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260E just quit on me

1K views 19 replies 7 participants last post by  LeftCoastGeek 
#1 · (Edited)
My daily driver 260E quit on me.
It was driving fine and I stopped to get fuel.
Battery was low, but almost started and I got a jump, it fired briefly but stopped again.
I have not got it started since. Nor does it fire.

Car has 130k miles.
I checked visually : cap (unscrewed and opened) and rotor looked o.k..

Exchanged (used from other cars):
ignition module,
Fuel pump relay,
fuel pump(2) assembly,
that little black box on the side of throttle.

The fuel pump(s, both assemblies) make a light crackling/gurgling sound instead of the usual bssst).
When fuel line at fuel distributor is opened/unscrewed no fuel pressure, no gas at all coming out.

I am at a complete loss for what to try next.

Help is appreciated.

Thanks

Alex
 
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#3 · (Edited)
Did you check the voltage regulator or alternator since you were having battery issues?
Thank you for the reply. The battery is not the issue. I put a discharged battery in the car to charge on the longer trip I was going on.

I mentioned it, because it might be important for the cause of the problem.

Alex

Added: Alternator and regulator were fine.










not from an I-phone
 
#4 ·
" The battery is not the issue. I put a discharged battery in the car to charge on the longer trip I was going on. "

that doesn't make any sense at all. if your alternator or regulator aren't working right, the engine won't charge the battery, leaving you with a dead battery even if you start out with a fully charged battery. for sure, these cars don't like low system voltages from dead batteries.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Let me explain this further while getting farther away from the problem.
The battery I put in the car was not fully charged.
However it had enough to start the car that morning and make it to the gas station 15 miles away.
My mistake was to turn it off there.
Looking at another thread about different measurements I realize that was not the smartest thing to do (trying to charge the battery that was low).
Since then I put a good battery in.
The old one obviously would not take or hold a charge (high enough ?).
The charging system (alternator and regulator) never had a problem (in a year and a half of driving) and was keeping the (good) battery charged well.
If anything: Would getting a jump from another car "blow out" my regulator or alternator ?
I would not think so.

Original problem still exists: car won't start with symptoms described in post one.

Thank you, for any suggestions.

1 more thing:
I have no clue what to check or look for at this point, therefore would not even know what to search in the archives.
 
#6 ·
What is the current voltage of the good battery now?

Also, check for battery drain when car and all accessories are off. Disconnect your negative battery terminal. Connect a multimeter set to measure 10 Amps in series with the battery terminal and neg battery cable. Check ammeter. If no reading go lower to 2amps or 200 mA. Do not turn anything on while measuring. Hopefully there's no drain.

Other than battery issues, you may have a fuel starvation problem due to a bad fuel pump, bad relays, or bad wiring.




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#7 ·
when doing the amp drain tests mercron describes note that when you first hook up the ammeter you'll get a spike, you have to leave it connected for a half minute or so for the drain current to stabilize. with all accessories off, this stabilized value should be way less than 0.1 amp... around 0.02 amps (20mA) is typical.
 
#8 ·
I know its painful at times to read long posts but sometimes you have to if you want all the content.

Operating under the OP's complaint that he has no fuel pressure, its possible a low charged battery could cause this but doubt it.

First place to start would be the fuel pick up in the tank and ensure there is nothing restricting flow out of the tank to the pumps.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I know its painful at times to read long posts but sometimes you have to if you want all the content.

Operating under the OP's complaint that he has no fuel pressure, its possible a low charged battery could cause this but doubt it.

First place to start would be the fuel pick up in the tank and ensure there is nothing restricting flow out of the tank to the pumps.
thank you for the response.
When changing the fuel pump assembly the gas was pouring out.

Put all the original parts back on the car when last it started .
Check all the fuses
You did say it was jump started .
Check battery earth lead
Also the fuse on top of your OVP relay at the rear of battery ..
thank , I will give that a try, when time permits...

Check your OVP as well. Mine did the same thing and that's what the problem was. Worth a shot.
THANK YOU.
I will check that as well.
 
#16 · (Edited)
I finally have to deal with this



In the meantime I have been driving my backup, dependable 1979 300TD, but I have to get this running again.

I swapped in a used OVP relay from a 260E that had a croaked engine (connecting rod went through side of the block).
Obviously I don't know, if that was any good, but what are the chances ?.
Also neither fuses on top of the OVPs had blown.

Back to square one.

Could it be, if the crank sensor fails completely that this would be the result ?

One thing that a few owners do , is , pick up a part that looks the same but internally it is not .If the numbers don't match up to the one thats been removed , 99% of the time it is not.suitable for your electronic system And above all , don't pull any item from the electrical system with it switched on .Jump starting is another no no under any circumstances. But there again it's up to you.
Thank for the suggestion, I will double check all above elements if they match up..


I know you mentioned that the pumps are running so the following should not apply. But take it for what its worth.
Just to clearify : pumps are not running with the usual zzzzzip sound, they are just giving a faint gurgling sound, could be electrical sound too (really faint and hard to pick up.

There is a large cylindrical connector behind the battery that is fastened to the bulkhead in an upright position. The male/female ends should be locked together but sometimes they come loose when a battery is put back in or when the cover is reinstalled over the ECU/FP/OVP area under the windshield. This is a fuel pump connection.
I will check that first, thank You

All clues point to OVP. I have read posts in which jump starting these cars "could" blow up the OVP. Naturally, you are connecting another alternator/regulator to a system that is not properly rated. Thus the possibility of "overvoltage"
I got that.
See above.
I didn't think these cars were that sensitive,,,,,


Thank You all for the suggestions.
I will report back this evening.
In the meantime, any new suggestions are welcome.

Best Regards
Alex
 
#13 ·
I know you mentioned that the pumps are running so the following should not apply. But take it for what its worth.

There is a large cylindrical connector behind the battery that is fastened to the bulkhead in an upright position. The male/female ends should be locked together but sometimes they come loose when a battery is put back in or when the cover is reinstalled over the ECU/FP/OVP area under the windshield. This is a fuel pump connection.
 
#17 ·
I know you mentioned that the pumps are running so the following should not apply. But take it for what its worth.

There is a large cylindrical connector behind the battery that is fastened to the bulkhead in an upright position. The male/female ends should be locked together but sometimes they come loose when a battery is put back in or when the cover is reinstalled over the ECU/FP/OVP area under the windshield. This is a fuel pump connection.
I am not sure I found it, unless it is an electric connection that looks like a fuse connection.


Anyway, problem resolved.

I exchanged the Fuel pump relay again, and replaced the ignition modulator, checked and reaffirmed the above connection.
Now the pump works and the car started.
Ran rough, and lost fuel through what looked like the part connected (black square/rectangular shaped) to the (rear) of the fuel distributor. Does anybody know what that part is (called) ?

I hope to finish this up tomorrow and be back on the road.
Thank You everybody.

Best Regards
Alex
 
#14 ·
One thing that a few owners do , is , pick up a part that looks the same but internaly it is not .If the numbers dont match up to the one thats been removed , 99% of the time it is not.suitable for your electronic system And above all , dont pull any item from the electrical system with it switched on .Jump starting is another no no under any circumstances. But there again its up to you.
 
#18 ·
that black rectanguler thing on the back side of the fuel pressure regulator is the EHA, electro-hydraulic actuator. thats whats used by the lambda (o2) system to fine tune the fuel delivery. it has a couple o-rings that can leak, also if the EHA itself is bad, I do NOT recommend used EHA's as they are just as likely to be bad as yours.
 
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