What the hey is this?

[Joe]

I went exploring under the hood of the '65 230SL today and found a couple of curiosities. First, there is what appears to be an oversized capacitor next to the coil. This thing has a small wire to one of the coil terminals and a large ground wire out the other end going to the engine block.
The second thing is a large screw with a spring under it. It apparently controls air to or from the air cleaner, and there is a smallish hose from it to the top of the air cleaner.
Can someone enlighten me on these two things?
Third, my distributor has a small button on the side, and when this is turned (by hand), it exposes a hole on the side of the distributor. Is this a place for oil?
Thanks
Joe

[dwilli3038]

Hello Joe,

I believe the capacitor is next to the coil is to supress the electrical noise for the radio. The small button next to the distributor is for the distibutor lubricant.

For the large screw with the sping, I suggest you look at some of the post concerning setting the air and fuel mixture for a good explanation of how to adjust it.

Daryl
'64 230 SL

[ja17]

Hello Joe and Daryl,
Exactly as you described on all items Daryl. The air screw adjusts the idle air flow to the engine.



Joe Alexander
Blacklick, Ohio

[Cees Klumper]

The air screw is sometimes mistaken for an idle speed (rather than idle mixture) adjustment screw. If improperly adjusted, the idle speed could be ok, but the mixture wrong. In order to properly adjust the idle speed AND mixture, you not only need to adjust this screw, but also the knob at the lower rear of the injection pump.