98 C180 Cut out and now wont even turn over. ****UPDATE****

[Mikesmerc]

My brothers car cut out today while driving and when he went to restart it the engine wouldnt turn over as if an immobiliser is after cutting in. Towed it home. Any ideas.
Regards
Mike

 

[landover]

It's not the imobiliser> When the car is imobilised it will turn over but not start ,Is the ignition lights comeing on????

 

[numbnuts]

Re: 98 C180 Cut out and now wont even turn over

My brothers car cut out today while driving and when he went to restart it the engine wouldnt turn over as if an immobiliser is after cutting in. Towed it home. Any ideas.
Regards
Mike

Could it possibly be a flat battery the reason I am asking is whilst your brother was driving the alternator wasn?t charging and the car was just running off the battery and once the power had gone from the battery the car cut out hence the engine not turning over now, I would try giving the car a jump start and see if the engine turns over hope this helps.

 

[Mikesmerc]

Loads of battery power, just when you turn the key ignition lights come on but when you go to start it nothing happens.
Not immobiliser then Landrover, thats one eliminated, how many more to go :roll:
Thanks
Mike

 

[numbnuts]

Loads of battery power, just when you turn the key ignition lights come on but when you go to start it nothing happens.
Not immobiliser then Landrover, thats one eliminated, how many more to go :roll:
Thanks
Mike

put a test light between earth and the small wire on the starter motor while getting someone to turn the key to the start posistion tand see if its getting power. are the ignition lights or anything dimming when you try and start the car.

 

[landover]

AS numbnuts says try power at starter motor.Also check all wires are connected at battery.And all fuses are ok.

 

[watsone91]

Take a hammer and thump the starter motor with it not kidding if the solenoid is stuck in this will free it

But this wont explain why it cut out in the first place sorry

 

[Myros]

non-starter

My 94 C280 does have an immobiliser which does isolate the starter motor. Operates when central locking is activated from the door/boot locks. There's a relay in one of the footwell, left one I think, outer side, behing the carpet. Maybe that's gone a bit awol.
No idea how you'd test for it though.

 

[jberks]

Do the lights dim when you switch in the starter ? If it's not the engine earth strap (How is the block earthed on these ?) , it sounds a little more sinister to me. I'd be trying to turn the engine over manually by the flywheel first.

 

[Mikesmerc]

The lights dont dim when trying to start it, as if there is no electrical connection between ignition and starter. Must have a look at that relay.
Thanks for the advice from everyone, will keep trying.
Regards
Mike

 

[landover]

The lights dont dim when trying to start it, as if there is no electrical connection between ignition and starter. Must have a look at that relay.
Thanks for the advice from everyone, will keep trying.
Regards
Mike

How did you get on with the problem???

 

[Mikesmerc]

Its my brothers car and I am only relaying the suggestions on to him, wish he would get a computer and cut out the middle man. He has now informed me that he has sent it back to the dealer for diagnosis. Will let you know when he gets it back, thats if he wants it back now as the dealer gave him a 230 compressor as courtesy car which he is raving about the power.
Regards
Mike

 

[Mikesmerc]

Car has been sent to main dealer, replaced ignition barrell/switch and no joy. Still there , been there a while now. Think they should join the forum.
Regards
Mike

 

[Mikesmerc]

The Mercedes main dealer have diagnosed the problem as being th ECU. New one reqd . About 1000Stg. Is this common and is there something else which could have made the ECU fail, if so whats to stop it happening again? Is it a simple job to replace,ie just plug it in and away you go?
My bruv is not a happy camper.
Regards
Mike

 

[pluggers]

I wouldn't have thought this is a common problem at all.But they do go wrong ,and thats not just on mercs,A ford fiesta ECU can cost that much to replace.I would imagine the ECU is just a straight swap but then it will probably need codeing to the car to get it working correctly.

 

[mjtray]

I was reading an article recently in a Merc mag on specialist Merc Breakers, and they said that one of the most common items they sell is ECU's.

I would contact one of the bigger firm of breakers and ask their advice in terms of whats involved, ie; is it just a straight swap or do you have to do some other technical gubbins to get it going.

Mercman: 02380 784444 www.mercman.net
Boss Mercedes: 0113-281 3672 www.mercedesparts.co.uk

Good luck

 

[Mikesmerc]

Cheers mjtray, Anyone use these guys to repair ECUs? www.tunemycar.com . 85quid with 3 year warranty,sounds very cheap.
Regards
Mike

 

[OlafMaxwell]

I often wonder with these ECUs if its a software problem and we are being sold new ones because the dealer cannot fix it. If your computer dies totally, then the car should be totally brain dead as in all functions gone. Like your hard drive on your PC. If you get a software glitch you get your computer debugged/reprogrammed..... but should we need a new ECU to overcome a software glitch? Just curious.....and I agree with you aboutt he Fiesta ECU or any other make....

 

[flyingtech55]

Hi guys

They only charge what they do because they can!! It's called a distress purchase. The ECUs are pretty cheap for the makers to have made but the car manufacturers know that the car is useless without it..ergo they can fleece you. I had a look at a Maestro ECU which had been replaced for £600. The dealer put a saw cut through the old one before returning it to the owner; (don't know how he justified it...didn't ask). All that was wrong with it was a dry joint on a crystal. Could have been easily fixed but I didn't want to get involved because the dealer had effectively destroyed the customers property. It comprised a bunch of passive components, three or four TTL ICs and an aneroid capsule.

The current ones are a bit more complex because they've got a CPU and a flash EPROM inside but if you're a PCB manufacturer it's no big deal. They'll be pretty run of the mill to most manufacturers. We used to repair PCBs the size of a small coffee table, absolutely packed with complex silicon devices and they only cost around £5000.

You can buy something as complex as a PC motherboard for £50, yet they charge £1000 for a small PCB in a metal case. Atrocious.

 

[Arnie]

Does your bother's C180 have one of those infrared ignition keys or a normal metal key?

In the case of the former, and the later with the automatic-start function (where you don't need to hold the key in position-3 to crank the engine), the ECU controls the cranking function. Also, the immobiliser (iginition-key code) will not allow the engine to crank, but if this system is faulty you would see "Start Error" displayed in the dash digital mileometer / ASSYST indicator. However the ECU interfaces to the starter via a relay and so I would first make absolutely sure that it is not something as simple as this.

If the car, has neither the IR key nor the auto-start function, then the engine should crank whenever you push the igition-key to position-3. In this case the immobiliser will simply stop the engine from starting, as indeed would any ECU problem. However, in this case, if the engine does not crank, then the ECU cannot be a cause of the problem.