W163 -The Saga continues....

[DexterML]

Hi all

The saga continues indeed. I am waiting for a new crankshaft sensor to arrive (changed the cam sensor), and my appointment to the indie for the diagnostics. In the meantime the car is just sitting there. I start it up every now and then to keep the battery from dying. And here is the thing. I started the car, let it run for about 15 minutes. Things happened in this order:
1. Turned off
2. The key wouldn't release from the ignition again....
3. Started the car again, the car wouldn't start. Cranked but no fire up.
4. After about 3 long tries.. it fired up.
5. Key still stuck. Turned the engine off again.
6. Turned engine on, wouldn't start.. cranked but no start.
7. Tried another 2 or 3 times, fired up.
8. Turned engine off, key got released from the ignition barrel.

Also, I noticed that there was a whirring noise coming from this.. I circled it in red below, which I don't know what it is... It usually died out before after a few seconds, now it seemed to go on and on for minutes. Anybody knows what it is?
Does anyone know what the car does if it doesn't recognize the key? In previous cars I had, the lights would turn on but the car would do anything. No crank, no nothing.
Would the engine still crank if the coder doesn't recognize the key in the ML's case ?

 

[BlackC55]

You may have a worn ignition barrel. Is the key worn? Is it loose in the ignition? Is the spare any better?

Are your issues poor starting?

 

[DexterML]

You may have a worn ignition barrel. Is the key worn? Is it loose in the ignition? Is the spare any better?

Are your issues poor starting?

Hello, thank you for your reply. Apologies for not replying sooner.

It is no more loose than other cars I have had. The spare key -if I am not mistaken has not yet gotten stuck in the barrel. But feels the same, no real difference when they are in the barrel.
My main (among many others) issue is the car dying when driven for about 30-40 minutes. It will then only crank, no start and will eventually start after about 30 or so minutes. Hence why I can't get it from Portsmouth to Prestige as many members suggested. It will be terrifying to have it die on the motorway or on a B road with traffic.

I got it diagnosed together at a very local specialist near me (like half a mile away) and gotten the following errors among some others I couldn't get down.

Most of these errors were stored, so not sure when they actually happened. I was told not to worry too much about them and get a replacement AAM module from ebay as they don't need reprogramming and are a direct swap. Not sure how true that is.

AAM All activity module
Communication error no access

EAM extended activity module
B1040 Fault in CAN comms with control unit MR engine control
B1042 Fault in CAN comms with control unit BAS brake assist
B1040 Fault in CAN comms Engine control module
B1041 Fault in CAN comms ESP/ETS
B1088 Fault in CAN comms A1, instrument cluster
B1089 Fault in CAN comms A55, transfer case VG range selection motor
B1396-000 Fault in heating circuit 1 of heater booster

Engine ECU
P1636-008 Electric suction fan open circuit
P1470-032 charge pressure control negative control variation -charge pressure is too high
P1482-001 N14/2 Glow output stage - comms fault
P1354-016 synchronization between crankshaft and camshaft, no camshaft signal
P1354-064 synchronization between crankshaft and camshaft: Plausibility
P1354-064 synchronization between crankshaft and camshaft no crankshaft signal
P1630-016 Drive authorization control unit and drive authorization does not answer
P0703-128 Brake signal plausibility 2
P2201-004 CAN message from control module DAS : Plausibility 1

VG Transfer Case
P1831 Positioner motor or position sensor or power supply is faulty

ETC -electronic transmission control
134 CAN comms with the traction system is sporadically disturbed
147 The gear is sporadically implausible or the transmission slips sporadically.