help -- my 170 DL is having trouble starting in the morning or after sitting a while. the engine turns over fine but it just won't catch -- first noticed it yesterday and this morning took 10 minutes to get started. dropped it at mechanic and he hasn't been able to find anything wrong -- in fact it has started fine for him all day. but prior to this there was never any problem at all getting started, just had full tune-up new spark plugs oil change and going-over by same mechanic 5-6 weeks ago. it has been cold and rainy here (san francisco) for first time since i've owned this car and i'm wondering if that has something to do with it. any suggestions? fuel pump? distributor? what?

When was the last time the plug wires were replaced? I had similar problem

about 5 years ago with my 240. Especially on the cold rainy/slushy winter

days in New England. If they haven't been replaced in 5 or 6 years this is a likely culprit. Bend the wires back and observe for dry rot type cracks. Anothe cool way to check your wires is to start your car up at night, pop open the hood in a dark place, and observe for little arcs and sparks from the wires. You'd be surprised at the leakage out of old wires. This causes major starting problems in damp conditions. I replaced my wires with NAPA Belden lifetime wires and replace them every few years.

Check it out. Good luck,

Jack W.

Just a thought .........Mine did something similar ( my 85 silver bullet )

the connectors on the coil were a bit loose . I squeezed them with pliers and put them back on ..........never had another problem ...It always passed emissions ( LOL ) unlike my 92.