2000 c180 w202 ignition lights....

ernspurs

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..... only come on for a split second then go out again.before i start the engine.
Any ideas????
 

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Not heard of this one before,,when the engine is running, is the lamp completely off and not glowing dimly
 
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ernspurs

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Not heard of this one before,,when the engine is running, is the lamp completely off and not glowing dimly
All the lights come on and then all go off completely before i start the engine, I hope I am explaining this clearly:)
 

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All the lights come on and then all go off completely before i start the engine, I hope I am explaining this clearly:)

Oh yes,you did explain it very well,, there are some charge fault conditions leave the lamp on very dimly when the engine is running,,and some may not notice it
 
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ernspurs

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Oh yes,you did explain it very well,, there are some charge fault conditions leave the lamp on very dimly when the engine is running,,and some may not notice it
Yes, but why are all the warning lights only staying on for a split second?
 

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I am reading this wrong,,so all of the lights only come on for a second this could be a fault within the ignitions switch
 
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ernspurs

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I am reading this wrong,,so all of the lights only come on for a second this could be a fault within the ignitions switch
Yes Malcolm thats correct, I thought my description was'nt very good, do you mean the ignition as in where the key goes in??.
 

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Yes Malcolm thats correct, I thought my description was'nt very good, do you mean the ignition as in where the key goes in??.

So sorry about all my mix up,, yes the ignition switches can fail in certain positions and the metal bladed flip out keys were the worst for this,, if it is OK when driving I would not worry too much.

I cannot see it as a fault in the cluster as it is OK when running
 
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ernspurs

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Thanks for all your help Malcolm. If I do need a new ignition switch is it a DIY job.
 

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Thanks for all your help Malcolm. If I do need a new ignition switch is it a DIY job.

The chances are that it will never fail any further,,you may get a problem that the radio will not work in key1,,but I am guessing here.

The key type plays a part here,,the metal key type no just change it,the later EIS are programmed to the car
 

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he has the eis malcolm. i avoided this one as i am unsure, but could be eis or sam or cluster i would think.
 

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he has the eis malcolm. i avoided this one as i am unsure, but could be eis or sam or cluster i would think.

Then once again if the fault is in the switch,,there is no reason to fail further,,if the cluster is all OK when running, then I ruled this out.

Good point about the SAM maybe not finding the cluster, it could when started and one of the first things to be picked up by the SAM.

What does one do
 
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ernspurs

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Then once again if the fault is in the switch,,there is no reason to fail further,,if the cluster is all OK when running, then I ruled this out.

Good point about the SAM maybe not finding the cluster, it could when started and one of the first things to be picked up by the SAM.

What does one do
Thanks again for the help chaps, could you enlighten me as to what SAM is?
 

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A SAM is an electronic ECU that stores the information for anything electronic that may be fitted to the car,,it knows that you have an instrument cluster, and the high speed self check done by the CAN bus tells the SAM that the cluster is fitted, but say the SAM cannot remember. On cars that have a "go to sleep mode" the CAN stays active, the test here would be to start the car and every thing is working OK turn off, and re start within the 20 mins that the "wake up" circuit is running. if you turn the key to start and the instrument cluster works as normal and stays alight during this period, then a SAM problem if it reverts back to how it was later on the car after another start
 
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ernspurs

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A SAM is an electronic ECU that stores the information for anything electronic that may be fitted to the car,,it knows that you have an instrument cluster, and the high speed self check done by the CAN bus tells the SAM that the cluster is fitted, but say the SAM cannot remember. On cars that have a "go to sleep mode" the CAN stays active, the test here would be to start the car and every thing is working OK turn off, and re start within the 20 mins that the "wake up" circuit is running. if you turn the key to start and the instrument cluster works as normal and stays alight during this period, then a SAM problem if it reverts back to how it was later on the car after another start
Thanks again Malcolm, I gave that test a go, still the same, even if i turn the key very slowly all the lights stay on for less than a second. I think ignition switch may be the problem.
 

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I would just live with it for now,,some faults can go away, just as easy as they came in the first place
 

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Just read this all through and I'm intrigued. My original 2000 W reg. C280 had exactly the same problem with the warning lights. I never found the reason for this odd behaviour. My indie thought it might be the cluster but I never had anything changed and just lived with it. Eventually I changed the car to another (same year, nicer colour) C280, the one I have now but I would dearly like to know the cause of the fault with my original car. In fact I've trawled various forums for many a long hour hoping to find someone with a similar problem to the one I had, all without success until now. Good luck with this one and if you find a cure please let us all know.
 

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Just read this all through and I'm intrigued. My original 2000 W reg. C280 had exactly the same problem with the warning lights. I never found the reason for this odd behaviour. My indie thought it might be the cluster but I never had anything changed and just lived with it. Eventually I changed the car to another (same year, nicer colour) C280, the one I have now but I would dearly like to know the cause of the fault with my original car. In fact I've trawled various forums for many a long hour hoping to find someone with a similar problem to the one I had, all without success until now. Good luck with this one and if you find a cure please let us all know.

This is the 5th time that this fault has come up in the years that I have been here, well at least your car and did keep going, and hopefully this one will just keep going as well.

I too want to know the reasons but sometimes impossible
 


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