Benzin'

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

The door fell off my Peugeot 106. Hinge clean tore out of the A pillar. Now, if I have the oldest car in the carpark at work? That's fine. But a fat man clamouring out the passenger side of a tiny car every day? Not very dignified. I decided its replacement would be a bit more befitting of my position in life. Automatic. Classy. Executive. Stupidly, I didn't start looking until the Peugeot's MOT was only a week away. But no worry - when I saw this, it was love at first sight. 

Junkman took me to view it in his wonderful W210 with straw in the boot. The 190E looked beautiful under the orange streetlights. The bonnet paint had been cooked by the engine, but the rest of the cosmetics were spot on. And what a wonderful spec! 80s/90s Mercs, especially 190s, are so often miserably pov spec, but this one had the Zebrano centre console, electric front windows, sunroof, cruise control, leather and ABS! 

It drove lovely on the test drive. Silky smooth gearbox, perky engine. Absolutely reeked of burning oil, but the top of the engine was caked in the stuff so I figured it was probably just the rocket gasket. I never bothered to set my bank app up for payments over a grand, so I figured the simplest thing would be to call my dad and ask him to do the transfer, and I could pay him back the next day. He made the transfer, but the money did not arrive in the seller's account. No worries, the seller recommended a pub and Junkman and myself pottered off for a meal. 

Two hours later the money had still not arrived in the seller's account. It was 9pm. My dad assured me that the money had left his account. What to do? Well, I don't bore you with how we sorted it out. But it turns out the bank stopped the payment as suspected fraud but didn't think it was worth passing this information on to their customer. A stressful start to ownership! Hope it's all plain sailing from here! 

The drive home made me certain I'd made the right choice. It just felt so right. The driving position. Perfect. The handling. The taxi-esque turning circle. Beautiful. I love these cars. 

Oh well, that's probably the end of the thread, because it's just going to be a boring, reliable daily from here out. Like my Marina, which, in two years, was so reliable it wouldn't have even generated a page of content on here because it just worked. Goodbye! 

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Oh! It broke down! 

This was about 200 miles after purchase. Conked out in a queue of traffic and wouldn't restart. Huh, weird. You'll notice there is no traffic chaos in the above photo, that is because it was taken much later than the actual breakdown, where I can assure you there was traffic chaos. As I struggled to push it out of the way, catching the odd glimpse of the mouthbreathers in the other cars gawping at my misfortune and doing NOTHING, I pondered how wonderful it would be if one of the globe's current conflicts escalated into a full scale nuclear exchange and they really got to experience what the breakdown of society looks like. I'd break into their shelters and loot all their prawn cocktail crisps. I'd even smirk as the traffic warden executes me. Should've helped me push, motherfuckers. Just then a very nice minibus driver arrived and helped me push it clear of traffic "as no other fucker will". 

As I was saying, it cut out. I walked home, scrolling Mercedes forums all the way. "Can you hear the fuel pump prime?" Fuck, man. The fuel pump is whisper quiet and there were cars and lorries thundering past. But yes, the fuel pump relay was the most likely culprit. I called my breakdown service (Junkman in his W210 full of straw) and we got it back to my place. I opened up the questionable relay and re-soldered the joints. Car seemed happy again. Phew. That's the end of that! 

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

One of the things which attracted me to the car was that it already had a bluetooth stereo installed. This was great - it saves me going to the trouble of fitting one. I'd been burned when I bought my SLK. The seller had claimed it came with a Bluetooth radio, and it did. Unfortunately it was an older one which could only do phone calls through Bluetooth. Who even knew that was a thing?

On the 190's collection trip, my phone paired with the Alpine unit without issue, but I couldn't get it to stream music. Not a problem, I thought, I'll dig through the settings when I get home. I'll just stream through the USB port for now. Except that didn't work either. Odd. When I got home I started to read through the handbook. 

Bluetooth for calls only. FUCK. ING. HELL. HOW HAS THIS HAPPENED TWICE?!?!?

So I had to rip the damn thing out, which I wasn't too upset about as it was hideous. Sadly, this was easier said than done as this was the most well installed stereo I've ever encountered. 

But now it has been replaced with a Pioneer unit which I am very happy with, and while it still looks out of place the lighting matches the dash. Several people have told me I should buy the modern Blaupunkt Bremen, which I will, so long as the car remains reliable and doesn't cost me a load of money in repairs. 
 

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Oh! It broke down!

50 miles into a trip, mercifully within walking distance of home, it stumbled a bit and cut out. When it restarted, the idle was all over the place and any application of the throttle killed it stone dead. I limped it home idling in drive. 

The forums came to help. "It's the OVP" they all said. 

I have encountered the OVP before, in my 300D. It's a little relay designed to stop the delicate circuitry being damaged by voltage spikes, but they have a reputation for causing trouble, usually because of dry solder joints. Re-soldering the OVP in the 300D fixed it permanently, so it was time to do that again. 

You just carefully slide it out of the case:

Then check out the solder joints on the back:

Resolder and slide it back into the case:

(I have a new one in the post)

With this installed, the car worked perfectly. Drove like a dream. Phew! Glad we got to the bottom of that once and for all. 

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

"Do not open the sunroof" the seller said. In fact, he said it twice. "I wonder why he said that?" I thought to myself as I opened the sunroof. The sunroof appeared to work just fine. It slid open all the way without a hitch. "Amazing!" I thought to myself. "If only it closed as well". Because it did not. Not even a little bit. 

I wasn't too worried. The same thing happened on the W124, and while I maybe shouldn't have tried it out at 4pm on a damp November afternoon, I remembered the peculiar phrase in the W124's handbook. "A hexagon is provided". Behind a flap in the boot, there is a plastic hexagon designed to wind the sunroof closed with the wheelbrace. Of course, the 30 year old plastic shattered the moment this was attempted on the 300D, and sure enough the same thing happened on the 190. 

https://autoshite.com/topic/23177-bloody-big-bad-benz-is-the-bloody-biggest-piece-of-tosh/?do=findComment&comment=992161

So, just like last time, I got to spend half an hour edging the roof closed millimetre by millimetre, which was agonising. When I got it about 50% closed, I decided to see if the motor had enough puff to drag it home. Imagine my delight when the close button inexplicably caused the roof to rocket completely open again. Ah well, I'd say lesson learnt, but the fact I was doing this the second time in my life would suggest that the lesson was not learnt. 

At least it had stopped breaking down every ten minutes!

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Oh! 

You'll NEVER GUESS what happened on my way to work! My Mercedes (engineered like no other) BROKE DOWN. No photo this time, as it started and ran again after a few minutes. While fucking about in the engine bay desperately looking for clues, this happened: 

The engine block earth strap fell out of its crimp. Just fell out. Must've been loose in there. I cleaned it up, crimped a new connector on it. Everything works again. Was all this misery due to a loose connection on the earth strap? Amazing. Thank fuck that's sorted! I drove it around for ages. All systems go! I decided to take it to the Northern Powerhouse meet at Glossop (first Tuesday of every month, all welcome!). Junkman wanted to take his car, but I convinced him that mine was finally fixed. 
 

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Oh! 

It again, drove flawlessly for 15 miles. Flawlessly. Beautifully. Not even the mildest hiccup. Then, in lane three of a busy motorway, it briefly stumbled. Before I had time to react, a loss of power. I knocked it into neutral and coasted onto the mercifully present hard shoulder, because there was no way in hell I could've got it to a refuge on a smart motorway. 

It hadn't cut out, but it wasn't idling correctly. Again, a feather application of the throttle dropped the revs so low it almost stalled. We were very close to the next exit, so we decided to limp it idling in drive to safety. We didn't make it. 

All our attempts to get it running again, plus me accidentally leaving the headlights on, drained the battery. Time to wave the white flag. I called the AA, who were very good. 45 minutes after making the call, we were on the back of a recovery truck. We weren't making it to Glossop, though. 

With the car unceremoniously dumped on the road near home, Junkman and myself went to research electrical systems at the local technical library, which is conveniently open until midnight and serves beer and steak. 

 

At midnight I got home, and out of curiosity connected a boost pack to the battery. Car fired up. Perfect idle. Drives fine. What a dick. 

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Some context is required for the next post. I broke a tooth. It was a bit sharp, but it didn't hurt at all. However, I was worried about it suddenly getting worse over Christmas. I missed last Christmas because of illness, and I didn't want another ruined. So I went to a dentist for the first time in a decade, and she said it would require a root canal. Nasty, but that's what I get for subsisting on Frosties and Diet Coke. With the car as broken as my tooth, I cycled to the dentist for my treatment. During said treatment, the dentist broke it to me the the tooth was looking a lot more fucked up than the X ray had implied. I suggested she just rip it out, and she agreed that would be the best course of action. 

Apparently it was not, because the extraction did not go very well. I left the dentist with my tooth, now even more broken, and an appointment with a dental surgeon in 15 days time. "Is it going to hurt when the anaesthetic wears off?" I asked. "Yes" she said. 

Well, she was correct. It turns out that treating a tooth like a SNES cartridge causes discomfort. It hurts. It hurts a great deal. A throbbing, stabbing, screaming, unignorable sort of pain. But it's only until the 19th of December, when I get to have surgery. Which will ruin Christmas for the second year in a row. I don't even remember what Brussel Sprouts taste like anymore!

This context is important so you understand my general mood while I was standing, in an absolute downpour, soaked through, covered in oil, trying to find any clue, any clue whatsoever, as to why this thing keeps cutting out. Everything tests fine.

I took it out for one more drive, where you may hazard a guess as to what it did. Then I accidentally destroyed the rotor arm while trying to extract it (maybe I should be a dentist). So the car is grounded until my box of parts arrives in a few days. 

I miss my 106. I miss my Marina.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

My Mercedes Experience:

W124 300D: Repeated breakdowns due to OVP, heater never worked properly, sunroof broke

W124 280TE: SLS pipe ruinously expensive to fix, seized PAS pump

R170 SLK: Supercharger broke on day 1 of ownership, gearbox went into limp mode, oiled up its MAF and lost power

W201 190E: all good so far, except the stuff I mentioned above

 

 

[SiC]

It's good to see you back posting car escapades! Except I'm sure you'd rather not be.

Some solid granite* motoring there. 

[Schaefft]

HSBC blocked my payments of £1 (test transfer before sending the whole sum) without telling me either. Only on my way back they sent me a text urging me to call them right away. When I did I had to explain to a lady that a manual E39 540i Touring from 1999 wouldn't have an average price on the Autotrader website and that I was fully aware of the risk I was taking. Good thing both me and the seller had a Monzo account.

Sucks to hear about the 190. I'm surprised to see it has so many issues, wasn't this sold as a pristine car on a classic car auction site somewhat recently? At least these have their typical well documented weaknesses and once sorted should be mostly trouble free.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

There is obviously one fault that I just haven’t found. It being intermittent makes it very difficult to nail down. Even if I do find it, I won’t trust the car for months. 
 

I don’t know if this is the car sold as a cherished classic. The previous owner had it for two years. It has a stamped up main dealer service book, but I don’t think the PO was the hands on type with it. 

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Btw, with New Year’s resolutions coming up, if you want a diet you’ll actually stick to, may I suggest SEARING TOOTH PAIN? I had my failed extraction on Wednesday, and as you can see I’m finally constantly under my calorie goal.

 

[Jim Bell]

Sorry this is being an ungrateful fanny dude. Hopefully your tooth and the merc get yanked into a better and more endurable state without too much more pain and drama. 

[wesacosa]

I'm sure it will all be worth it in the end. There is something so right about a 190. 

[Volksy]

I'm having similar issues with the Big. 

Not to the extent that it leaves me stranded, but it will have the occasional stumble/stall when warming up. 

I've ordered a new OVP from AutoDoc at around £75.00 + P&P, then saw some aftermarket ones on ebay for £13.00, have ordered two of those as  a back up/spares. It's in the garage today for a new drag link and a new idle control valve fitting. 

Hopefully a combo of the two will sort the issues. 

[Bradders59]

Are you sure the problem is electrical ? Not fuel system related for example. 

Whatever it is its worth being patient with. I still miss my 190D five years after getting rid of it.

There really is something about them that cant be found in a modern car.

[Schaefft]

Might be worth checking as well: replace the o-ring of the distributor cap. Every I6/V8 Merc owner should do this to prevent excessive condensation buildup inside when not driven regularly.

[chancer]

Every single time I forget about owning a 190 again, someone pops up with one. And it starts again. Fuck sake

[B4lljoints]

Leather?? In a 190e?? Sheer decadence I tells ya!

Seriously tho' - it looks lovely and I hope it starts behaving itself soon.🙂

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

 

3 hours ago, Schaefft said:

Might be worth checking as well: replace the o-ring of the distributor cap. Every I6/V8 Merc owner should do this to prevent excessive condensation buildup inside when not driven regularly.

The... O ring...

There is no O ring on my distributor cap... hmm. 

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

24 minutes ago, B4lljoints said:

Leather?? In a 190e?? Sheer decadence I tells ya!

Seriously tho' - it looks lovely and I hope it starts behaving itself soon.🙂

Behold: 

 

 

[Schaefft]

29 minutes ago, Conrad D. Conelrad said:

 

The... O ring...

There is no O ring on my distributor cap... hmm. 

There might not be one on the 4-cylinder models, not sure if this one is on the straight six (red arrow).

[egg]

17 hours ago, Conrad D. Conelrad said:

Junkman took me to view it in his wonderful W210 with straw in the boot.

go on, why has Mr J got straw in the boot? Display materials for his Norev collection?

[B4lljoints]

1 hour ago, Conrad D. Conelrad said:

Behold: 

 

 

Ooof! And is that Beryl Blue too? What a combo. 🙂

[Nullzwei]

Quite a few threads on 

https://forums.mbclub.co.uk/

about 190e's  cutting out. Might be worth a read if you have not already. You can use the search function without logging in.

[DeanH]

Lovely thing. I fancy a go in one of the diesel versions but they dont seem to come up at a reasonable price these days.

[garethj]

I was on a school exchange in 1986 and went to visit the Stuttgart factory where they made the 190s.  I’ve had a soft spot for them ever since.

Thank goodness you started off with a reliable car, or you’d have had lots more breakdowns 👍

[chancer]

7 hours ago, Conrad D. Conelrad said:

Behold: 

 

 

Just taking the piss now....but for the engine, its the perfect spec 190

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

On 11/12/2023 at 15:53, egg said:

go on, why has Mr J got straw in the boot? Display materials for his Norev collection?

He bought a shonky winter beater, which has proven to be a fantastic car. Despite being sold by a dealership in the middle of Leeds, the boot had (and has) a load of straw in it. It was owned by Joe Kinnear, too. 

On 11/12/2023 at 17:05, Nullzwei said:

Quite a few threads on 

https://forums.mbclub.co.uk/

about 190e's  cutting out. Might be worth a read if you have not already. You can use the search function without logging in.

Yeah, they seem to like cutting out. Common causes = everything 

On 11/12/2023 at 15:44, Schaefft said:

There might not be one on the 4-cylinder models, not sure if this one is on the straight six (red arrow).

I don't think the 4 pot has the O ring. I can't find reference to one anywhere.