original accumulator, still the same.
I replaced the fuel pump relay and bingo(!) the car started and it runs absolutely fine. It takes it few days and it happens again - the car would not start...till I replace the fuel pump relay. The strange thing is that the replacement relay that I use is the same one which seemed to be faulty last time it happened. The same phenomena happens again and again every few days...and sometimes three times a day. Frustrating! I still use the same 2 relays for the fix. (Btw - when I try to take the "faulty" relay out and put it back the car wouldn't start so it is not any loose contact that I could think about.)
Any ideas would be much appreciated.
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Old Jun 20, 2020 | 08:56 PM
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Gamer_S's Avatar
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'91 560SEL '93 400SEL
This sounds very similar to the heat related sensor failure my 560SEL had, not the same symptoms, but very similar in principal. Could be a heat related component failure. Meaning whatever the faulty electronic part is, it doesn't malfunction until it has reached a certain temperature threshold, and then once it has dropped below the failure temperature it goes back to working. High probability it's a sensor that's failed/failing.
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Old Jun 21, 2020 | 05:12 AM
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amira's Avatar
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1986 560SEC Straman
Thanks for the input. I'm not sure that the temperature is a factor - The problem occurs in a variety of temperatures - after few weeks of storage....after a long distance drive....after a short distance drive etc'.. It is totally random.
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