Starting And Turning Off The Engine - Mercedes-Benz 450 SL 1980 Owner's Manual

Engage parking brake or service
brake before starting the engine.
Place the gear selector lever in
either " N" or " P" position before
starting the engine.
Turn key in steering lock to posi­
tion " 2" . The charge indicator lamp
must come on.
Cold Engine
Turn key in steering lock clockwise
to the stop. If necessary, depress
the accelerator slow ly after the
engine has started firing.
Release key only when the engine
is running smoothly.
Hot Engine
Turn key in steering lock clockwise
to the stop. Do not actuate accele­
rator. If the engine has not fired
after approx. 4 seconds, depress
accelerator to the flo o r and con­
tinue cranking until the engine runs
sm oothly. Release key and back off
accelerator after the engine has
started.
Cold Start at Normal Ambient
Temperatures (about 15° C -3 5 ° C/
59° F -9 5 ° F)
Turn the key in steering lock clock­
wise to the stop. Start w ithout
actuating accelerator.
Release key only when the engine
is running smoothly.
Turning off
Turn the key in the steering lock
to position " 0" and only remove
the key when the vehicle is at
standstill.

Starting and Turning off the Engine

If the coolant tem perature is very
high (e.g. after hard driving on
mountain roads), do not shut off
the engine imm ediately but allow
it to run on fo r 1-2 minutes at
increased idle speed.
Hints
Observe the oil pressure gauge
imm ediately after starting the
engine. In a very cold engine the
oil pressure w ill only rise slowly,
some tim e after the engine has
started. Do not rev up the engine
before pressure is registered on
the pressure gauge.
The charge indicator lamp must go
out as soon as the engine has
started.
Do not engage the starter con­
tinuously for more than 20 seconds.
At ambient temperatures of less
than -20 C /-4 F, depress the
accelerator three times prior to
starting.