I have the same problem with a 1994 SL500.
The car will not demonstrate the problem at the dealership.
What was your final cause of the problem and the solution?
Carb cleaner over a 2000 mi road trip did not help.
The problem is only evident on short less than 10 mile trips.
Sitting in a parking lot or gas pump for 40 minutes is getting old.

Thanks

 

Hi, I had the same problem with my 1993 300SL 140,000 miles. I would be driving then when i slowed to an idle it would simply shut off. The engine would then turn over and backfire but not start unless i let it sit for a while. I replaced the distributor cap, rotor arm, and spark plugs. Then I finally changed the camshaft position sensor. After that the car stopped doing it. It works fine now. Hope it helps.

 

Thanks for the reply.
My problem seems similar and the dealer worked on the car for a week during winter months.
They could not get the car to do "it's thing."
Based on my description of the problem they have replaced the Crank Position Sensor.

The Car behaved well, but once the warm weather arrived, the problem returned.

It get's really old sitting in a parking lot waiting for the 45 minutes before it will restart.
All the compliments of "Nice looking car" do seem sincere as they help push it out of the way of the gas pump.

 

my last post to this topic was not the final solution, the problem occurred yet again,

it seems that the after market non-mercedes distributor cap and rotor arm that i fitted following the original problem was at fault.

I was advised to fit only original mercedes parts (twice the price !), and this advice wasnt from a mercedes employee either

so, i handed over the cash at the local dealership and had them fitted

early signs of running with original parts are looking promising, with no more splutter, and stalling

will keep this forum informed of developments

Just a note - I managed to replicate the problem of the car stalling by letting the car idle for 20 - 30 mins while parked up. after this time the car would stall right on que ! this did pose questions that the problem was temperature related.

best of luck to you all

simon

1990 300SL 24v
ENGLAND

 

I hope this at least helps one of you guys.

It sounds like the clearance between your crankshaft position sensor (L5) and the segment(s) on your flywheel are too low.

"Usually" no code is set for this problem.

An easy (and very inexpensive) way to check this is, remove the Crankshaft Position Sensor, install a 0.5mm shim between the sensor and the mounting surface. Put it back together and check it out.

You can make the shim from gasket material.

If the picture is too unclear, or you are still wondering where the sensor is located, it's located where the transmission and the engine meet. Pretty much behind the left bank Cylinder head. (see picture)

Please keep us informed as to what's happening.

Hope this helps!

Click on the picture for a larger view

[IMG]local://upfiles/5574/49589ECADDF54E3EBC893A87D7514DFD.jpg[/IMG]

 

Hi.

i seem to have the same problem with my SL 500 -90 170.000 km
When the car hasen´t been driven for a month, it starts easy and clean.. But when i´m driving the car it caughs a little bit when the engine is getting warm.
If you then turn the car off or it stops by itself it won´t start for a couple of hours or something...
The next time when I start the car it runs just fine until the next time I let the car stand for a month or something like that.
I have replaced the same thing as everybody else on this forum.

Now then, has anybody resolved this problem or know what it comes from?
Sorry for my bad English buy the way but I hope that u still understand what I mean.

Best regards Balazs from Sweden...
And yes I´m a student so i don´t have that much money to try different things..

 

95 SL 500. Same problem, namely, starts easy and drives great when cold. After it warms up, if I turn it off, then it's 50/50 if it will start again, or sputter and backfire (if it does refuse to start, then I wait 40 minutes, it's good to go for the rest of the day). Also, if I drive it every day, then no problems. It's only when it sits for a couple of days or more, that the problem happens.
Replaced camshaft position sensor, fuel pump/filter, ignition coils, caps and rotors are good, and other stuff. Throwing parts at the car is getting expensive.

 

a hot start problem could be the cis-e control module and ezl temperature sensor on the water pump. check for resistance between the four opposing pins 1,3 and 2,4. it happened to me and the problem was that simple.

 

I had similar problem with my 94 SL500. Problem was a faulty fuel check valve allowing the fuel in the rails to leak back into the tank - thus allowing a vapor lock to occur when the engine was hot. Perform a leak down test by monitoring the fuel pressure in the rails after the engine comes up to temperature. Rail fuel pressure should remain above 35 PSI for at least 30 minutes. The problem could also be a sticky fuel injector - recommend running a cleaner through the fuel system. Good luck!!
Bob

 

Older SL's up through 1995 had bio degradable wiring. This included many cars and models back into the 80's I believe. There are a number of articles about it on the net. Used harnesses are readily available at 15% of what a new one would cost. I have read that a DIYer can do this job. Two sections. A look at your flaking wiring will tell you if your car is affected.