Hi, I am the proud new owner of a 1998 E320 with 83k miles. I've had the car for a month with no problems until yesterday. I was driving home, I had slowed to enter an entrance ramp and all of a sudden the car stalled. I tried to turn on, it would turn, sputter for about 5 seconds than shut off. I tried numerous times, did the same. Then after 10 minutes, I turned it and it came on. I drove home with no problems. This morning, same thing. Drove about 30 miles with no problems. Slowed down after a toll booth and stalled. Waited 10 minutes, and again car came back to life? What can be causing this strange behavior? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Could be a couple of things, but that sounds most like the CPS (Cam/Crank Position Sensor), there's a sticky in this forum for the V8 but the 6 is similar. I've not done it but if you're handy with tools (and have them!) it's a DIY.
I have similar problem on my '99' e320, still intermitant, and also at start-up. I just replaced the CPS, $60., It was very easy if you have a small amount of DIY in you, there is a great pictorial on this forum.
But you must determine what type of bolt head is used. the '97' uses a torx 'driver' to remove, my '99' uses a torx 'socket' to remove, size E8, with a 1/4 " drive and 8" extension. to determine, when car was cool i lockated CPS, stuffed a work towel down near CPS then put a small mirror on towel and moved it till i could see the head of the screw which is on the other side of sensor out of direct view. a lite is needed. then it's simple elbow greese, or grease on your elbow to replace. CPS is the 1st step in troubleshooting, then research further for next step if it dos'nt fix problem. I am waiting for a new MAF to install in my '99'. OR, find a good indy shop in your area. Good Luck........
I am having the same problem; car just shuts off and have to wait 10 minutes or so untill it will restart. Help I've recieved here (much appreciated) points to the cam sensor. My indy is replacing it today and I'm hoping it will fix the problem *fingers crossed*
Question for you; have you noticed anything strange about the engine temp when the car shuts off?
O.K. FINALLY ! PROBLEMS SOLVED !!!! Now I have a few good used replacement sensors and such for back-up in the future. After avoiding the dealer, I caved, hoped it would'nt cost much more than a grand. Funky starting/stalling issues that my local expert could'nt solve was quickly diagnosed by WESTWOOD MERCEDES, Mass. Fuel pump relay was at times faulty, while stalled at dealer, tech. pushed car on lift to check for fuel pump voltage, Nada, replaced $50. relay, all excellent. Why my guy missed it is beyond me, i even mentioned fuel pump months ago, but nooo. fuel/air/spark is where it all starts..
Other funky window and light and lock issues ended up being the 'PSE Module' Faulty. They wanted to replace @ $1500. and said the connections are corroded also, I said NO, I'll deal with the issues as usual. So i Cleaned the corroded connections with spray and plugged them back in. Now , all works PERFECT, I mean PERFECT, even my remote works at further distance. The PSE (pneumatic system equiptment) module is under back seat next to battery in foam box. This car is very clean so i don't know what caused the corrosion, but it might be worth cleaning the connectors on the module. I don't know where the relay is located but I would add it to the 'check/replace' list for troubleshooting start/stall issues. Most relays are simple DIY. Now, This is the best car I've ever owned, with the help of this forum i was able to do alot more servicing on my own than i thought.......That is good. All that's left is a cracked Bose subwoofer. I hope this long message helps someone fix their Mercedes !!!!
Well mine was fixed. Took it to Boston automotive in Allston, MA. Javier is the owner - great guy!
He replaced the cam position sensor and all is fixed!! It cost me about $100 more than I thought it should've and a lot more than if I did it myself, but the $340 was money well spent to get the car running well again.
Thanks Carver, I have been having a random problem with the rear window switches not working (funny though because from the front switches it works fine) hopefully this PSE module you speak of does the trick. thanks alot!!
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