W204 Electrical issues/Broken earth cable

[dellyz]

Hello, lately ive been having strange electrical issues on my 09 C230:
Flickering cabin lights when first opening the door ( not when manually turning them on )
Strange static/crackling sound coming from front driver side speaker only ( others are fine )
Driver side turn signal will work for about 3-5 seconds initially, then the signal will blink rapidly and stop working ( in order to get the turn signal to work again for that 3-5 seconds i have to turn the car off and on )
Driver side emergency flasher does not work
Driver side parking light does not work
Passenger side parking light would not turn off until battery dead ( had to remove bulb )
Parasitic drain ( battery dead if not driven for 2 days )
Check engine light

Yesterday i saw this earth cable was broken:




Could this broken earth cable be causing those electrical issues?

 

[SpikyMikey]

Yep!

 

[optimusprime]

dellyz Looks like you solved your problem on your own ..it is amazing some times you can find a fault right away like you have . Another time it lies hiden for some time ..And yes. . that earth cable would cause a hand full of problems ..Might be a bit of a handfull to fish a new cable through ..or clean the end and use an extension after cleaning up the earth conection with a good file and a dab of greae on it all after .Where old cable broke you will need to join it to another new short cable .

 

[dellyz]

It broke off at the terminal so i will just use a new grounding cable. What is the most effective tool/method to remove this grounding bolt? ( see pic below )

 

[SpikyMikey]

It broke off at the terminal so i will just use a new grounding cable. What is the most effective tool/method to remove this grounding bolt? ( see pic below )

View attachment 133527

Looks like its Torx , so you need something like this:

 

[dellyz]

Looks like its Torx , so you need something like this:
View attachment 133528

I thought so at first too, but i don't think it is ? The one above and to the right is a torx

 

[SpikyMikey]

Strange. MB normally use Torx (in MB-speak "Hexalobular") fastenings for pretty much everything, M6 and M8 mainly on underbonnet stuff if my facelift S204 is anything to go by.
BTW, whatever that is, it looks like it might be a bit of a swine to get out. Plenty of PlusGas on it before you try!

 

[colinallcars]

I thought so at first too, but i don't think it is ? The one above and to the right is a torx

View attachment 133531

You’ll get away with an ordinary, 12 point ring spanner or socket if you don’t have the correct reverse torx.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Some 'Torx' have 5 splines , some have 6. Is it possible just to earth it elsewhere ?

 

[Ted]

Yes. You can earth it anywhere on the engine.

 

[optimusprime]

You will get the bolt out with a good pipe wrench it might damage the bolt but then find a hexigon bolt the same size to fit the thread to fix earth cable back in place ...some are internal torx,, and the bolt that you want out is an outside torx.