w203 c200k Gone ballistic

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Mnorth

New Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2018
Messages
1
Location
london
Car
w203 c200k
Hi, my w203 has gone insane, the battery has gone flat I jump started it twice. Now yesterday on my way back home the car completely bugged out got suck in first gear(auto) the headlights were flashing on and off.

I got about 15 warnings on the dash like brake assist is off, srs is turned off, light system is turned off and the final one, battery/alternator VISIT WORKSHOP.

The car is at 114k and it has had full-service history each and every year properly looked after. I have had a look at the engine, the power steering fluid was absolutely leaking, there was a lot of leaks where I couldn't tell where it was from however I did take a video.

Now I'm wondering if its worth it for me to for example get a Battery and an alternator or is the car pretty much dead.

Much appreciated.
 
Jump starting it may have cooked the SAM. Best get the codes read using STAR
 
upload_2018-6-27_17-36-45.png
ALTERNATOR VOLTAGE REGULATOR and Brushes A 003 154 98 06
BOSCH F 00M 144 147

Could be as simple as this.
 
Not directly related, but.... if your car has the 1.8L M271 Kompressor engine... then at that mileage I would check the timing gear asap. But this is unlikely to be related to your current issue.
 
Having lots of fault codes after a flat battery is normal, there are all kind of systems that start complaining (or shutting down) when the battery voltage is low. Once the battery is fully charged again, you should try clearing these with STAR, and see if they come back. If they do, then as whitenemesis said, you may have damaged the SAM when jump-starting the car.

But either way the key issue is to ensure that you have a good battery - if it failed because it's on its last leg, then it may seem OK to voltage-wise after charging but you will keep getting fault codes. Is is still the car's original MB/Varta battery? If so then I would replace it.
 
Mine did that when the voltage regulator on the alternator failed and put 19V through the system. Replaced the alternator, then the MAF failed, had that replaced, now getting door open warning lights while I'm driving. The fault codes will give you a good indication of the issue.

Most unreliable car I've ever owned.
 
I think I would be very reluctant to jump start a modern car. If the time was available I'd charge the battery and not just enough to start it but fully charge it which would take a minimum of 24 hours. Doing it that way should avoid a lot of codes due to low battery voltage.
 
The correct way of jump-starting a modern car is using a standalone external battery i.e. a battery that is not connecred to another car.
 

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