I'm lazy - where's the fuel pump relay on a '86 240DL? And when they are near the end of their life do they become temperamental?

Thanks in advance for saving me time.

it is just where the passenger's foot is on a 85 240 wagon. If you look where the passenger's foot would be, look at the black covering that is held by a few plastic clips, take that off and you'll see the relay, it is a little offwhite box.

"...where's the fuel pump relay on a '86 240DL?"

Passenger side, inside firewall, just above the felt kickpad. A tall passenger's feet might kick it. It's a white plastic box about 1"x2"x2". In the pix below, it's the relay on the left side. You'll find it clipped to a metal strap.

"...near the end of their life do they become temperamental?"

Not quite. When they need resoldering they become tempermental. And may leave you stranded somewhere.

I've had a couple of interesting experiences with fuel pump relays. My fiance's '86 245 had a weird relay problem. It made a strange buzzing sound with the car off, so we had to disconnect the battery every time she shut the car off. So, we knew it had to be fixed before it failed. In my case, I was left stranded in the local K-mart parking lot. Never had any kind of issue, next thing I know, starter was working, car would not start, had to have it towed. Big fun!

Smells like a crumbling engine harness.

Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)