URGENT!!! 1982 w123 280ce starts but doesn't drive!! Please Help ASAP

[mercx]

Hello,

I've been having a lot of problems with my 280ce, firstly it runs on LPG, unfortunately it ran out of LPG and then when switched back to petrol it didn't work, which in turn meant a 50 quid tow 10 miles home.... It has since been filled up with LPG, half filled with petrol. It does run on both, but it will only start on LPG, and it only starts on LPG when someone is spraying Easy Start into the air box.

My car is currently stuck in a fairly bad area of Leeds, UK, in a permit holders only zone, and i am 99% sure the merc bonnet star will be gone in the morning, if not the wheels exhaust and anything loose that can be weighed in for scrap...

i drove it over from Halifax (about 15 miles) stopped once to fill up the car with both petrol and LPG after around 12 miles, fill up took a max of 5 mins, then when returning to the car it wouldn't start immediately, it turned over for a prolonged period, spluttered a little and eventually started. I tried both on petrol and LPG, it ended up starting on LPG...

I then stopped again maybe 2 miles after to get some cash from ATM, turned off the car, jumped out, got some money, got back in the car, turned it over both on LPG and petrol and got nothing. So I got the trusty easy start out again, sprayed a little in air box, turned it over and it started on LPG, when it was started i thought id would be ok after a minute or so to let it idle, which i did, and then it died, tried starting again (whilst gathering a crowd of undesirables) , and nothing, again with the easy started it fired up, so i kept revs up, put into drive and shot off, but not for very long, maybe 10 meters and it died..

I did this a few more times to get the car further down the road to a car park, the car is now there and i would really love it if someone could help me out with what to do here...the car can not stay here, and it will if it hasn't already be stolen, vandalised or worst of all burnt out, which with a tank full of LPG will make a pretty mushroom cloud.

Any ideas or advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

Luke

 

[mercx]

just to add, the car will start and rev but not idle, it will die if revs are dropped to around idle speed or if its put into drive, in drive it will move a little distance, but only when revved higher than appropriate and slipped into drive. when in park it will run as long as its constantly given gas and will not die.

 

[carat 3.6]

Can you get someone to tow you out of trouble?

 

[mercx]

well its auto so its an expensive tow truck or be towed and suffer the consequences i'm afraid..... i hope someone can help and its just something simple.... thanks for concern

 

[carat 3.6]

Shame that I'm in buckinghamshire or I would recover it for you. It might not be getting a decent enough spark.

 

[mercx]

Shame that I'm in buckinghamshire or I would recover it for you. It might not be getting a decent enough spark.

Thanks very much, if only i was in buckinghamshire...if you set off now you'd probably be in Lovely Leeds here by morning!!! could be the spark, although i have an inkling it will be something much more intricate which is going to involve yet more time and money..... seems to be the way she goes.

 

[holbay]

If the area is that bad i would get a mate with a good quality tow rope and tow it out of there keep the box in neutral and drive no more than 25 Mph i have towed outomatic cars loads of times and not had a prob just keep the speed slow..George..

 

[Druk]

Check the breather pipe going to the head just below the injectors is attached. Mine came adrift on the SL and it wouldn't start. Any manifold air leak for that matter will interfere with it running. Just a thought.

These T shaped pipes central in pic...

.

 

[mercx]

Hello,

Thanks for all the advise, i ended up calling a local towing company this morning, ended up being £70 for a 20 mile ride home (considering a taxi home after a night out in Leeds is a minimum of £25 it's not so bad) it got towed by quite an ingenious dolly though, I've never seen one quite like it.

also someone rang fairly late last night offering to buy my car as I'd left a note in the car stating it had broken down, and to call me if there were any problems..... the guy said he had a few classic Merc's and would be interested in mine when it's running again, so maybe I'll give him a call and get one that's a little more reliable.

Whilst I was tinkering this morning waiting for the recovery guy, I took a few pictures that looked like they could cause a problem.

Firstly...

Not so sure what it does, but the throttle is currently rising above the switch so it's not doing anything, is it some sort of choke or something?

also,

looks very oily, and i'm not sure what the blue thing is, and if i'm to text the injector pipes i'm assuming i just crack these off, turn ignition on and fuel should squirt out of here?

Thanks again for all the response, and if you can help with the above i'd be grateful.

I'm new on the Merc scene, although i love the 280ce, mine has caused me no end of trouble since getting it around 3 weeks ago, hopefully it will start to be as reliable as i understood they were meant to be soon or i may be forced to swap for a different German car, in my experience so far, more reliable......

(however i do not think i'll be able to afford this even if i had sold 10 280ce's)



Luke

 

[holbay]

If memory serves all that switch does is alter ignition timing by a couple of degrees and i think all that is for is to make the car a bit smarter on take off. It is like what we used to do in the olden days advance the timing a couple of degrees makes it perkier. The blue part ccould poss be the cold start device if fitted our may be a temp sensor but someone will come in with more info no doubt. But glad you got it home also the AA also use that dolly arrangement it is quite amazing in operation..George..

 

[Druk]

The blue plug is to the cold start injector. Gets a signal from the engine control unit via the temp sensor and only has effect when the thing is really cold and gives an extra squirt of fuel (has same effect as a choke) so can be discounted if engine is at all warm.

 

[nick mercedes]

Any ideas or advise would be greatly appreciated.

Strip off all the LPG gubbins, LPG conversions on Mercs are always a pain in the ar$e.