ahem, what's a Cam Adjuster solenoid & why do i need a new one after 18 months?

[AbbieCadabra]

danger - female Merc owner!

the amber engine diagnostic light came on last friday on our way home from Cornwall. it went off again after the next short journey, but i booked it in at Merc Derby to be looked at anyway.

the cam adjuster solenoid shows a stored error, i was told it will more than likely happen again so it's going in next wednesday.

i'm assuming this is an electrical fault? perhaps i'm being a bit sensitive but i wouldn't expect anything like this with an 18mth old, low mileage car - especially a Merc.

we've already had the hinges replaced on the cabrio roof replaced as one was faulty. under warranty & no questions asked, BUT, this is the most expensive car we've ever owned & it's the only one that's ever needed any warranty work done!

 

[ackee911]

Suppose its a case of luck. I bought a brand new Honda CBR600RR in 05, and rode it home, next day, it wouldn't start. They put in a new battery, again rode home. Next day, suprise suprise, wouldn't start-this is 2 days of owning it.
So I took it back and they messed about a bit more and put in a new starter motor or something, worked out fine.

You bought it new, so tell Merc's to sort it.

p.s. is that really you in ur avator?

 

[MBK]

p.s. is that really you in ur avator?[/quote]

i was gonna ask the same thing, ur hott!

 

[grober]

Its an electro mechanical device that adjusts the camshaft timing- that's the bit of the engine that that controls when the engine valves open and shut. If you were to take off the front engine cover you would see it as small cylindrical object on the front of one of the cylinder heads with some electrical connections . Your engine has 2 cylinder heads because its a v6. There's also oil involved in its operation and sometimes this leaks into the electrical part and causes problems. You are right-- it has failed prematurely ---- but just be thankfull you are covered by the warranty. I would post a picture but can't find one just now.

 

[AbbieCadabra]

very informative, thanks Grober is this a common fault for CLK/Mercs? when would it usually need to be replaced, if at all. i've been told it will take 1-1.5 hours so i suppose it would be a bill of £200 out of warranty?

i suppose luck does always come into any purchase, we always have our fingers crossed we haven't been the unfortunate one to get the Lemon

erm, yeah - of course that's me in my avatar... (she's not that far off, honest . give me 18 months & a lot of sweaty sessions at the gym - hey presto! avatar bird i will be:bannana

 

[ackee911]

very informative, thanks Grober is this a common fault for CLK/Mercs? when would it usually need to be replaced, if at all. i've been told it will take 1-1.5 hours so i suppose it would be a bill of £200 out of warranty?

i suppose luck does always come into any purchase, we always have our fingers crossed we haven't been the unfortunate one to get the Lemon

erm, yeah - of course that's me in my avatar... (she's not that far off, honest . give me 18 months & a lot of sweaty sessions at the gym - hey presto! avatar bird i will be:bannana

not necessarily at the gym

 

[grober]

I think I am correct in saying that you actually have 4 of these! One for each cam. They were certainly known to fail on earlier designs of Merc engines so I am not too surprised Usually its because they get gummed up from not having the oil changed regularly but failure for that reason is usually after high mileage. I expect a forum member with more experience of these engines will be able to comment.

 

[jaymanek]

If the actual solenoid is faulty get ready to remortgage the house.

However more than likely it is leaking oil into the wiring loom... There is a simple fix for this which costs about £10 from the parts counter.. basically an extenstion wire which stops the oil from travelling.

 

[wxmclk]

Exactly the same happended to me (car then 22 months old) MB Birmingham advised me that this is a known problem on the CLK and was simple enough to fix.
I was told it fine to drive car as the engine light was intermitently on/off.
Booked it into MB Chester 10 days later and all now fine.