1985 Mercedes Benz 380se Engine Stalls

TJDB

MEMBER
1985 MERCEDES BENZ 380SE

1985 Mercedes Benz 380se V8

I have a 85 mercedes 380se when I start my car cold it starts fine runs fine, then after 20 seconds about, the engine begins to stall or may want to, will stall if put in gear reverse or drive or may want to, but then stops after is getting warmed up or at operating temperature. New spark plugs. Could it be running lean. How do you adjust fuel/air mixture

1 Reply

PHIL380

MEMBER
4 POSTS

There is a white plastic-topped screw to the front of the air filter, near the thermostat housing. This controls the idle speed. For reasons unknown to me, the hotter the ambient air temperature the slower the motor idles (I'm assuming the pre-ECU fuel injection system works on a graduated, temperature-sensitive wax screw type idle mechanism similar to the ones on the old automatic chokes carbs had) to the point where it will keep stalling if it is a hot day. Adjusting the hot idle higher will also result in a faster cold idle, but this is a small price to pay for the car being driveable.