Every so often my 1999 CLK320 Cab fails to start right away. This does not happen every time though, that's the weird part. Sometimes it starts right away, and some other times I have to crank it for 4-5 cycles before it starts. When this happens, it sometimes almost starts, and may die again, which suggests (at least to me) that it is a fuel starvation issue during start. The weird thing though is that as soon as it starts, it runs fine - I don't get stalls or anything that would indicate that there is a general fuel delivery issue. Sometimes this strating problem happens when the card is cold (first start in the morning), and other times when it's has been running for a while and I stop for 10 minutes to run an errand.

I took the car to a local MB service center, and they replaced the fuel pump, and the fuel relay switch at a hefty price, but still the problem persists.

Any ideas as to what mat cause this?

Thanks in advance.

--Louis.

 

the problem is crankshaft position sensor.

 

why do you say that? I would have thought it was a fuel problem.

Also, where does the crankshaft position sensor sit in the engine, and how can I verify this (is there a test I can do without taking the car to the repair facility).

Thanks for your advice.

 

i assume they also replace the fuel filter and check the fuel pressure.

any fault code?

 

no fault code. The car did the same thing again today, so I called them and asked them about the crankshaft position sensor. They said that there was no fault reported by it.

But maybe it's an intermittend problem, and when they tested it, the sensor reported no error since it just happen to work at that point.

I had the same problem today - I must have cranked it 7 or 8 times before it started, and as soon as it starts it runs fine. I will probaby take it in to MB tomorrow - the car is for the most part useless at this point - it's just too big of a gamble since I don't know at what point it will fail on me.

Thanks for your help.