MBS Out of Fuel!

[youroo]

Is it true if your MBS runs Out of Fuel,it will NOT start unless it is Towed to a MB Dealer and Put on the Computer? Youroo!!

[RSchleder]

On my previous diesels, I had to prime the engine if I ran out of fuel or lost prime. There were several valves in the fuel system and I opened one at a time until fuel squirted out and then went on to the next valve in the system. I started with the valve closest to the tank and worked toward the engine. Fortunately, all the valves (3 or 4) were in the engine compartment and easy to find. On our Sprinter class B, I'd hate to try to find the valves as things are pretty jammed in the engine compartment. Not sure if the owners manual shows any diagrams or not as to where the valves are located. Good luck!

[Still Kickin]

Originally Posted by youroo

Is it true if your MBS runs Out of Fuel,it will NOT start unless it is Towed to a MB Dealer and Put on the Computer? Youroo!!

No. If you run out of fuel, which is pretty hard to do with how Benz calibrates the fuel guage with respect to the reserve capacity remaining in the tank. You need to sequence the fuel pump several times to allow the electric pump to prime the fuel rail .Modern diesels are instant start, as well as self priming. At least Benz has their fuel system that way.
Also, if you're so mechanically inclined, there is a bleeder circuit coming off the fuel filter, that allows complete evacuation of air in the line up to the filter.

[Kenny kustom]

Originally Posted by youroo

Is it true if your MBS runs Out of Fuel,it will NOT start unless it is Towed to a MB Dealer and Put on the Computer? Youroo!!

Just don't.

Really, it's really hard on the engine to run it out of fuel.

After changing many many diesel fuel filters, they are most certainly NOT instant starting and some aren't even self priming.


2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

I am nice!

[youroo]

I am trying to Verify that the MBS units Must be Hooked up to a Dealer Computer to (Run/Start) if run out of Fuel! It is Not mine,only trying to Verify this Claim from a Owner that just had it Happen! MB roadside paid for Rollback Tow to Dealership but Owner had to Pay for Return (60 Miles) to have ir returned to them! They called MB Dealership and they were told that just adding Fuel and Purging the filters and lines would NOT fix the starting issues,It had to be Hooked to the MB Computer to Reset the MB Sprinter! Youroo!!

[Kenny kustom]

It's possible...


2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

I am nice!

[Mikegjax]

Contacting a dealer might be required if following the procedure in the operators manual did not work. Hooking to a computer is not required. The fuel system is self priming if procdures are followed.

[solera rookie]

Originally Posted by youroo

Is it true if your MBS runs Out of Fuel,it will NOT start unless it is Towed to a MB Dealer and Put on the Computer? Youroo!!

1 Put 3-5 gallons fuel in tank
2 crank engine few seconds -- let stand 20 seconds
3 Repeat #2
4 crank engine while pumping fuel pedal until it starts

[Skyliner]

Going to a dealership shouldn't be needed.


Very hard on the high pressure fuel pump which is very expensive and very sensitive to pumping dry. Don't do it! The high pressure fuel pump uses the fuel that it pumps as its lubricant. Poor fuel lubricity in the USA is already hard on the pump and running out of fuel only worsens wear and tear on the HPFP.

When I replaced a HPFP, I had air in my fuel filter, fuel rail, and HPFP. Cranking and running the electrical lift pump was not enough. I had to open the bleed line on the filter assembly and bypass lift pump to get most of the air out and then cracked a line on the rail to help bleed it. The system's self-priming often requires cranking long times that is hard on the HPFP and starter.

My engine is a 3.0L mercedes benz turbo diesel on an 07 Grand Cherokee.

[Still Kickin]

Originally Posted by Mikegjax

Contacting a dealer might be required if following the procedure in the operators manual did not work. Hooking to a computer is not required. The fuel system is self priming if procdures are followed.

Thanks for explaining it in a different way. Old ideas on diesel die hard it seems. They SELF PRIME, Benz that is. And thats what Youroo was asking.

[solera rookie]

Originally Posted by solera rookie

1 Put 3-5 gallons fuel in tank
2 crank engine few seconds -- let stand 20 seconds
3 Repeat #2
4 crank engine while pumping fuel pedal until it starts

The above instructions are accurate (from a SPRINTER service center near Flint, MI). Our 2013 Solera sprung a fuel leak on the fuel line from the fuel tank to the generator). We were towed to the Sprinter service center and it was fixed promptly with an $8 clamp part. WHAT WE DIDN'T KNOW WAS WHEN THERE IS A SUDDEN FUEL LOSS ON THE SPRINTER THE FUEL GAUGE GOES TO HALF FULL NO MATTER HOW MUCH FUEL IS IN THE TANK. Because we thought we had 1/2 tank of fuel, we opted to go down the freeway to fuel up. Needless to say, we ran out of fuel on the freeway. I drove Mercedes diesel CARS for 35 years and never ran out of fuel but I knew that if I did, it was difficult to restart the engine. So when we ran out of fuel with the SPRINTER, I called the service center that fixed the leak and he stepped me through it after I added 5 gallons of fuel. The engine started right up. The guy said the SPRINTER DIESEL IS DIFFERENT FROM THE CAR TURBO ENGINE AND THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT and it worked!

I give this long explanation in hopes it helps other Mercedes Lovers in the future. This Forum has been a Godsend for me for 3 years. -- SOLERA ROOKIE (I'm no longer a rookie!)

[mtnlvr]

Good to know as a Solera owner! This brought back old memories to me of running out of diesel at night in a MBZ, as a female with my baby and not being able to just add a gallon of fuel, having to get towed.

[Mikegjax]

I try and not get in that situation by resetting my odometer when the "0" starts flashing. I know then I can safely drive 50 miles to get fuel.

[Jim34RL]

Originally Posted by youroo

Is it true if your MBS runs Out of Fuel,it will NOT start unless it is Towed to a MB Dealer and Put on the Computer? Youroo!!

This might have to be done with the new common rail fuel systems on the European cars. I know I need to take my wife's Jetta TDI to the dealer to have the fuel filter changed. Or find someone with a electronic tool called a "VAG-COM" and a lap top. This is to allow you to interface with the electronics of the engine and prime the fuel filter and purge all of the air out of the fuel system, without turning on the glow plugs.

Some user who have done their own fuel filter changes have burnout the glow plugs on their engine. The glow plugs engage every time you turn the ignition key on, this is to allow easier starting in all weather conditions. Thus if you crank the engine and just try to prime the fuel filter the glow plugs are actuated and you can burn them out.

Just Saying!

[Kenny kustom]

Yup. One of the many reasons I have my own vag com sitting in my toolbox.


2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

I am nice!

[Still Kickin]

Originally Posted by Jim34RL

This might have to be done with the new common rail fuel systems on the European cars. I know I need to take my wife's Jetta TDI to the dealer to have the fuel filter changed. Or find someone with a electronic tool called a "VAG-COM" and a lap top. This is to allow you to interface with the electronics of the engine and prime the fuel filter and purge all of the air out of the fuel system, without turning on the glow plugs.

Some user who have done their own fuel filter changes have burnout the glow plugs on their engine. The glow plugs engage every time you turn the ignition key on, this is to allow easier starting in all weather conditions. Thus if you crank the engine and just try to prime the fuel filter the glow plugs are actuated and you can burn them out.

Just Saying!

Guess based on the previous post, Benz doesn't have the issue Volks does. Five gallons, turn the key, start right up. Good to know.

[Kenny kustom]

Originally Posted by Still Kickin

Guess based on the previous post, Benz doesn't have the issue Volks does. Five gallons, turn the key, start right up. Good to know.

It's still about the worst thing you can do to a diesel... Besides fill w gas..


2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

[Jim34RL]

Originally Posted by Still Kickin

Guess based on the previous post, Benz doesn't have the issue Volks does. Five gallons, turn the key, start right up. Good to know.

Do you have a diesel engine in your Sprinter chassis? Now if you do, do the glow plug resistor light up every time that you turn the ignition key to the on position regardless of ambient air temperatures? This is the little squiggle light on the dash display! If so you are energizing the glow plugs and over time these will fail if not allowed to cool between cycles. Trying to fill the fuel filter canister and purging the air from the fuel system by using the on position is harmful to most light duty diesel engines. These engines are not as robust as the Caterpillar, Cummins and Deer diesel engines are. So what is good for the heavy duty on-highway diesel engine may not be good for the light duty automotive diesel engine.

That is why on a VW you use a VAG-COM/laptop to purge the air out of the fuel system. So you do not engage the glow plugs unnecessary and burn them out.

[mike.t]

Originally Posted by solera rookie

1 Put 3-5 gallons fuel in tank
2 crank engine few seconds -- let stand 20 seconds
3 Repeat #2
4 crank engine while pumping fuel pedal until it starts

Pump the fuel pedal? I would assume this vehicle has fuel injection and not a carburetor so i would think it has an electric fuel pump.

[Still Kickin]

It gets old when posters ask if the sprinter has a diesel. I would understand if this wasn't a MBS thread. Anyway, MB invented the diesel engine and has been manufacturing them long before cummins, deere, etc. got into the business. Oh, and the 3.0L engine is bulletproof. You need to consider the duty cycle of the procedure discussed, if you run the benz out of fuel. By that I mean, after the first time, I seriously doubt you will run out again. It's just a function of the learning curve. Along with FLASHING fuel gage when you're nearing empty, albeit sometime after the flashing begins.