W202 C200 Classic Estate Auto MAF

[johnmbc200]

Help desperately required.
for the past 9 months my car has been at the garage more than it has been with me on the road., my local garage diagnosed the problem as a dodgy MAF and changed it with one from a car for sale on his own car lot, just to try it, he also put mine on his car lot car to prove mine was duff, the one he fitted to my car seemed to work for a couple of days and then it was back to bad running, lack of power and unable to accelerate over 4000 revs, when it completely lost power, until the revs dropped right down , when the car was bought to a standstill it would "shake", if it was swiitched off and then restarted it would be fine until you tried to go above 4000 revs ets. Also tried were the coil packs, the HT leads , the plugs, all to no avail. Last week another Brand New MB MAF was fitted, which once again has worked for approx 2 days and now it is going back in on Tuesday becasue it still isn't working correctly above 4000 revs.
The shaking at standstill is exactly the same when in drive or in park or neutral, can anyone out there please help??????????

 

[alibally]

Hello. If the car misfires either due to an ignition or fuel problem it will store a fault and switch off the offending cylinders injector to save the catalyst from damage. Restarting the car resets this untill it misfires again. Sometimes this can lead to mis-diagnosis and can be mistaken for faulty injectors and even control units being replaced for no reason. You say the MAF sensor was changed and the car was ok for 2 days? It would be worth getting the fault codes read with a star machine and the actual values can be looked at also. Throwing parts at a car is a bit hit and miss, and also very costly. Lack of power at high revs and high engine loads could point to something as simple as a blocked fuel filter as the pressure may be ok but the volume of fuel delivered may not be enough. High injection times in the actual values would indicate this. I know its expensive but an hour in a main dealer could save you alot of mucking about.

 

[neilrr]

How much is a new MB MAF?

How much is it for a Star diagnosis?

 

[BlackC55]

Get it on a Star. This will give you fault codes and some live data so that you can see what is going on.

 

[johnmbc200]

Thanks for the responses. If by Star you mean MB Main agents then its probably a non starter as there is only one on the Isle of Wight and I had a major falling out with them when I moved from the mainland to the Island, in effect they told me that I required £3500 of work doing to pass an MOT, I removed the car to where it has been serviced ever since and NONE of the work they said required doing has ever been carried out, but strangly enought the car has always passed the MOT. The car has been on diagnostic equipment but neither I or the guy who usually carries out any work on the car was present so we aren't aware of any codes that were recorded and the company that carried out the work can't remember now what they were!!!!. One code that they do remember told them that my Camshaft sensor was defective, I was dubious but had it changed to eliminate it. I agree that my approach is very hit and miss, fortunately the guy who looks after my servicing is only charging me for any new parts that I may have to get and not for any labour charges, I have been informed that there is a device on the car that stops it from over revving when stationary, apparantly it will only rev to just over 4000, is this the electronic package that is attached to the throttle body?? I am thinking that perhaps this is now cutting in when the car is in motion!!!. I have read on previous mentions to MAF problems that when a new MAF is fitted all stored codes must be deleted as the new MAF could pick up the old MAF problem from the stored code, I mentioned this to my mechanic but he wasn't so sure!!! could this be why my new MAF has now develeped the same problem as before??? Regards for all help

 

[BlackC55]

It is not just dealers that have a Star

Getting it diagnosed properly rather than bolting parts on. It will save you money in the long run. If the garage you are using does not have the right equipment to diagnose it then you are wasting your time with them. Are there any independent MB specialists on the IOW?

Eplanade don't have the best reputation......

I agree, it seems a very strange fault.

 

[johnmbc200]

As far as I know there are no other MB specialists on the IOW, and yes you are right about Esplanade!!!!!, I am perfectly happy with the general work carried out by my mechanic, like servicing, pre MOT check etc, but he can't justify the cost of Star, also he has become a very good friend, perhaps I should just bite the bullet and get on the most expensive ferry in the world and come across to see you in Portsmouth, how much would it be for an hour of diagnostics???

 

[BlackC55]

£55+vat.

It may not take an hour but it may take longer.

 

[johnmbc200]

thanks for that, I am going to the mechanic tomorrow for his views and I may have to get the ferry in the end so I will let you know the outcome thanks very much for the advice so far

 

[BlackC55]

Anytime.

 

[johnmbc200]

Update on MAF problem

Since last appearing on here the car has now been on Diagnostic equipment (not STAR) but it did throw up a lot of error codes, not knowing how old they were or if they were still valid, all codes were cleared, the car has now been driven for approx 2 weeks, it still rev,s and drives very well with no shaking at standstill, however one error code HAS re-appeared so can only assume it is actually valid, it is "P0170 A Self Adaptation AT Limit N3/10", my mechanic has checked this on some computer software which has told us it equates to "Fuel Trim Bank 1", which on its own doesn't actually help very much, can anyone please advance our knowledge at this stage and tell us what this actually means in what isn't working as it should do

 

[Adam230K]

I've had a similar code a long time ago which was exactly the same 'P0170', but the description was 'Self-Adaptation too lean'.

My W202 C230K had this code stored for 2.5 years and it never missed a beat... And I never found out what that code meant!

 

[johnmbc200]

if BlackC55 is available!! do you have any words of wisdom on this one please, your previous help was very much appreciated and if possible I would like to get this one sorted LOL

 

[johnmbc200]

as no reply for 2 days now, is there anyone else out there who can answer my latest question on this thread????????? please help!!!!!

 

[Stratman]

Looking on an internet it means that the ECU can't squirt the correct amount of fuel in. The required amount is outside the limits of what the system can supply; 'Self adaptation at limit'. This is usually caused by a faulty MAF, or occasionally an air leak, since the translation of 'Self adaptation at limit' in this situation is 'weak mixture'.

Check the air intake pipes for leaks, but you could have a blocked fuel filter or injector.


Top tip: It doesn't do to nag individuals to answer you posts. People on here are very generous with their time and knowledge, and will answer when they can. Ollie (BlackC55) for instance has a business to run, a new daughter to look after and has been in hospital recently.

 

[Chrishazle]

From reading any number of posts on this forum, my advice would be - take the ferry and a trip to Ollie. I've never met the guy, but the number of forum members that have praised his work speaks for itself. I know that if I was still living just off the A3, it's where my car would go - but I'm fortunate enough to have a good indie just outside Canterbury.

Have a day out on the mainland!

 

[johnmbc200]

Thank you very much for your assistance, I must apologise most profoundly if I have caused ANY offence at all. BlackC55 was so helpful in the beginning of this thread that I just hoped he would continue to be so, I must admit I never thought that it might appear as harrassment, I am just so desperate to get this problem solved. I will now put this thread to sleep but once again thank you everyone for your invaluable assistance in solving this problem for me