Pagoda SL Group
W113 Pagoda SL Group => Electrical and Instruments => Topic started by: badali on June 06, 2013, 19:34:09
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I noticed at the end of summer last year my car was harder to start and would stall occasionally at idle. Yesterday I put in a new set of points and now the car fires up instantly and runs great again. I have put about 6000 miles on the car since I bought it and this was the first problem I had with the run ability of the car. A simple fix for under $20. What is the typical life of the points in our cars?
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Hey. As some of you know, I had a few cold and warm starting issues over the years -- usually remedied at least for a while by new points and plugs. (I can hear the chant of 1-2-3- 1-2-3 ...)
But then I finally chased down a cold start problem to a faulty TTS. Once I replaced that feller, I have had incredibly normal, consistent starts and long-lasting points. I would say I am at about 10,000 miles (about 4-5 years?). I can check. And if I didn't just jinx them, they are still fine. This is one reason I remain a purist -- sticking with points.
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But then I finally chased down a cold start problem to a faulty TTS.
What is TTS? Have tried to search and can't find what this acronym means.
I have points and it seems the car starts instantly cold or warm about 70% of the time. The other times it needs to crank about 5 - 8 seconds. I generally allow the fuel pump a 5 second head start. TTS?
Thanks
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TTS = thermotime switch; see http://www.sl113.org/wiki/Restricted/Engine-starting-aid-tour
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Back in the day if you had a 1960 - 1970 car you would change the points, cap, rotor, and spark pugs twice a year. First before the winter (as in Wisconsin or Minnesota) were it gets really cold, and then in the spring. Of course you were driving the car every day. I have been recently searching for some spare points, rotor and cap for my M130 W108 and was at the dealer this last Thursday and got a quote of (with MBCA discount):
Cap $57.20
Rotor $27.20
Points $17.00
A far fetch from my order back in April of 1985 as seen on the attached image
Regards,
280SE Guy
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Appreciated. Thanks.
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Cap $57.20
Rotor $27.20
Points $17.00
As an FYI, these are all, as you know, Bosch parts except the filter. Typical pricing for these Bosch parts today, (not at a dealer of course) is as follows:
Cap: $14-$20 (depends on cast iron/aluminum distributor)
Rotor $7-$11 (again, see above)
Points $6-$7 (depends...)
Oil Filter (Mann OEM) $4
So, worst case today, for OEM Bosch parts for your 280SE, would be $42. That's not that bad after all these years!
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As an FYI, these are all, as you know, Bosch parts except the filter. Typical pricing for these Bosch parts today, (not at a dealer of course) is as follows:
Cap: $14-$20 (depends on cast iron/aluminum distributor)
Rotor $7-$11 (again, see above)
Points $6-$7 (depends...)
Oil Filter (Mann OEM) $4
So, worst case today, for OEM Bosch parts for your 280SE, would be $42. That's not that bad after all these years!
Thanks Michael,
I have been meaning to get to a local parts center that handles Bosch parts to see what their price is. I'll bring your pricing along as a guide.
I was just thinking that I needed to add to my inventory of parts, maybe 2 or 3 sets of the tune up items for future use.
I have an ample supply of oil filters.
Regards,
280SE Guy
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Those particular prices were from AutohausAZ but I've found that for some of their parts, prices hover around the same...might be a bit more at a local foreign auto parts dealer, but worth checking out.