Back in January, I had to replace the starter motor on my 240DL. After many years, it finally died & left me & my 4-year old daughter stranded. Two days later, the new one malfunctioned. I turned the key & the engine didn't turn over, but the new starter motor made a high pitched whine & would not disengage. I had to disconnect the battery cable to get it to stop.

So I have a new one, a rebuilt Bosch, & I have had the starter do the same thing to me twice in the space of two days. The car won't start, but the starter once again makes a whirring noise & will only stop once I yank the cable off the battery.

The engine also revved on me the other day when I went over a slight bump in the pavement. I wasn't applying pressure to the gas, so I don't know what the heck happened there. I don't even know if it's a related issue.

There have also been some odd smells in the car as of late. Sometimes it smells like gas, other times it smells like ozone. Could this be indicative of an even larger problem looming on the horizon?

Any ideas what's going on, guys? I'm thinking that it must be some wiring issue on the car or something else BESIDES the starter, as the chances of getting 2 bad starters in 3 months time is pretty slim. Anyone else encountered this issue? Coud it be a bad ignition? Wiring? Gremlins?

Any help at all would be very much appreciated!