[Gatesfamily]

Hello everyone, my name is Dana, my husband Jerry and I love our older Mercedes cars. My gem is experiencing problems that we just cannot figure out, any and all help will be so greatly appreciated. Fuel problem started with car hesitating here and there on take off. Fuel relay went, we replaced it, was running fine, then she would stop running, like it ran out of gas, had the fuel filter replaced at the local shop, it was the original filter, on the way home she was hesitant and then picked up and ran fine, like no problem at all. Went for another test run and she started hesitating so bad, got her back home, where she quit running, she would start, run for a second and then quit again, then she wouldn't start at all. The next day she started fine, ran fine, took a short run, started hesitating, made it back home, where she quit running, tried to start her, she would turn over, run for a sec, then quit, then she won't start at all. Let her sit for a day she starts right up and then repeats the same symptoms.
Car has only 149K and this is crazy but we had no problems whatsoever with her running, then we had to replace the water pump when I had the car out of town, a friend of the people I was staying with(for a funeral) replaced it, a very knowledgeable mechanic, boy that was a job, anyways she made the 3 hour trip home no over heating, but she would hesitate when trying to get up to speed. Three months ago was when we had to replace the fuel relay when it went bad and the fuel problem just started getting worse, went onto the forums and the cheap fix(we live off of SS retirement and are raising 3 grandchildren) was the fuel filter, replaced it and now the problem is worse and listed above. Its like she has a fuel gremlin that we can't figure out and can't afford a shop to try and figure it out. She does have spark, we made sure it wasn't an electrical problem. We would appreciate any help and thank you! Sincerely, The Gates Family VIN WDBCA32C2FA143214

 

[MBL87560SEC]

Hey Dana,

Welcome to BenzWorld!

What an unfortunate set of circumstances you describe.

I am unclear if the fuel pump relay replaced was a new to the car used one or brand new one? If new what brand, please?


It would help if you would modify your avatar signaure to reflect the year & model of your W126, please. They are all different.

Thanks & good luck.

MBL

 

[isthenew]

Hey Dana,

Welcome to BenzWorld!

What an unfortunate set of circumstances you describe.

I am unclear if the fuel pump relay replaced was a new to the car used one or brand new one? If new what brand, please?


It would help if you would modify your avatar signaure to reflect the year & model of your W126, please. They are all different.

Thanks & good luck.

MBL

I second this. A bit more information on the car will help. There are a lot of things it could be.

 

[luckymike]

I would start by jumping pins 7 and 8 of the socket that you plug the fuel pump relay into. If your car is like my '89, this will cause the fuel pumps to run constantly, with or without the key. Then I would drive it and see if the problem is gone. If so, you may still have a fuel pump relay problem. If not, I would take off the red wire that is attached to the positive battery terminal, clean the connection, and reinstall and retest.

You can also run a set of wires into the car from terminals 7 and 8 with a little test light to see if the fuel pumps stop when the problem starts.

 

[tusabes]

Also I would check the fuel strainer it might be plugged up

 

[isthenew]

Just a thought. Because it got worse after the fuel filter change. Could they have installed it backward?

I know I replaced mine, but I can’t remember if it only mounts one direction or not. I’ve seem this in cars from other manufacturers.

 

[tusabes]

Also check /change fuel pressure regulator and fuel accumulator

 

[ianrandom]

If its a 300, the easiest and most common thing to check would be the distributor cap and rotor. For some reason they seem to eat these for breakfast and for that reason its a good idea to buy only good quality ones like Bosch etc.

Super easy to check and replace.

300se distributor cap - Google Search

 

[luckymike]

If its a 300, the easiest and most common thing to check would be the distributor cap and rotor. For some reason they seem to eat these for breakfast and for that reason its a good idea to buy only good quality ones like Bosch etc.

Super easy to check and replace.

300se distributor cap - Google Search

This is very good advice for the 300 but she's got the 380, a V-8.

 

[ianrandom]

Oh thank you Mike, I missed that.

 

[nugent]

Oh thank you Mike, I missed that.

Good advice, regardless.

 

[Gatesfamily]

Dear Community, Wow! thank you everyone for the replies, we are so thankful!, sorry it has taken a couple of days to respond but we were lucky enough to see my other grandchildren this weekend.
UPDATE: We disconnected the fuel line off of the fuel distributor and it had fuel to it,------the fuel filter being put on backwards seems to make sense to me because of how bad the problem became after the filter was changed------Did not know about the fuel strainer, if possible could someone give us more information on that, thank you!!!----The relay was purchased brand new, from Advanced Auto, not OEM, not sure of brand it cost $67.------She use to start after sitting a day, she won't start at all now, Spark OK------I am working on the avatar info.
AGAIN, Thanks a million!!!!! It so great to know that there are still people out there willing, able and kindly helping out others for no other reason than just to help, amazing, this community literally has restored my faith in the human race! Thank you!!!!!

 

[tusabes]

Strainer bolts into fuel tank

 

[tusabes]

 

[Gatesfamily]

Thank you tusabes! We are waiting on a return call from the mechanic about the installation of the fuel filter, to make sure he did not install it backwards, after that we are going to work on installing a new fuel strainer, hopefully hubby and I can accomplish this, he has more mechanical knowledge than I do, but he had a stroke and his left arm does not work, so we work together, I was a marine mechanic my whole working life, so my mechanical knowledge isn't so shabby, together we can accomplish small repairs.

 

[ianrandom]

If you go as far as that strainer, it needs a special socket because it's up in a hole. Details are here on the forum somewhere but someone using a bike suspension fork tool sounds familiar. Grinding down the large sized socket was another option I think.

Start with easiest first though I would.

Good luck and fingers crossed for a nice easy fix.

 

[MBL87560SEC]

Hey Dana,

You can easily see the fuel pump & filter install by looking behind the passenger side rear wheel.. The filter has a distinct flange on the output end and that should face inwards towards the driveshaft. If its facing that way it is fine.

Here's a photo to show you what I mean. It's my '91 but the concept is the same.

Good luck.

M

 

[MBL87560SEC]

Dana,

In addition to the above, and given your professional background, here is a site that may prove useful going forward.

Catalog MERCEDES 380 SE USA (126032)

Parts For MERCEDES 380 SE USA (126032)

www.ilcats.ru

I have input my VIN in the appropriate field, then saved the result as a bookmark for later reference.
It has been a good source of information for me over the years.

M

 

[Gatesfamily]

A shout out to the community for all of your help, everything is at a stand still at the moment due to me pulling my back out lifting the socket set tool box, I guess I picked it up wrong but I haven't been able to move the last couple of days and each day it feels worse, so when these pulled muscles of mine decide to get back to normal,(its no fun getting older, lol) hubby and I will continue with fixing my girl using all of the communities great advice! Again, thank you to everyone who is helping us, you are a wealth of information and kindness. Sincerely, Dana

 

[Gatesfamily]

Mechanic didn't call back about the fuel filter being put on correctly, Jerry checked it out and said it can only go on one way and that it is correctly installed, not backwards. Thanks for that info M