C32 serious loss of power

[blackscooby]

Phew!! You'll be covered then. 40,000 miles is prime territory for this fault.

Did the dealer allow you to extend the warranty when you bought the car then? Said I couldn't do that when I bought mine. Doh.

Yes cost me something like £550, and just checked the documentation ... it runs until 30/8/2008 (Tier 1 warrenty ~ what ever that is)

Couldnt' really have failed any closer to 40K. Was 40070 when the bloke filled in the MobiloLife form !
Cheers

 

[kth286]

stats007

VERY WRONG.

Try disconnecting your Crank Position sensor, and be assured you will not be going very far.

 

[stats007]

I think you're working on the basis of how crank position sensors worked 10 years ago with EZL ignition.

The ECU will register one of these fault codes if something goes wrong:

P0335 Crankshaft Position Sensor A Circuit Malfunction
P0336 Crankshaft Position Sensor A Circuit Range/Performance
P0337 Crankshaft Position Sensor A Circuit Low Input
P0338 Crankshaft Position Sensor A Circuit High Input
P0339 Crankshaft Position Sensor A Circuit Intermittent

P0385 Crankshaft Position Sensor B Circuit Malfunction
P0386 Crankshaft Position Sensor B Circuit Range/Performance
P0387 Crankshaft Position Sensor B Circuit Low Input
P0388 Crankshaft Position Sensor B Circuit High Input
P0389 Crankshaft Position Sensor B Circuit Intermittent

The engine enters limp home mode when one of these are registered. Usually after this and the car is stopped it wont start again. I was shown this on an M112 SL320 whilst mine was in for servicing.

 

[kth286]

stats007

Re: Crank Position sensor

One of the fault codes you list may well be registered, but the engine will cut out.
You only have to remind yourself of the posts by Alex Argent starting on day 23 last month (and which you took part in) which concluded that the fault on his 240 engine cutting out whilst driving was indeed the Crank Position Sensor.
The car never went into 'limp home mode' .

In conclusion, the fault with blackscooby's car (which is the subject of this post) could never have been the Crank Angle Sensor, because his car was going into 'limp home mode'.

If it was a faulty Crank Angle sensor the car engine would have cut out.

Regards

 

[BIG Sean]

It doesn't work like that at all - if it fails the car just enters limp home mode - the sensor is only used for ignition timing in software.

Mine didn't - was as per previous post - would start from cold but not not hot or warm

 

[stats007]

stats007

Re: Crank Position sensor

One of the fault codes you list may well be registered, but the engine will cut out.
You only have to remind yourself of the posts by Alex Argent starting on day 23 last month (and which you took part in) which concluded that the fault on his 240 engine cutting out whilst driving was indeed the Crank Position Sensor.
The car never went into 'limp home mode' .

In conclusion, the fault with blackscooby's car (which is the subject of this post) could never have been the Crank Angle Sensor, because his car was going into 'limp home mode'.

If it was a faulty Crank Angle sensor the car engine would have cut out.

Regards

Well that contradicts the diagnosis that the MB technician was explaining - indeed the car was running with the fault codes on the handheld diagnostic.

Whilst you may be right in certain circumstances I can't believe the engine would cut out at speed when driving based on a sensor malfunction.

 

[blackscooby]

Just spoke with Dealer. Secondary air pump needs to be replaced. They are waiting for the warrenty company to respond before it can be fitted. They've been waiting for the response since first thing. Not sure what the issue is here.

 

[kth286]

stats007

The car may well have been running with the fault codes on his handheld diagnostic, as the codes were from the PREVIOUS time that sensor went out of spec.

The Crank Position Sensor has a habit of breaking down because of heat, and goes out of spec. The ECU then shuts down because it thinks the engine has stopped. You may well be doing 70mph on the motorway at that point, and indeed there are many instances of exactly that happening - the engine just cuts out without ANY warning.

Then after some time when the sensor has cooled down, it can come within spec again and the car will start.

In the meantime a fault code has been registered, but the car may drive perfectly well if you are just cruising around for example without the sensor overheating again.

In the end the sensor windings deteriorate and the fault gets progressively worse by being more frequent.

The Crank Position Sensor is the number one most important sensor, as it signals to the ECU that the engine has started to revolve, as soon as you turn the starter key/button.
Without THAT ONE signal everything else is superfluous.

Hope that helps.

Regards

 

[stats007]

It makes sense what you are saying but the fault codes were live codes as he'd cleared them before restarting according to him.

It would also make sense that if the crank sensor fails then the cam sensors are checked as a backup - these can be interpreted to do the same thing assuming the timing chains haven't fallen off.

It's not uncommon for MB to talk nonsense so I'll reserve judgement until someone sets it in stone!

 

[Uberwagon]

If the Crank sensor or Cam sensor doesn't agree with each other then it doesn't know what position the engine is in so will not run at all.

Dave!​

 

[stats007]

That definitely isn't the case - I've seen plenty of cam sensors fail and the car enter limp home mode.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Just spoke with Dealer. Secondary air pump needs to be replaced. They are waiting for the warrenty company to respond before it can be fitted. They've been waiting for the response since first thing. Not sure what the issue is here.

Sounds about right.

From what I've been told by local dealer, Tier 1 warranty is the used car warranty that is pretty much like for like with the manufacturer warranty that comes with a new car. Only available on cars up to 60k miles (and a given number of years old). For older and/or higher mileage cars, then Tier 2 offers a reduced coverage.

It seems the biggest difference between the new car warranty and the Tier 1 warranty is down to the authorisation procedure.

With a new car warranty, the dealer doesn't have to wait for authorisation to order parts - if they are confident there is a legitimate claim, then the dealer can order the parts as appropriate. They can be - and are often - audited and a random sample of defective parts checked.

With a Tier 1 warranty the deale must seek authorisation before ordering parts, or the dealer will have to foot the bill. I think most decisions are same day though. I think they must return parts too - or at least hold them for audit purposes.

The lad in my local service department was kind enough to explain it last Saturday.

Hope it's all sorted soon.

 

[BTB 500]

Tier 1 warranty is excellent, even most 'wear & tear' items are covered. I got a new battery out of it.

 

[blackscooby]

Yay C32 back.
Been driving a C180K since Thursday, the C32 feels like it's powered by some strange warp drive in comparison. Bloody hell it feels quick. Just the fuel gauge drops as quick as it's performance !

Top marks to the guys at MB Stockport.

Mark

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Glad to hear it's sorted!!

 

[blackscooby]

Booked back in for Friday.... ECU light came back on this morning.
Engine lost power again last night, but was fine after I restarted the engine.

I would say that I'm not amused, but that's not really the case. It will get sorted I'm sure. I've been working too many hours to really care. So long as it drives for now and it's not doing any damage....

ah well.

 

[blackscooby]

The saga continues. On the way into the dealer this morning I suffered the loss of power issue twice ! On either occurances I wasn't doing any thing wierd, just in traffic on the motorway doing around 50. On a constant throttle I felt the s/charger cut out. I floored the accellerator to check, and yep no power. 2 or 3 mins later the car "jerked" again, the engine note changed and power had returned.

This repeated itself twice this morning......

I did a google search on "c32 power loss" and found lots of evidence to support my claim of Intercooler pump failure. Printed it all out and handed it to the Service guy this morning !

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Intercooler pump really is the most probable cause. Good luck getting it fixed!!

I'm wondering whether we should have a C32 mini-GTG as there seem to be a few of us in the club now? It's difficult with there being so few C32s around, as I have nothing to easily compare my car to if I have a problem, and the dealer has only seen two - including mine!!

Of course, other members would be very welcome, but a good C32 turnout would be great for us finding out more about our cars.

What do you think?

 

[blackscooby]

AAAggggrrrr talking about intercooler pumps I must have been talking to myself at the dealers. So much for me handing accross my evidence.
Reflashed the ECU. That was it. Was told it won't happen again.
30 mins later, after driving on motorway at 50 - 60 in traffic turned off hoofed it down another dual carrageway, but bearly made any progress..... noooooooooo.... Happened again. Attempted to call dealer but it was too late. They'd closed.
So I'll be calling first thing.

VERY VERY annoyed now.

 

[PeterS]

Definately a common problem - our C32 suffered the exact same problem - power normal then a few miles later a slight jerk and the car lost most of it's power. Thank gawd for the Tier 1 warranty. Our car is a '02 with 43k miles.

Love the C32 but thinking of trading up to a C55 - any thoughts.