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W124 300CE non starter

D

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Hi guys, hope you can help.

I'm a complete novice. Im happy to wash and polish my cars but mechanics are a loss for me.

So, I have 300ce 1990 in my garage. Its been off the road since last year and whilst I have bene starting it every now and again, its now not starting at all.

Its on a trickle charger and the bettery is fine. The engine is cranking and its trying to catch, but no joy.

So, I decided to replace the leads as these looked a little old but thats not helped.

So, can somone suggest the next stpes I shoudl follow to try and diagnose the fault. Please explain it in simple terms and provide me with where the bits I need to check are located in the engine!

Im keen to try and reolve myself as the car remains my baby!

Many thanks
Scott
 
Sounds like moisture in the distributor cap, just wants cleaning out or replacing if the terminals are burnt out.
 
thanks for getting back to me so quickly.

I guess the checking of the disributor is an easy job? Is it held on by allen key bolts?

Scott
 
It may also be worthwhile checking the condition of the spark plugs to make sure that they are clean and dry.
 
It usally has 3 allen head bolts holding it on, 1 either side and 1 underneath. Be gentle with the bottom bolt, they have a habbit of seizing up.

The spark plugs will be fine once she's running, though you could give them a going over with a wire brush.
 
Last edited:
New spark plugs and clean the dizzy cap and rotor, if points not worn out but replace with new if worn out and it should start ok.
I find that changing plugs at every 4-5K on my W124 (8V) keeps the engine running smooth as it tends to be plug heavy.
 
Can you hear the fuel pump relay spool up for a second or two when you turn the ignition (not the car) on?
 
thanks for everyones feedback.

Im going to remove the dist cap tommorw and will also check the spark plugs although know that they were replaced by mercedes before it went into the garage.

Its covered less than 300 miles in the past 2 years.

I will provide an update tommorw evening.

I plan on renewing as many things as possible before spring when it will come out to play again.

What do we all think would be the top 5 things to replace?

Scott
 
Perhaps not renew but clean up. (Blatant steal from other peoples replies)

Dizzy Cap
Rotor
Plugs
Fuel Filter (Wonder when that was last done)
Check all your fuses and clean out the drain holes to the side of the front wings.
 
Thanks for your reply.

I know the plugs were replaced last year before it wnet int the garage along with a full service which according to the invoice included an oil, air and fuel filter.

Whilst I havnt checked the dist cap yet, Im happy to order a new one as there no telling how old it is.

Can anyone recommend where to buy the cap online and which part number I would go for?

Oh, and i forgot to say that the fuel pump does make a noise when I turn the key.

Scott
 
can I ask a totally differnt question in this thread or do i need to start a new one?

Anyway, here goes. The car is black. It has a black leather interior although the black door seals [which arent rubber] look to be wearing. Does anyone know what the part number is for these and where could I get a new / or second hand [must be excellent condition] set from?

Ta
Scott
 
I'd certainly check the ignition system over.

Are the plugs getting wet with fuel after you've been trying to start it? If so, fuel is getting through but you may not have enough of a spark to ignite it.

It's also possible that the plugs could be fouled up if you've just started and stopped the engine a few times over the last year. Try cleaning them or replacing them and seeing if that helps.

Some people reckon that modern fuels aren't too good and can 'go off' in the tank when left for long periods. That said I recently helped a mate start an old car after a 2 year layup and it ran quite well on the old fuel.

If the plugs are dry then you may have an issue with fuel supply. On my mate's old car, the fuel had evaporated from the carburettors and left a gummy mess which clogged them up. We had to clean out the carbs before it would start. It's possible the same could have happened to your injectors.
 
Right, im cant stand x factor so decided to head out to the garage to see how the dist cap looks.

What a complete rusty mess. Its funny how the black cover made it look fine, but once removed all the points are rusty and the centre bit is cracked.

The bit im confused about is how do I get the rotar arm bit off? It seems to be held on with three small allen key bolts but there rusted solid. Does it just pull off?

Many thanks to everyone who suggested I start there.

So, thats the first thing on the list. Now all i need is an online supplier... any ideas?

Whilst routing around I would like to replce the following:

top and bottom lead covers on top of the engine:
103 159 05 40
103 159 04 40

Dist cover
103 158 06 85 [top]
103 05 85 [back]

Can anyone recommend a breaker who might help?

Thanks guys.

Scott
 
Ha progress. Well done Scott I cant stand X Factor either. Been in the garage giving my car a bit of a polish.

I would not go second hand for the dizzy cap, they will possibly be in as bad a nick as yours. If its to be your daily driver best spend a bob or two on essentials and I would price Merc stuff up first. Some of our Scots buddies will be along soon with you best options up there.
 
Your absolutly right. I will be going for a brand new dist and rota arm, the bits I need are the cosmetic covers that go over the dist cap and cover the leads.

The car is a toy and only comes out to play one sunny dry days and Im happy to replace any parts with new items, im just guiessing the mercedes bits wont be off the shelf!

Im keen to figure out how the rotar arm bit comes off so look forward to the feebdack.

Scott
 
s2oty said:
cracked.

The bit im confused about is how do I get the rotar arm bit off? It seems to be held on with three small allen key bolts but there rusted solid. Does it just pull off?
Click to expand...

Once you get the 3 allen head bolts off, you can remove the rotor arm.

You then have a tourqe drive head bolt that holds the rotor arm drive onto the end of the camshaft, undo this and you can remove the drive and the plastic shroud behind it.
 
In the past, first thing I ever did when buying a used car was to renew the distributor cap rotor arm and HT leads.

Some were in a right old state, no idea how the cars were still running!

Beru seem to be the OE supplier for these cars? Not cheap, £60 or so but you get what you pay for.........

I've yet to remove the cap from my 'new' 300E, It runs really well but I guess it's probably the 22 year old original.
 
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