if it needs to sit for 30 min its probably your fuel pump going bad

if it shakes and stutters and dies when in gear I would say some kind of vac leak. Does the tranny have vac lines going to it? or does the tranny on a 140 use engine vacuum at all? if so, that seems to be the culprit

 

There is a technical bulletin that may help you. See attached picture...

 

That is some good info, is that alldata or a benz cd?

 

That will give me something to look at. I am going to take another crack at it in the morning. Is the starter lockout switch near the transmission? Costs for a new one? Best place to buy one?

 

Yes, this info is from Alldatadiy.com. I find lots of great info in there for the W140. If you're interested in signing up, can I ask you to use the link on my webpage? I get a small commission that helps keep my page going.

The lockout switch is down by the trans, driver side. See attached pics. Release locking device for starter lockout switch plug (8) by turning white plastic ring (arrow) upwards in direction of arrow. Carefully press off plug using two screwdrivers at the cable output and the tab.

A possible source...$78.74 (free shipping)

http://replacement.autopartswarehou...izard.jsp?year=1995&make=MB&model=S-420-001&part=Neutral Safety Switch&dp=false

Good luck!

 

Could be a variety of reasons:

• Air mass sensor (sounds like a problem I once had). Be careful, lean mixture will overheat catalyst and eventually blow it out.
• Ignition coil or distributor (what is the weather condition, when the problem occurs?)
• Engine wiring harness (are there any cracks in the insulation of the wires, particularly where they are in hot environment?)

At least, they are some points to start out with.

 

I didn't have a chance to really do anything to it today as it was raining mostly all day here in NY. I wish I had dry storage for it. Anyway, I did start it to see if it would start. I let it run for about 10 to 15 minutes, it idles around 600 RPMs, and drops a tad lower at times. All the while it's running it has white smoke coming from the exhaust.....is it normal to spew white smoke for 10 to 15 minutes? Headgasket? I checked the coolant, looks fresh and filled. I checked the oil, still looks like honey. No leaks from the car at all. I turned it off after the 10 to 15 minutes, and tried to restart it, it would just turn over, yet not start. I tried this several times, yet to no avail..........poor car. Any other tips, would be great. Thanks!

 

I didn't have a chance to really do anything to it today as it was raining mostly all day here in NY. I wish I had dry storage for it. Anyway, I did start it to see if it would start. I let it run for about 10 to 15 minutes, it idles around 600 RPMs, and drops a tad lower at times. All the while it's running it has white smoke coming from the exhaust.....is it normal to spew white smoke for 10 to 15 minutes? Headgasket? I checked the coolant, looks fresh and filled. I checked the oil, still looks like honey. No leaks from the car at all. I turned it off after the 10 to 15 minutes, and tried to restart it, it would just turn over, yet not start. I tried this several times, yet to no avail..........poor car. Any other tips, would be great. Thanks!

Does it happen mostly in humid weather conditions?

If so, it could very well be ignition coil.

 

To be honest, it had started back in May/June. I drive it very little if any in the winter. I mostly start it up is all. I don't drive the car as much as I would like, and I think that has played a part in all of this. Since the check engine light has not came on, would it store any codes as to what the problem could be? If so, where and how to find them?

 

Update

I hope to find the problem. ;(

 

if the car has been sitting for months with a partialy filled gas tank, you can get condensation, water, in the tank. You can get methyl hydrate at a auto supply store and pour in the tank to absorb the water. may work or not but it is not an expensive experiment.

 

The car has sat around alot. The gas is old. I rarely get to drive the car as much as I would like. I spend most of my driving, behind the wheel of my 03' Navigator. I put 20,000 miles a year on it. The poor Benz I bought 2 years ago, and have only put 3,000 miles on it. I filled it with fresh gas back in July, and have since I driven it a few short miles. I know this has been a bad thing for it. Working 7 days a week, I rarely have time to drive it. I am actually going to bring it to the dealership I bought it from later this week, as after going through some paperwork, I see that I bought an extended 3 year warranty for it. Let's see what that covers. I would rather not try and guess as what it could be from my end, and see if the dealership can get it right the first time. Last night I put another bottle of Fuel Injector cleaner in it ( second bottle in a week ), cleaned the Throttle Body, and it seems to idle much better. It doesn't sound like it wants to stall. Until, I put it in gear. As soon as I put it in gear, it starts to idle real low, then it stalls right out. I will keep everyone posted as to what the problem was when I get a call from the dealer after I drop it off on Friday. Thanks to all who have helped me.

 

I maybe wrong but I am sure there is a valve which when drive is engaged it actually increases the engine revs slightly to prevent the vehicle stalling - I know it has one for when the air con is engaged !

 

Hi
I have the same car, almost the same millage with the exact same problem! About 18 months ago I tried to start the car after sitting 3 weeks in the garage. The motor would turn but the car would not start. after trying for a long time it finally started. Since then I have the same issues as you have described in your post. You mentioned that you were taking your car to dealer I was wondering if you have done so? Please let me know what they said. I sure would appriciate some help.

Thank you in advance

 

I am in northern California, humidity is not an issue here. just like your car the check engine light has not come on. Several months ago, I did take the car to a shop( not the dealer) they hooked it up to their computer. The only thing that the computer showed that ther was a problem with the cruz control module. However he could'nt tell if that was related to the stalling problem or not?

 

The dealer had been pretty booked, so they had wanted to come and get it this week, around Thursday or Friday. I have no clue as to what it is as of yet. I recently drove it around town, and as soon as I backed it into a garage I have, it stalled out again. I tried restarting it shortly after, and it wouldnt restart. If I wait an hour or so it will start up again, but usually always stalls out when it gets hot/warm anyway. I am so tempted to throw some parts on it and see. I would hate to pay labor for something so easy to replace. I guess I will have to wait and see.

 

The dealer had been pretty booked, so they had wanted to come and get it this week, around Thursday or Friday. I have no clue as to what it is as of yet. I recently drove it around town, and as soon as I backed it into a garage I have, it stalled out again. I tried restarting it shortly after, and it wouldnt restart. If I wait an hour or so it will start up again, but usually always stalls out when it gets hot/warm anyway. I am so tempted to throw some parts on it and see. I would hate to pay labor for something so easy to replace. I guess I will have to wait and see.

Any updates? I have a '98 that just started doing this over the weekend. Its at the dealership now. I'm thinking it may be the Oxygen sensor or the Mass flow air sensor. But we'll see.

 

Don't you just hate it when people leave us hanging with no resolution to their problems. C'mon people. Keep us updated and help out the community. You've been taking from it, now give back.

Brett

 

Don't you just hate it when people leave us hanging with no resolution to their problems. C'mon people. Keep us updated and help out the community. You've been taking from it, now give back.

Brett

I apologize for such a late response. I was on a couple of these forums regarding the same problem and must have forgotten to share the outcome here with you guys. Until now when I received an email from Benzworld.org regarding a reply to the thread that I had subscribed to. The mystery problem with my car was the engine wiring harness. This is a common problem with 94-95 and 96 S-class cars. In addition, I ended up doing a major tune up including replacing distributor caps, rotors, and fuel injection cleaner and bought 4 new tires. For now the car is working fine. Let’s see what goes wrong next? Hopefully nothing!

Thanks :bowdown:

 

I too am sorry for not keeping up with this topic as well. I actually got rid of the car to the salesman that sold it to me, he bought it for his mother for Mothers Day. I didn't want to let it go, but I really never drove it. After going through it, the dealership only had to replace both ignition coils. After that, it ran like new. The funny thing is that I actually bought those parts, but never ended up putting them on. I couldn't imagine it was that simple. I actually sold it for $9000.00 in the shape it was in, so I think I walked away in a good position. Beautiful car tho.....lol.