Same ole W03 probs - newbie help

[HITECH]

Hi to all and cheers for another good forum for helping fellow merc owners. Ive looked all over the forum and not surprisingly its a bit of a minefield diagnosing problem/s which can have different sources even tho the common fault can be the same. Ive just owned a c220 cdi 04 plate for 5 days and have been greeted with some problems. After researching the model for a good 12 months before finally buying one Im not too surprised or worried yet. Its the old loss of power culprit. I will write it exactly how its happend n appreciate some advice on a starting point to check. Guythat sold me it paid a small fortune to replace EGR valve as it had gone into limp mode. Also the glow plug light stays on intermittently after starting car and driving. The guy said the faulty glow plug causing it was replaced, I drove the car 400 miles home. It did go into limp mode after 1st 20 miles. I drove it in that mode for another 100 miles thinking if its carbon build up in the new EGR maybe long run will clear it. After a fuel stop it was fine and ran perfect for whole journey home and next 4 days. Then got random dash message, coolant level low. As temp gauge sitting steady 80-90 and temp level was actually full and same level as before it hasnt concerned me at all. Glow plug light staying on after starting and driving car for 20 odd minutes then goes out n can come back off n on at times. I reckon check all the glow plugs and most likely change all of them anyway. hopefully that problem sorted. I noticed last few days when i was sitting on the throttle driving but not giving it any gas there was what seems like a slight miss or fuel pinking action. Barely noticeable but noticeable to me. Then its started going into limp mode now not revving over 3000rpm after about 3 minutes of driving. Glow plug light still doing the same thing. There is a hissing/wooshing noise from engine when u accelerate which i noticed as soon as i bought it but since it was pulling fine with no problems didnt give me cause for concern at the time. Out of curiosity i stalled it to see what error or what would happen afterwards. The engine light came on when i done this and comes on every time i start it now. Ive ordered the right scanner to plug in for codes to try point me in the right direction so am not led up the garden path. From what ive red in this forum im going to try this order,
1.MAF - disconnecting see if any diffirence
2. check for vacuam leaks ( where am not entirely sure yet )
3. replace glow plugs
4. clean out EGR ( as old one that was replaced was black although activating fine)

on top of that one of the rear number plate lights went out so a readout on cluster telling me that now so i will replace that myself.

Any advice on if im on the correct path to tackle this ide really appreciate? got the bug for mercedes now and love the drive when its running schweet. Im qualified in electronics so not in any way concerned about faulty sensors or false errors. Main thing is to ignore the false errors n get to the root of the cause. On occasion sensors can however work properly and identify a fault. so hopefully plugging in the scanner and getting any fault codes will be legit ones. Any help and advice ide really appreciate. Thanks

 

[S92Jockey]

Hi there..
Sounds very very similar to a problem I had with a MK3 Mondeo TDCi..... Which was all caused by a faulty injector....
Not sure where you are... But I have a very good Diagnostic computer. Which can read, clear and do some reprogramming/recoding....

 

[HITECH]

Today the engine light went off and the back number plate light started working again. So no display on dashboard of REAR RIGHT NUMBER PLATE LIGHT FAULT. Glow plug light still doing its random thing and same limp mode fault after few minutes of driving. Im going to hopefully get the chance to check it tomorrow ( Saturday). Just to add some info on this. Before I bought the car the drivers side rear brake caliper was replaced along with some basic components. Dunno if any of that is relevant.My drivers side mirror has a broken bit of plastic inside it and cant retract closed properly if i try to do it. So i dont fold it at all for any reason now. basic hose check for any leaks will be starting point.....

 

[dozypillock]

Today the engine light went off and the back number plate light started working again. So no display on dashboard of REAR RIGHT NUMBER PLATE LIGHT FAULT. Glow plug light still doing its random thing and same limp mode fault after few minutes of driving. Im going to hopefully get the chance to check it tomorrow ( Saturday). Just to add some info on this. Before I bought the car the drivers side rear brake caliper was replaced along with some basic components. Dunno if any of that is relevant.My drivers side mirror has a broken bit of plastic inside it and cant retract closed properly if i try to do it. So i dont fold it at all for any reason now. basic hose check for any leaks will be starting point.....

Do not know anything about diesels, but have read lots.
Checking hoses is a good idea when you don't know the car, especially if you get wooshing sounds, probably only when you start to try and use more power, especially if a turbo is involved?.
If broken plastic is "inside" the mirror, I read that it is easy to remove glass, and gain access to everything in there. Not done it myself yet though. I think it was just push against bottom of glass, and unclip spring at top, but worth checking.

Neil

 

[HITECH]

OK i didnt have an assistant today so couldnt really check properly for vacuum leaks. What i did find was a frayed wire going to the connector for the EGR valve. Although frayed it was still making a connection. I repaired that. Also removed the EGR. It was quite black with suit so i cleaned it up using a bit of acetone being very careful not to touch the rubber seal with the acetone. it was retracting and moving ok without sticking. Put it back in. Had power back for the usual few minutes ( no longer than original fault ) then back to limp mode 3000rpm. Other than get somebody to rev the car and I can check for vacuum leaks Im stumped now. I did do a visual check and felt around all metal pipes and rubber hoses. No holes in any metal pipes and what I could see n feel seemed all fine.my vin number starts WDC203. Stupid question but it is just same as W03?? Im running out of options other than the glow plug checks but if their is a faulty glow plug would it cause the car to go into limp mode after say 3 minutes? Engine light came back on as well. What now? Im waiting for code reader to come in the post to see if any codes are logged which can shed some light on this. Beginning to irritate me now. But im sure its not something major as the engine idles perfectly goes up to 80 in limp mode no problem and all dials , temp etc are normal. No malfunctions coming up on the dash.

 

[Vlad]

If I was to have a guess, I would say that the turbo actuator is sticking, thus causing the car to go into limp mode once you hit 3000rpm which is likely to be a result of over boosting.

 

[porkawa1ker]

I would still look for a pipe with a split in it. It sounds very similar to a fault that I had a couple of years ago. It can be very difficult to spot.

 

[HITECH]

fault codes coming up:
P1409
P0299
P0244
P0123
FAULTS THAT RETURNED AFTER CLEARING THE ABOVE
P0471
P1409

Any ideas ??? Got one of best mechanics around looking at it just now. Always a bit more detective work tho when it comes to limp mode and fault codes with mercedes apparently as im learning.

 

[HITECH]

anyone wanna have a logical stab in the dark what i should do??? Change MAF sensor ?, Change throttle position sensor ? change egr solenoid sensor ? ( does it have one ? ). Im clutching at straws now before spending money on parts. no vosible leaks on any hoses so if its a vacuum problem is it likely that further closer too the manifold is possibly the cause, seals etc etc etc ????

 

[rf065]

anyone wanna have a logical stab in the dark what i should do???

Mine used to go into limp mode, it needed one of the intercooler hoses replaced as it was split. Trouble is, parked with the engine running, the turbo is not providing any boost and it's difficult to spot the problem, but that is where I would start.

I also had the rear number plate warning off and on, the bulb was fine, it was the metal connections at the back of the light unit that were corroded, new light unit fixed that one, about £10 approx for the part.

Russ

 

[HITECH]

i havent had any updates on this as i been working away for weeks at a time. home tommorow. mechanic who does any of my cars has had car in n out his garage and has spent time on it checking stuff. his gut feeling and going by the sporadic codes was the throttle pedal position sensor. which when u think about it. if it kicks it into limp mode then the turbo aint boosting or possibly attempts n is cut off before 3000rpm etc. so that in this case explains sporadic fault codes coming up. Anyway part was ordered and he fitted it. spoke to him other night on the phone n he sais. job done n problem solved. The wooshing noise was a glow plug that had not been properly screwed down all the way by last garage. rather than oil it at regular intervals and screw it down n back a few turns every so often they just left it. He sorted that as well. so looking forward to getting home on wednesday n going for a long cruise . will give you a final update after wednesday, thanks for all ur input.

 

[HITECH]

Ok update is: pedal position sensor assembly complete changed which has got rid of a lot of codes so that was faulty. It kicked back into limp mode again more I drove it but specifically only 2 codes coming back now instead of 5/6. 113 and 299. Actuator been checked and it IS moving and working. Thats the EGR, Actuator, pedal position sensor assembly, the MAF sensor all ruled out now. Whats left with this 113 code is to replace the air temp control sensor on the intake side at the air filter. Part should come tue/Wed. Get rid of the 113 code and go from there with the PO299 left. The turbo and actuator has been ruled out as being faulty so far. Turbo is quite new, so a strip down to check other components now, wiring and hoses. 1 code left to chase. If cant find anything apparently obvious then its going onto a star diagnostic on Friday. Will keep this updated and hopefully have a positive conclusion very soon.

 

[HITECH]

I was up last night reading n reading thru this forum and came across so many threads and posts about the large boost pipe from the turbo. THE BIGGEST PIPE at the front right of the engine. I had felt around it and it felt fine. But their were a few posts where people said that it felt fine until u actually squeezed the hose. Well today I stopped the car and flipped the bonnet and this time feeling round all the hoses. Squeezing n pulling. Guess what. That thickest hose has got a tear along the underside of it about 3 inches long. So the wooshing noise isnt from a glow plug or anything. But it is such a hard thing to actually find because if u just brush ur hand round it it feels ok. As soon as I squeezed the pipe hard i felt the hose cave in and the tear instantly. Gonna have some lunch the now and get it duct taped up fo rnow and order a new hose. I will post back after I have duct taped the hose but am quite sure my PO299 fault has been traced. This car has been in a few garages before I bought it. They changed various things so it just goes to show that even a good mechanic can miss those things. My own advice for people with this fault is to remove this hose first of all and check it if you have a PO299 fault. rule this hose out 1st ! Brilliant advice in here from people and great forum. Next post I hope will be my last concerning this thread.

 

[HITECH]

Had hose off and yep big tear down the underside of it. Numbers on it is
203 528 31 82. where can i get this cheap and is there an equivalent part number to use for it as well? Duct tape done the job for test purposes. done a 10 mile trip and difference in boost was well noticeable but it was cheap duct tape so it wont last long. at least got to the bottom of the problem and the duct tap will do the trick for now until i get replacement hose. please help with sourcing the hose and part number. The air temp sensor on the MAF side turned up just now aswell so that should get rid of the 113 code. 299 is gone just with the duct tape on for now. Thanks for all input.

Ive got a pic of the hose which u can clearly see the slit in it but dunno how to put it on here. dont see any attach file anywhere.

 

[balge]

a2035283182 brings up second-hand one on Ebay, £70 though.
Inchcape don't list it?

The 'attachments' for pictures tab is top middle when you go to advanced reply rather than the quick reply button

 

[grumpyoldgit]

To upload pictures you need the 'Go Advanced' option.

Click on the Paperclip icon at the top and that will open a pop-up window, click on Choose File, then Upload. Close the pop-up window and click on the downward pointing arrow next to the Paperclip and then click on the attachment which will be showing. NB. There is a size limit on picture uploads, so you may need to reduce the size of it if it won't upload. (Alternatively use a hosting site and post a link).

A quick Google of the part number you've listed comes up with this on one of the results. (No idea if it's correct or not though). REPLACED 203 528 3382.

Have you tried a main dealer?

 

[rom1]

anyone wanna have a logical stab in the dark what i should do??? Change MAF sensor ?, Change throttle position sensor ? change egr solenoid sensor ? ( does it have one ? ). Im clutching at straws now before spending money on parts. no vosible leaks on any hoses so if its a vacuum problem is it likely that further closer too the manifold is possibly the cause, seals etc etc etc ????

Wooshing noise and loss of power on mines was down to split in turbo pipe, when I removed it there was a massive spilt about 4" long, this could not be seen with it in place.

Also on mines I was getting problems with glow plug light staying on, errors for coolant level, errors for ESP faulty visit work shop, no rev counter, fans come on straight away, and it ran really lumpy.

Ended up changing the ECU, not cheap.

I would say get it on a proper star machine and codes read, code readers are ok but to get accurate valves of what is going on needs a propper diagnostic check.

Also my DPF was blocked and not regenerating dispite trying to force it, this was down to engine not reaching temp which was a result of faulty stat.

Right dodgey dealer I bought it from but thats another story.....

 

[balge]

A2035283382

OSE - unspecified All Years General Repair - Mercedes-Benz Parts, Inchcape

 

[rom1]

MERCEDES C CLASS C220 2.2 CDI W203 W209 INTERCOOLER PIPE A2095281082 | eBay

Think I paid around £63 from MB Leicester. but places like Dronfields have used ones not all are damaged but for peace of mind and being able to sort it on the same day I went for a new one which they had in stock

 

[HITECH]

New hose

Thanks guys i managed to get an equivilent one ordered for £45 that is actually same dimensions as mine. Tonight my heater blower went cold. That bottom radiator hose that sits right beside the turbo intake one is leaking. Taking boost hose off n puting back on must have disturbed it. Now i gotta get that and botch the leaking one tommorow in the daytime to get me by. These problems so far have not been expensive so its no biggie. Its a relief to find the faults n replace the parts tbh.i will fit the air temp sensor tommorow and that should get rid of the 113 fault. so fit new turbo boost intake hose, new intake temp sensor (MAF side), new rear number plate light and now new bottom radiator hose. Its actually running quite good engine wise. plenty of power and decent drive but will have to take it easy til i get the parts replaced now.

ATTACHED IS PIC OF THE HOSE AND THE SLIT ON IT WHICH WAS MISSED TWICE BEFORE BY ME. 3RD TIME LUCKY