Seans Dad
New Member
Unfortunately, my 1st post here is the subject of a problem with my car.
The car is a 1999 W202 C240 Sport Auto Estate.
Yesterday, I drove 5 miles to our local filling station in it, parked the car, was gone for 5 mins or so, and when I returned, it refused to start, or even turn over.
I had ignition lights for around 1/2 a second, then they extinguished altogether, but the cooling fan was running constantly while the ignition was switched on.
I called my breakdown service, who duly arrived, and we found that the earth cable that connects to the a/c compressor was broken. He repaired this, and I had full ignition lights, and the cooling fan had stopped whizzing away. But still the engine refused to crank over. All it would do is try to turn over, but go only a fraction, as we could see the aux belts turning slightly. The mechanic said it may be a starter/earthing issue, so I agreed to have the car recovered back to my home so I could investigate further.
Got the car home, and up onto my ramps, removed the plastic undertray, and found the engine earth strap had snapped. Bingo!!! I thought. I removed it, repaired it, clean it all up with a wire brush, refitted it, but still had the same symptoms, ie, engine struggling to turn over.
My thoughts then turned to the battery, so I removed it, charged it up for 24hrs, and put it back on tonight after work. Still nothing though. I then nipped to Halfords and purchased a brand new Bosch battery (800 amp, more than enough to turn the engine) but again, it refuses to turn over, just a slight groan, and the belts turn slightly again.
I'm now at a loss. Headlights are nice and bright, c/locking works fine, all other electrics work fine, but the engine refuses to turn over.
Have I missed something?? Is there another earth strap somewhere?Any fuses I should check?
My thoughts now are towards the starter motor, or CPS, but I'm not sure.
The starter looks like an absolute pig to get to.
Any thoughts or advice please, gratefully received.
Thanks.
Dan. (sorry it's long winded!!)
The car is a 1999 W202 C240 Sport Auto Estate.
Yesterday, I drove 5 miles to our local filling station in it, parked the car, was gone for 5 mins or so, and when I returned, it refused to start, or even turn over.
I had ignition lights for around 1/2 a second, then they extinguished altogether, but the cooling fan was running constantly while the ignition was switched on.
I called my breakdown service, who duly arrived, and we found that the earth cable that connects to the a/c compressor was broken. He repaired this, and I had full ignition lights, and the cooling fan had stopped whizzing away. But still the engine refused to crank over. All it would do is try to turn over, but go only a fraction, as we could see the aux belts turning slightly. The mechanic said it may be a starter/earthing issue, so I agreed to have the car recovered back to my home so I could investigate further.
Got the car home, and up onto my ramps, removed the plastic undertray, and found the engine earth strap had snapped. Bingo!!! I thought. I removed it, repaired it, clean it all up with a wire brush, refitted it, but still had the same symptoms, ie, engine struggling to turn over.
My thoughts then turned to the battery, so I removed it, charged it up for 24hrs, and put it back on tonight after work. Still nothing though. I then nipped to Halfords and purchased a brand new Bosch battery (800 amp, more than enough to turn the engine) but again, it refuses to turn over, just a slight groan, and the belts turn slightly again.
I'm now at a loss. Headlights are nice and bright, c/locking works fine, all other electrics work fine, but the engine refuses to turn over.
Have I missed something?? Is there another earth strap somewhere?Any fuses I should check?
My thoughts now are towards the starter motor, or CPS, but I'm not sure.
The starter looks like an absolute pig to get to.
Any thoughts or advice please, gratefully received.
Thanks.
Dan. (sorry it's long winded!!)