grober
MB Master
I have to confess to lifting this straight from the Mercedesshop forum but thought it contained some useful advice from Larry Bible and might form the basis of a HOW TO :---------
TROUBLESHOOTING, Get the Most from your Post!
Guidelines:
SEARCH for other posts regarding your problem. MANY problems are common and MUCH has been written about them. At least scan the first page or two to see if there is a thread started that covers your issue. Posting in that thread, combining your question with another persons with the same problem will get you more information with less work on the part of the answer people. Common courtesy. As I write this there are at least four active threads on changing shocks. The same people are taking time to answer in ALL these threads.
If your question is not troubleshooting per se, rather it involves how to accomplish a particular repair or maintenance operation, check the write ups in the DIY Forum. These write ups are very comprehensive and will probably be more helpful than the casual responses you may get in a specific thread.
Title the post as specifically as possible. A title such as: "Starter Turns Engine, but it will not Start" would solicit more assistance than a title such as: "Grandma's Car." Don't laugh, I've seen this kind of title before.
Please ALWAYS provide the year and model of your Mercedes. Even if you have posted before, there may be someone reading who is an expert in the technical area but not familiar with you or your car.
If you are asking a very specific question such as "where is the a/c relay?" then mention that you have already made some other tests that have led you to this area. It could be that you think the problem is the relay when it could be another more common problem. By assuming that the problem is the relay you are missing the opportunity to get help with the overall problem. A better approach would be, "the compressor is not kicking in, could it be the relay and where is it?" or "I have already checked the other portions of the circuit and it appears to be the relay, where is it?" My point here is that to get the most help, discuss the entire subsystem in terms of what is wrong, what you have done so far and the specific help you need.
Unless the problems are related, start separate threads for separate problems. The rule of thumb here would be that if the problems could possibly be related they should be in the same post, but if they are totally different such as an air conditioning problem and a brake problem, you will probably get better results with separate threads for each problem.
It is often helpful to know your location for things like air conditioning or heating problems. If for whatever reason you don't want to tell where you live at least give a general area like state or province. Surely no one can track you down from that. It would be helpful to just add location to your profile.
ALWAYS give as many details as possible that are PERTINENT to the problem. Giving a history of how you bought the car from a little old lady who only drove it to church on Sunday is interesting but not pertinent to the troubleshooting process. If you are troubleshooting an electrical problem we don’t need to know the make and weight of engine oil you use.
ALWAYS provide information regarding steps that you have already taken or parts that you have already replaced SINCE THE PROBLEM OCCURRED. Just because you replaced a part only a year ago, does not mean that it is still good and eliminated from the troubleshooting thought process.
.
In the case of ELECTRICAL problems, try to identify as many components as possible. For example don’t just talk about Fuse #7, but find out exactly what components are in that circuit and provide this information in your post. Don’t expect the person helping you to look up such information. Also give as much information as you can about voltage readings, circuit connections etc.
In the case of AIR CONDITIONING problems, please provide high and low pressure readings, ambient temperature, vent temperature and refrigerant type in use (R12, R134a, Freeze 12, etc.)
In the case of ENGINE problems try to provide as much information as possible such as compression readings, cylinder leak down test results, timing settings, etc, etc.
In the case of VIBRATIONS, try to indicate which vehicle component that the speed of the vibration matches. As an example, does the vibration speed up when the engine speeds up or when the car speeds up? Where do you feel the vibration, in the steering wheel, all over the body?
Be considerate of those who may potentially help you. If there is information that needs to be looked up in documentation, do your best to find it before posting. You still may not understand the information, if so feel free to ask for clarification, but expecting someone else to do your homework is not very considerate.
Pictures are almost always helpful if you have the necessary equipment to take and post them, but please remember that not everyone uses a high-speed Internet connection so out of respect for those folks, don’t overdo it.
FINALLY
After you have located the problem and affected a suitable repair, make sure to post your results so that we all can share the information and learn from it.
The original post is here http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=127343
TROUBLESHOOTING, Get the Most from your Post!
Guidelines:
SEARCH for other posts regarding your problem. MANY problems are common and MUCH has been written about them. At least scan the first page or two to see if there is a thread started that covers your issue. Posting in that thread, combining your question with another persons with the same problem will get you more information with less work on the part of the answer people. Common courtesy. As I write this there are at least four active threads on changing shocks. The same people are taking time to answer in ALL these threads.
If your question is not troubleshooting per se, rather it involves how to accomplish a particular repair or maintenance operation, check the write ups in the DIY Forum. These write ups are very comprehensive and will probably be more helpful than the casual responses you may get in a specific thread.
Title the post as specifically as possible. A title such as: "Starter Turns Engine, but it will not Start" would solicit more assistance than a title such as: "Grandma's Car." Don't laugh, I've seen this kind of title before.
Please ALWAYS provide the year and model of your Mercedes. Even if you have posted before, there may be someone reading who is an expert in the technical area but not familiar with you or your car.
If you are asking a very specific question such as "where is the a/c relay?" then mention that you have already made some other tests that have led you to this area. It could be that you think the problem is the relay when it could be another more common problem. By assuming that the problem is the relay you are missing the opportunity to get help with the overall problem. A better approach would be, "the compressor is not kicking in, could it be the relay and where is it?" or "I have already checked the other portions of the circuit and it appears to be the relay, where is it?" My point here is that to get the most help, discuss the entire subsystem in terms of what is wrong, what you have done so far and the specific help you need.
Unless the problems are related, start separate threads for separate problems. The rule of thumb here would be that if the problems could possibly be related they should be in the same post, but if they are totally different such as an air conditioning problem and a brake problem, you will probably get better results with separate threads for each problem.
It is often helpful to know your location for things like air conditioning or heating problems. If for whatever reason you don't want to tell where you live at least give a general area like state or province. Surely no one can track you down from that. It would be helpful to just add location to your profile.
ALWAYS give as many details as possible that are PERTINENT to the problem. Giving a history of how you bought the car from a little old lady who only drove it to church on Sunday is interesting but not pertinent to the troubleshooting process. If you are troubleshooting an electrical problem we don’t need to know the make and weight of engine oil you use.
ALWAYS provide information regarding steps that you have already taken or parts that you have already replaced SINCE THE PROBLEM OCCURRED. Just because you replaced a part only a year ago, does not mean that it is still good and eliminated from the troubleshooting thought process.
.
In the case of ELECTRICAL problems, try to identify as many components as possible. For example don’t just talk about Fuse #7, but find out exactly what components are in that circuit and provide this information in your post. Don’t expect the person helping you to look up such information. Also give as much information as you can about voltage readings, circuit connections etc.
In the case of AIR CONDITIONING problems, please provide high and low pressure readings, ambient temperature, vent temperature and refrigerant type in use (R12, R134a, Freeze 12, etc.)
In the case of ENGINE problems try to provide as much information as possible such as compression readings, cylinder leak down test results, timing settings, etc, etc.
In the case of VIBRATIONS, try to indicate which vehicle component that the speed of the vibration matches. As an example, does the vibration speed up when the engine speeds up or when the car speeds up? Where do you feel the vibration, in the steering wheel, all over the body?
Be considerate of those who may potentially help you. If there is information that needs to be looked up in documentation, do your best to find it before posting. You still may not understand the information, if so feel free to ask for clarification, but expecting someone else to do your homework is not very considerate.
Pictures are almost always helpful if you have the necessary equipment to take and post them, but please remember that not everyone uses a high-speed Internet connection so out of respect for those folks, don’t overdo it.
FINALLY
After you have located the problem and affected a suitable repair, make sure to post your results so that we all can share the information and learn from it.
The original post is here http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=127343
