20 minutes of fun

[cruising]

I have been chasing what I thought was a  fuel starvation problem. Fuel tank recoated, fuel pump exchanged with a non Mercedes pump (before me), filters and spark plugs changed, cleaned CSV, over spill radiator tank refurbished, fuel hoses exchanged.
After driving for about 20 minutes, particularly on a Texas hill (not big), it will stall out and then the little red light will flash on. After it rest for a minute it will start back up. What could this be? Any guesses? I also drove around without the fuel cap on to see if they made a difference, it did not. Thanks in advance for all guesses!

[Cees Klumper]

There's lots of info here on this type of issue, and I am far from knowledgeable on fuel starvation type issues, but let me try one or two things: did you measure the fuel flow? There's a rate of gallons per minute somehwere here that needs to be produced for the system to work properly. Then the second thing is whether the shop doing the re-coating of the tank knew about the intricacies of the 'flower pot within the tank. I recall reading that sometimes the re-coating if not done properly can actually clog things up.
Good luck and I'm sure others will chime in.

[Bonnyboy]

I echo Clees comments. 

I had a similar issue - it turned out to be the fuel pump wasn't giving the required pressure - the volume was there but without the required pressure the fuel could not escape to keep the injection pump cool.  Are you getting the volume necessary and pressure to open up the check valve in the injection pump so the fuel can escape?  ...and is the fuel retun line letting the appropriate amount of fuel flow back into the tank?

I used a bass guitar sting on the end of a drill to clean out the fuel return line on my tank.   

[Jordan]

Amy, how full is your tank and which red light is flashing on?  I had this same issue with the car stalling going up a hill and then being able to restart it after 15-20 minutes.  It was my full tank, clogged with crud, specifically the hole that allows fuel to flow into the flower pot when the fuel in the tank drops below the top edge.  As Cees mentions, if they resealed your tank and plugged or partially plugged this inlet into the flower pot, your car will basically run out of gas when the fuel inside the flower pot runs out (low fuel light is coming on?).  Do a search on "flower pot" and you should find lots of info.  I believe there is a picture in the tech manual as well.  Let us know how you make out

[ja17]

Yes, I think Jordan has the problem pegged! To test the theory, fill the fuel tank. Fuel will now flow over the top edge of flower pot. You should be able to travel much further. When the fuel level lowers (about 1/2 tank) your problem will return. When your tank was re-coated, they probably sealed up the opening to the flower pot.