Experts to find/fix electrical problems?

[ItalianTuneUp]

Yes, I know what you mean.

After Christmas I'll spend some time looking through forum posts and see if I can find similar tales of woe to see what could be causing these issues.

 

[John]

Alternator replaced - now running at 14.1v > 14.3v when running - hardly changes with anything running although I've not tried heated seats.

 

[ItalianTuneUp]

Sounds good

Since having the new alternator I've noticed far fewer electrical quirks!

I want heated seats on the next car I get, they are so nice on a cold day. Do you use yours often in the winter?

 

[ItalianTuneUp]

Apart from the frayed/broken wires in the mirror giving the 'indicator lamp' message, the only serious electrical issue currently is with the ignition switch.

After turning the key, the needles on the fuel and coolant temperature gauges rise and then fall sometimes. If the needles fall, it means the engine will not start with a further twist of the key. A whack with the palm of the hand just under the key on the ignition switch usually causes the gauge needles to rise again and then ignition will be successful (thanks Olly!). This trick has enabled me to start the car without random waiting times and flattening the battery with constant attempts to start the car.

My question is, is it possible to repair an ignition switch reliably (and cheaply?), or is the only fix to buy a new one? New price is about £700/£800 iirc.

As an afterthought, if a whack causes ignition to work, could this point to a loose connection in the ignition switch, or the power feed to it, or perhaps a dry joint somewhere in these components?

 

[V12]

New price is £500. Additional £200 refundable deposit for the coding key.

EIS repairs are hit and miss and cost approx £100.

3rd option is to buy a second hand EIS with matching part number to yours and then you can have the information from your EIS copied over from old to new. Cost is around £75 for that.

I've just had mine completely fail and chose to just bite the bullet and pay MB southampton £700 and I'll get the £200 back once I return the coding key.

Approx 4 working days to get the parts and you'll need your photo ID and logbook to get them ordered.

 

[ItalianTuneUp]

Thanks for the info V12, and 500 sounds better than 7/800.

Did your switch fail gradually like mine appears to be doing, and were you able to give it a clout to enable ignition, or did it just fail suddenly, out of the blue?

I think I'm going to have to get a new ignition switch soon, thumping your car to get it started is kind of funny in an old banger, but in a merc it looks a bit funny...embarrassing lol

Once the bits arrive arrive at the garage, is fitting a quick job? And how many new keys do they give you? Old key still usable?

 

[ItalianTuneUp]

There was another oddity which I've noticed previously:

I plug a phone charger into the lighter socket and sometimes, whilst driving along with the sat nav on the phone, I've noticed the phone charging icon disappears for no apparent reason. Could this be related to the ignition switch failing...I.e. ignition switch fails so no power sent to lighter socket?

 

[V12]

First of all the key started failing in the ignition and packed up one day. My car has the keyless go system so I was able to still drive and use the car with that.

But then that started breaking down slightly and would never fail completely but just became annoying.

It's about 10 minutes to replace the switch and then coding can be up to an hour.

Firstly green key goes into ignition and takes about 20 minutes from memory. Once that has unlocked the EIS then star can do the variant coding.

You keep your original keys. They are over £200 each if you need new ones!

 

[V12]

There was another oddity which I've noticed previously:

I plug a phone charger into the lighter socket and sometimes, whilst driving along with the sat nav on the phone, I've noticed the phone charging icon disappears for no apparent reason. Could this be related to the ignition switch failing...I.e. ignition switch fails so no power sent to lighter socket?

For whatever reason the W220 socket never seems to securely hold plugs in securely. I have 3 different adapters for phones, sat Nav etc and none of them remain secure but they don't have issues in other cars!

 

[ItalianTuneUp]

For whatever reason the W220 socket never seems to securely hold plugs in securely. I have 3 different adapters for phones, sat Nav etc and none of them remain secure but they don't have issues in other cars!

Ah that explains it then. I'm on my second charger, so maybe the first one was ok in fact? Maybe the two rear cigarette lighter sockets are more reliable? Could run a cable from one of the rears if so.

 

[ItalianTuneUp]

Well well well. I'm glad to report that ALL electrical issues have now gone...several weeks have passed now without seeing a single dashboard display message!

After the alternator was replaced I saw a vast drop in the number of messages displayed, but still got the Electronic Power Control messages from time to time, plus the daily mirror indicator messages due to the broken wires in the folding mirrors.

Recently Olly's garage replaced the mirror internals and this has not only got rid of the mirror indicator messages, but also all of the Electronic Power Control messages!

These Electronic Power Control messages seemed related to a failing ignition switch, as a deft whack under the ignition switch would cause the ignition to work again. Since the mirror fix, even this is unnecessary...so it looks like all the electronic gremlins have been exorcised!

Happy days! Thanks Olly and all at PCS!

 

[BlackC55]

I'm pleased it's done but the wiring for the mirror has no influence on the EPC warning! Very strange indeed.

 

[ItalianTuneUp]

Yes, I'm very surprised too, but all I can go on is what I see, or rather don't see popping up on the dash each drive.

I will update this thread if the dreaded EPC messages recur. Strong wind and driving rain seemed to make it significantly worse last year, so we'll see what happens in the coming months. But since the mirror was done, zero EPC messages!

 

[John]

Glad you got it sorted fella - well done Olly.

Electrical gremlins are a FPITA.

 

[ItalianTuneUp]

Glad you got it sorted fella - well done Olly.

Electrical gremlins are a FPITA.

Thanks! Yes, they're a real pain.

I suspect I'm likely to see the EPC messages again at some point over the coming months, but you never know.

Even if they do, then:

1. For the time being no more aggro, and
2. If it does recur then I know the solution: thump it to get the ignition working again (*), and cough up for a new ignition switch if it becomes unbearable.


* thanks for that star tip Olly...it worked a treat and got me out of trouble on loads of occasions Lol!

 

[Jamil89]

I have a 2003 Mercedes C180 Coupe, with 79000 mileage. When the ignition is on, the Windows, sunroof, indicators work. But once you start the engine, the Windows sunroof indicators wipers horn don't work. Headlights work, radio works CD changer never works, hazard lights work. I have taken it to a local garage and they said that the alternator is not charging the battery so they replaced it and still no luck. Any ideas? Please



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[ItalianTuneUp]

I don't know really, but maybe best to create a new thread for your situation? Good luck!

 

[ItalianTuneUp]

Uh oh, Electronic Power Control message appeared again today...interestingly appearing just when the wind and rain arrived. I'll have to keep an eye on it.

However, the ignition worked fine without a thump of encouragement.

I had the impression that after the engine started, it ticked over a little roughly...idling seemed to miss a beat a little every now and then.

 

[ItalianTuneUp]

Finally found the cause of the frequent EPC messages...which returned recently. They were caused by a faulty upstream exhaust temperature sensor. Thanks Olly and team!

For the first time since I've had this car, there are no dashboard messages!

Note to self: If EPC messages return then it's likely to be the other temp sensor, as there are two of them apparently.

 

[ItalianTuneUp]

One strange electrical issue that happened the other day was that the key was turned in the ignition, but the engine was not started, and the illuminated dash display started glimmering...getting dim then bright repeatedly. When I turned the key to the off position and then turned it back to its former position the glimmering was gone. Any ideas anyone?