so ill be driving my car and my check engine light will come on.
pressing the gas pedal will have no effect. as i coast to a halt (in some situations im stopped at a light trying to hit the gas to go)
the car turns off and it takes about a minute to get it started again.
after that it runs fine. it only ever happens once per drive (5 miles or 60).
but its happening more and more often so im getting worried
the words 'fuel pump relay' has been muttered in google searches as to why this is happening.
but then again im not terribly sure


what is going on here?!?

im not gonna have a mechanic tell me i gotta replace stuff before i get the forums take on it.

 

What year is the car?

 

See here for checking for codes:
http://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-90...neOBDCodes.htm

 

its a 1990 240 dl

 

You can bypass the fuel pump relay by connecting a jumper wire from the left side of fuse 4 to the left side of fuse 6.

A CEL likely means there's a trouble code, as bubba suggested.

One suspect is the crank position sensor (RPM sensor). If it's original I would take it as the prime suspect. Pull one of the plug wires and hold it near chassis ground while someone cranks the engine. You got spark?

 

Fuel pump relay is a common failure. It's located under the glovebox, behind the textile trim piece that hides all of the wires and hoses from view. Unplug, replug, give it a thump and it will usually get you going again. If you're handy with a soldering iron you can open the relay and reflow the solder joints on the relay coil. But a new relay is probably in your future - it's an easy fix. Order the part from FCP Groton or IpdUSA.

Just occured to me that you may want to have a look in the fuse box (drivers side). One of the weakest designs I've ever seen, the only way to get reliability here is to disconnect the battery, remove all the fuses, give a good clean with a brass brush and then coat the contacts with anti-oxidant grease designed for electrical contacts. A bad fuse or contact can create exact same problem.