2000 W210 E280 Avantgarde- Electrical mayhem...urgent! Please help.

[ontheball247]

Hi guys, Im sorry for the long post, but please bare with me, as im without a car till this is sorted.

Some may remember me posting about the car not responding to the first turn of the key, and then when starting on second turn, 2malfunctions appearing.
the malfunctions are ESP, and Display Defective.
When the problem was bearable, I changed the brake light switch and the problem seemed to go away. This was about 3 weeks ago.
But it started again this morning, and Its gotten much worse now, plus with the worst possible complication added to the mayhem (please read all the issues before assuming possibilities).
This time the car just wouldn't start and i was stuck in a car park for a while. I turned the key, and the engine wouldn't even crank- no response at all. after about 20 minutes of trying again and again, it started, but i got the same malfunctions as before, and the gear box would hold each gear for much longer then it should. and each gear change would be a slight nudge. Plus the coolant temp gauge as well as the rev gauge would fluctuate as if they have a mind of their own and the check engine light would go on and off as it pleased.
Plus the engine fan went into full speed and just stayed on at this speed, the whole time the car was running. Also, twice (out of the few times that i managed to get the started today) i also got ABS and BAS malfunctions on the screen, totalling 4 malfunctions (although now it only seems to show the original 2 malfunctions).
Also, the electric windows seemed to play up (wouldnt seemed to go up or down automatically, but then one by one, fixed themselves), as well as the electric seats (move the seat back, and the headrest moves up).

Anyway, so i got my neighbour with an updated snap on reader to read the codes, who found fault codes in everything exept the airbag. when trying to clear the codes, none of them would clear. so its back to the old skool method for me....trial and error.

One thing he asked was...."has it ever been in an accident"
and the rear offside quarter panel does seem to have been resprayed (battery is on this side, under the rear seats), so im guessing it probably has been in a minor accident (although hpi is clear). He then told me the faults are most probably being caused by damage to the positive battery cable somewhere, which i should check. Apparently he's seen this fault and repaired it in a few accident repaired mercs before [please bare in mind, this guy looks after alot of people's top-end cars, builds replica cars from scratch, etc. so he's no novice by far]. If not this, then it could also be a faulty ignition barrel (how much is one of those? 'sits down for the answer to this one' lol).

What are people's thoughts?
It's kind of crucial for me to get this sorted tomorrow (friday).
Thanks for all help on this issue.

Baz.

 

[ringway]

I would suggest getting the car properly diagnosed with STAR.

Olly at PCS is about an hours drive from London and I think that would be the best port of call.

LINK.

 

[ontheball247]

thanks ringway, but as mentioned, the codes will not clear from the system, plus i cant risk driving the car that far with the fan and the gearbox and ignition (to name but a few) acting the way they are.

 

[ringway]

thanks ringway, but as mentioned, the codes will not clear from the system, plus i cant risk driving the car that far with the fan and the gearbox and ignition (to name but a few) acting the way they are.

Give Olly a call, he doesn't bite!

 

[ontheball247]

lol, your right. n if he's as helpful as you, it'd be nice to discuss options with him at least. thanks again
Baz.

 

[ringway]

I hope you find a solution.

 

[ontheball247]

Thanks mate, so do I. Like I said, its my only car at the moment and i made quite a few commitments from this weekend, till all throughout next week

 

[MOCAŠ]

If you need somewhere closer to home, give these guys a try. Previously known as Eaton Square Garage, they're one of the longest-established garages in London (80 years and counting). Solid reputation and highly recommended.

 

[shorty]

It sounds like a battery related problem , i assume the battery is in good health and the battery connections are tight , at the battery and where they connect to the car , the earth connects to the rear seat bulkhead behind the plastic cover on the carpet and the poative connects on a V engined model under the front drivers carpet .

 

[ontheball247]

Hi, thanks for the response. The battery was tested when the problem was bearable, at which point it was fine, and the connections there are ok. I'll just go out and check the connections under the carpets etc. now. But is it easy to pull up the carpet on the front driver's side? Also what do you mean by "V engined model"? I'll have a look, but please let me know, in case i cant figure it out. Much appreciated.
Baz.

 

[ontheball247]

Ok, so i checked the negative on the rear seat bulkhead, as well as the connection under the driver's carpet, which has something connected to it, which looks like a little motor, or solenoid or something. So im guessing this is a solenoid?
Anyhow, all the connections checked so far are good. And as mentioned before, the battery's already been tested.
I disconnected the battery overnight and on reconnection, i now i get all 4 malfunctions every time i start the car. Plus it doesnt accelerate very well....kind of rough acceleration.....So Im thinking MAF? Coil pack?

Yesterday, I tried disconnecting the MAF with the engine running, and the engine just cut out. Today I did this after reconnecting the battery, and the engine kept running.
Any thoughts from this information? Any method of testing the key or ignition barrell? (that's in case i cant make it to a garage to get the diagnostics done today).

As for the first link given, Olly at PCS wasnt in, but the guy i spoke to said it's £16.50 to get the codes read and the £55 an hour for anything else. But they're currently booking 2 weeks in advance
And as for the second link, they're asking £44 for a STAR diagnostic (half hour's labor, apparently), but they're saying i can go in today, which I'll try to get round to.

 

[ontheball247]

Hello again. Noticed something new today. the errors were all present while driving towards the belgravia garage (see details about my trip below...sorry to say it, but dishonest waste of time) and about an hour into my drive, the problems went away. I then restarted the engine and the malfunctions on the screen went away as well and havent been back since, so far.
So im thinking the battery drains when the car's been left standing for a while (dud battery) and after a long drive, the battery charges up and everything's ok. But ill make sure what it is with a proper diagnostic, hopefully tomorrow.

As for my trip to belgravia: I called the belgravia lot, and a woman answered the phone. she said its ok to go to the chelsea branch, and they'll have star diagnostics there, and its ok to go now (when i called).
When i got there, i told the guy its been on a snap on reader before, and he said "snap on readers arent so good for mercedes'" and we had a bit of a chat where i repeated that its been on a snap on reader before, and asked at least twice if they will use STAR. and then i left the car with them for a bit and went for some coffee.
But when i got back, surprise surprise....they were using a snap on reader! So they misled me, only to then tell me what i told them in the first place! They then said they only have star at their main branch, but its now too late to get it done today!! (you should hav seen the traffic i went through to get there, not to mention i had to pay congestion charge for nothing!).
Also, the lady on the phone said it'll be half hour on star, which will be £44. I later called the main branch and was told they'd need the car for an hour, which willl be about £88.50, iirc (same price i was given locally ) and to either leave the car with them today, or come down tomorrow.
Now if i knew it'd cost the same, and they wouldnt have done it today anyway, obviously i'd have gone to the local place in the first place.
So i was given a run around, sat in hours of traffic to get to chelsea and back, wasted petrol plus another tenner (i only mention this cost due to the principal of it), and then the worst part of it; they understood my frustration, but refused their fault when i told them that rightfully, they shud now pay my congestion charge at the very least (again, £8 wont break me, but its the principal)....and then guess wat...I was then asked to come back tomorow...yeah right!

Anyway, sorry for the rant. I missed the open slot my local garage had, so they wont see me till wednesday now, so im gona call PCS again and try to speak to olly this time and see if they can see me today (i.e. saturday). I'd rather do the long drive now, as long as i get the job done.
Dont get me wrong, i appreciate the help by giving me the link, but its just a shame belgravia are so misleading and time wasting.

 

[shorty]

Have you checked for a drain on the battery when the car switched off and locked ?

 

[Howard]

Honestly , Olly is the person to deal with this.

I had an intermittant fault on my old CLK gearbox that baffled everyone ..... Olly sorted it though.

You need a proper STAR , of which Olly has one , and someone who really knows how to use it , again , Olly is the one.

It must be a nightmare , good luck.

 

[ontheball247]

Thanks again for the replies. PCS aint answering the phone right now. Ive heard olly's name on other forums as well now, so really hoping they can fit me in today. But its a long shot...the guy yesterday said they're booking 2weeks in advance. And yh, it is a nightmare.
How do i check for a drain on the battery with the car off and locked then? just sit inside and lock the car and keep a multimeter on it?
thanks again,
baz.

 

[ontheball247]

ok, so i got through to olly on the mobile number given in their answering machine. He's on holiday till next saturday, and the garage closes at 12.30 on saturdays (ie. today- so im too late today).
But he did advise me to change the battery, otherwise its a new ignition switch, which is about £700. Very helpful guy though.
Anyway, gona try get someone local to do it today now.
thanks guys.

 

[ontheball247]

Hopefully someone's still with me on this.lol.
went to a place today who looked at the codes with star diagnostics and couldnt really tell me much by looking at the diagnostics.
But he did say that it's the starter motor.
When the car doesnt start, you hear a click... so aparently that's the current getting to the starter, but since its stuck, it doesnt turn. This drains the battery a little which causes the errors to occur when the starter does finally turn and start the engine after a few attempts.
Upon driving for a while, the battery is charged and the errors go away.
Or at least that was his explanation, which makes sense.

So next stage is to get a new starter. Any recommendations?

Cheers,
Baz.

 

[Diesel Benz]

Hopefully someone's still with me on this.lol.
went to a place today who looked at the codes with star diagnostics and couldnt really tell me much by looking at the diagnostics.
But he did say that it's the starter motor.
When the car doesnt start, you hear a click... so aparently that's the current getting to the starter, but since its stuck, it doesnt turn. This drains the battery a little which causes the errors to occur when the starter does finally turn and start the engine after a few attempts.
Upon driving for a while, the battery is charged and the errors go away.
Or at least that was his explanation, which makes sense.

So next stage is to get a new starter. Any recommendations?

Cheers,
Baz.

Are you sure your battery is in good enough condition? The starter motor solenoid should not drain the battery enough to cause errors, specifically at this time of the year when cold starts are easy.

 

[ontheball247]

Thanks for the info. I've been thinking along those lines, but thought it's best if i just change both.
I mean if i just change the battery to begin with, and there's something draining it, would that not just drain the new battery too? Or is it worth only changing th battery for now? Ive heard changing the starter on these isnt a walk in the park.

 

[richard]

Id check the battery and have the alternator checked. Find a good tyre shop that sells batteries that is not Kwikfit kind of garage and have them check the battery with their checking machine and look at the charging voltage..

The clicking you describe also happens when the battery hasnt enough charge to crank the starter motor (tries to crank, current drops, solenoid clicks).

If the battery voltage was dropping too low whilst car was running all hell breaks loose .. a properly used Star diagnosis could easily be used to check for this (clear the faults, drive a bit, see if loads of control units logged "voltage too low" or "voltage to high").

The engine fan on full happens when the fan loses "contact" with the air-con control panel (even if you disconnect it) - so it doenst sound too far fetched that if the computer in there breaks because of low voltage the fan comes on full.

As loads of people have said, nr 1 option would be a trip to Ollie.

Richard