W203 220 CDi will not crank/start

[classiccarzone]

I have a 2002 W203 220 CDI Automatic. It was driving great. I replaced the serpentine belt last week and left the car parked up for five days or so as I was away on business.
The car started instantly on Friday evening but all of the instrument panel was in darkness. The rev counter and the speedo and fuel gauge were not working.
Everything else worked.
The lights came on automatically every time the car was started and whereas it was possible to manually turn then to side lights it was not possible to turn the lights off while the ignition was on.
This happened only from Friday night.

It was the same story today. I decided to disconnect the battery to see if it would make a difference. On reconnecting the battery the car will not now start.
When the key is inserted it makes the usual noise and releases the steering lock.

The gear lever will not move out of park. I have released the gear lever by inserting a screwdriver under the coin holder; still no good.
I have checked all of the fuses and all are ok.
I have locked and relocked the car to no avail.
I have used the spare key; no good. Unlike some others who have posted here the wipers also work.
Any help appreciated.

 

[classiccarzone]

Anybody?

 

[mersum1es]

There could have been moisture in ECU/relay box (sounds grounding problem) and is not very uncommon in W203. Is the rad fan running when ignition on?

Is battery voltage now ok? Stuck gear level may be due to brake light switch, but because so many electrical issues in the past, there could be something more serious.

 

[classiccarzone]

There was a lot of rain while the car was parked up. The car did not have a problem before being parked up. The rad fan is not running with the ignition on but if you remove a particular fuse the fan will come on.
The battery is fine and was fine.
The brake light is working fine and I can manually release the lever by inserting a screwdriver under the coin holder.

 

[mersum1es]

Could be moisture problem then.

brake lights usually does not reveal switch malfunction, it is multifunction device and will have effect to many other things...

Have you checked front sam (LHD car here: http://i46.tinypic.com/14vpfcw.jpg http://i46.tinypic.com/qyxoj7.jpg)

 

[classiccarzone]

I have removed the sam and checked it. There is no sign of moisture. As an update when I took out the same I also removed and replaced all the relays.
As an update when I replaced the sam and the relays and connected the battery my pod lights and computer came back. I was also able to start the car. As the car was running the ignition lights were on but the rev counter and the fuel gauge were not working. I removed the battery again and when reconnected I was back to square one.

 

[classiccarzone]

Well today, as no real information was forthcoming I decided that I had better get off my ass and down to work on it . I put on a Snap On diagnostic and after clearing all the codes associated with removal of sam's etc I was left with one code P2200.

Some forums put this down to being a "limp home" code. That is not correct. As per the Snap On display, and verified elsewhere it is an instrument cluster fault code. "from Instrument cluster over can"

At the outset I stated that my instrument cluster was not working. The computer was not working; the gauges are not working; the dash lights are not working; the speedo is not working and the indicator tell tale lights are not working.

I had a brain wave-happens sometimes- I decided to take out fuse number 42. That is the fuse for the instrument cluster. I turned the key and the car started. I put the fuse back in and the car would not start. I did this three or four times with the same result.

The only mad thing is that the car will now start with fuse 42 in.

My next move is to remove the instrument pod. I believe that there is a module somewhere that works everything there. I guess that slipping something into the slots on the front will release the catches holding the pod in. Again any further experience gained help gratefully accepted.

 

[Benza750]

I had 1 when I worked in the dealer that had an internal fault within the cluster & caused it to non start.
Unplug cluster ( same ad fuse removal) & it started.
Look at BBA reman for cluster repair.

 

[classiccarzone]

I had 1 when I worked in the dealer that had an internal fault within the cluster & caused it to non start.
Unplug cluster ( same ad fuse removal) & it started.
Look at BBA reman for cluster repair.

Thanks, benza. The only mad thing now is that the car starts whether or not the fuse is removed but the cluster is still on the blink.
I intend to pull the cluster in the morning

 

[classiccarzone]

Commenced to remove the cluster this morning and switched on the ignition; guess what?; the cluster is now working I just have to get rid of the SRS and ESP faults. Any ideas as to why it is now suddenly working?

 

[mersum1es]

Could have been bad contact somewhere, and grounding problems confused front sam...
One thing occurred to me; is the EIS behind/connected to the instrument cluster? That may disable permission to start, if some contact problems in cluster electrics...

 

[Tinkerer]

Sounds like a dodgy connection that you have disturbed ............. just don't ask me where it is!

 

[classiccarzone]

Could have been bad contact somewhere, and grounding problems confused front sam...
One thing occurred to me; is the EIS behind/connected to the instrument cluster? That may disable permission to start, if some contact problems in cluster electrics...

I had really gone through all the connectors and earth's half a dozen times. Today I did not even get as far as sliding the cluster out. I just sat into the car and thought about doing it I decided to start it just once first and everything was back.

In the beginning the car would not start and the cluster was totally dead and the headlights came on.
Then, after a disconnection the cluster came back; the car started but the ignition lights were on and the headlights were on.
Another disconnection and I was back to square one. no cluster, no start and headlights on.

I then took out the cluster fuse and the car started but no cluster and headlights on. Put in the fuse and no start and no cluster and headlights on. Fuse out again start and no cluster and headlights on X3.

Then car decided to start without the cluster fuse being taken out but no cluster and headlights on.
After an overnight everything is back as it should be apart from the srs and esp codes

 

[grumpyoldgit]

Hi, I've been keeping an eye on this thread classiccarzone and I'm sorry I didn't have a clue so thought it better to stay quiet, like the majority of others I guess, however, many thanks for posting up all the valuable information, which I hope I'll never need, but now know where to start should I ever have the same problem.

Thanks also to the others who have contributed.

 

[classiccarzone]

Thank you Mike. I have gone through several threads and many of them just suddenly stop in mid air and nobody knows the end result and therefore such threads are not helpful to anybody.
That is not saying that my problem and its conclusion may be very helpful to all as I do not know what solved it entirely.

What I have learned from it is; apart from a fear of mercedes electronics;
(1)never give up on the issue.
(2)Do not takes the codes as gospel, just use them as a guide.
(3)Try everything twice, three times and four times if you are not getting anyplace.
(4) Go back to the moment thee or a problem started. hence in my case the first problem was the cluster not working; gauges, rev counter, speedo, display tell tale lights, all failed at once. The non starting/cranking problem followed on after that.

As a last resort I decided to isolate the Cluster(the original problem) by removing the fuse and hey the car started.
Everything else fell into place after that; but I do not know how.

(5) sit back and wait and wait. Have several cups of tea or beers, or in Ireland a few Guinness'es

Had I rushed off on the first readings I would at this stage have bought a new sam and a new cluster and maybe a new key etc etc. and I would have thought some or all of these cured the problem.

At least now I know that it is something else that I do not know if that makes sense.

 

[grumpyoldgit]

All very valuable information classiccarzone and exactly what these forums are for, but as you say they fail when an OP fails to follow up with and share the solution to the problem.

I like number (5) lesson, especially the option of a few Guinnesses. It's been too long since I enjoyed the real mccoy in Dublin's fair city.

Hope you manage to sort those error codes ok and thanks again.

 

[classiccarzone]

Nothing like Guinness to sort out a problem.
All the codes are now sorted and the car is going like "sh1t off a shovel" Just wish I knew what exactly the problem(s) is/are was/were; just in case they revisit

 

[Benza750]

Good that its now sorted & hope it doesn't return even you least expect it.
If you had it on star you would of probably found lots of CAN communication faults with the instrument cluster within all the other control units.
The CAN system had resistors at either end of the network usually within a control unit.
This was the problem with the one I changed, it failed & confused the system causing failure to start.
I have also had the where the pins come out of the circuit board into the plug for the connector dry soldered joints on the circuit board within cluster.

 

[classiccarzone]

I do not know anybody nearby with a star so I used the latest Snap on. I also used a Launch X431. It did show up many communication errors in the beginning but I put this down to having disconnected various cables and fuses.

Having worked on computers for several years I thought I had seen it all.
I was thinking seriously of popping the circuit board in a sealed freezer bag and putting it in the freezer for a few hours.

Its an old trick for resurrecting hard drives and boards with micro-fissured solder connections; or else placing it in an oven at 385c for ten minutes. This is enough to refloat the solder and works well with graphics cards that have micro- fissure solder joints.

Thankfully I did not get to that stage as having left the car overnight everything resurrected itself.

Why it would decide to repair overnight I do not know; it wasn't even a frosty night