My wife has an A140. We have recently been having some problems with the alarm going off at all hours. I was told by an alarm specialist to tape up the sensors and it may fix the problem. If not then it's back to Merc. Since then the alarm has gone off once so a great improvement. Today my wife locked the car and when she returned the remote central locking wouldn't work. She unlocked the car manually, the alarm went off so she put the little dongle thingy into the socket in the glove box. Now, when trying to start the car all we get is a "Start error" on the dash. I have tried the other key and tried jump leads as i thought the battery may be flat but alas nothing. Any ideas as to what this might be and possible cost. Reluctant to take to a Merc dealer and pay £100 an hour but fear this may be my only option.
A Class Start Error
- Thread starter jonathanb
- Start date
liverbird
Active Member
Sometimes when the start error flashes up the engine control unit is faulty if you dont take it to mb you need to take it to a gd indy but to code in the an ecu it has to be done online an mb can only do that you might bepaying out twice
Any body else had this problem ? Any other solutions. my car has today had exactly the same problem now sitting on the drive after a tow home by breakdown co.
Locked car returned key fob would not open doors (battery good in key) Had to open drivers side door using key - alarm went off. Had to disconect battery. Re conected alarm still going off - used red key to stop alarm sound now key fob still not operating door locks. When key used to try and start car START ERROR apears on dash. Unable to start car
Locked car returned key fob would not open doors (battery good in key) Had to open drivers side door using key - alarm went off. Had to disconect battery. Re conected alarm still going off - used red key to stop alarm sound now key fob still not operating door locks. When key used to try and start car START ERROR apears on dash. Unable to start car
Its a common problem when the ECU forgets the Immob system, it all needs reseting back together!
If anyone needs any help with this situation feel free to PM me for advice!
If anyone needs any help with this situation feel free to PM me for advice!
Hi Mark
My son's car A170 is showing "start Error" and will not start up. this happened after the car was left for 1 month and the battery went dead.
He replaced the battery and its still showing "start error".
Please help if you can.
Thanks
The only way of sorting is to re sync the Immobiliser to the ECU.
I can Help!
I can Help!
Thanks Mark. Can you seriously help?
We towed the car to a local garage and had a diagnostic done.
the mechanic says its faulty control unit / ecu but I do not fully believe him as he was claiming to have spent 3 hours investigating the problem. And therefore we towed it back to our home.
I will be grateful if you can help.
Problem sorted!
As Mr Murad may explain, He took his sons A Class to a Merc specialist garage. They diagnosed it as the ECU being faulty - If the dash days START ERROR then the DAS system needs Re-Syncing together with the ECU. Some times I have to remove the chip from the ECU and reprogram it to work again!
The Garage had said it was the ECU, So I was called in to sort it. After plugging Star into it, I was getting a p1330 Starter control fault. I checked DAS system and Drive authorisation and all was ok. Checked relays and they were fine, and by this time it was dark! So I said I would call in on friday after fixing a Start Error on a Sprinter.
So On friday I returned and started the diagnostic procedure again, Stripping the dash cowling down to check connections and wiring from ignition. All was ok. So I started probing the ECU box which is under the bonnet. I removed the ECU a few times checking it was plugged in etc ( Pretty much the same as the last time I looked at it ) I check the Pinouts and plugs and all seemed ok as did the wires in the plugs! I even changed the Starter Relay just incase it was as simple as that!
Still no Joy, I plugged in the spare ECU I bought with me and programmed it into the DAS system. Turned the ignition and STILL nothing - Proving the ECU was not the problem!
Checking the wiring again from the ECU to the start relay ( DAS Initiates the Key to the immob, then send a signal to the ECU to release an EARTH signal to the start relay) I couldnt find the pin from the ecu to the starter relay! After moving the wiring about I noticed a wire, CUT and connected to NOTHING! I compared the wiring colouring and found it was the wire from the ECU to the starter relay! It was pushed well down into the wiring, Hiden in my opinion! I tested this wire by putting an earth feed to it, and hey presto the engine turned over!!! I turned to the ECU plug and pinout diagram ( C43 pin on CR1 Bosch ECU) And found THERE WAS NO PIN IN THE PLUG! "someone" had cut the wire and removed the pin from the ECU plug!?!
Soon sorted a solution for the missing pin by soldering the end of the wire, making one end larger with solder so it would stay in. Once this wire was sorted I soldered and heat shrinked it to the cut wire. Feeling sure this was the solution I jumped in and put the key in... Result! Turned over and fired straight away! All I had to do was re calibrate the steering angle sensor, and turn the airbag light off!
All sorted!
As Mr Murad may explain, He took his sons A Class to a Merc specialist garage. They diagnosed it as the ECU being faulty - If the dash days START ERROR then the DAS system needs Re-Syncing together with the ECU. Some times I have to remove the chip from the ECU and reprogram it to work again!
The Garage had said it was the ECU, So I was called in to sort it. After plugging Star into it, I was getting a p1330 Starter control fault. I checked DAS system and Drive authorisation and all was ok. Checked relays and they were fine, and by this time it was dark! So I said I would call in on friday after fixing a Start Error on a Sprinter.
So On friday I returned and started the diagnostic procedure again, Stripping the dash cowling down to check connections and wiring from ignition. All was ok. So I started probing the ECU box which is under the bonnet. I removed the ECU a few times checking it was plugged in etc ( Pretty much the same as the last time I looked at it ) I check the Pinouts and plugs and all seemed ok as did the wires in the plugs! I even changed the Starter Relay just incase it was as simple as that!
Still no Joy, I plugged in the spare ECU I bought with me and programmed it into the DAS system. Turned the ignition and STILL nothing - Proving the ECU was not the problem!
Checking the wiring again from the ECU to the start relay ( DAS Initiates the Key to the immob, then send a signal to the ECU to release an EARTH signal to the start relay) I couldnt find the pin from the ecu to the starter relay! After moving the wiring about I noticed a wire, CUT and connected to NOTHING! I compared the wiring colouring and found it was the wire from the ECU to the starter relay! It was pushed well down into the wiring, Hiden in my opinion! I tested this wire by putting an earth feed to it, and hey presto the engine turned over!!! I turned to the ECU plug and pinout diagram ( C43 pin on CR1 Bosch ECU) And found THERE WAS NO PIN IN THE PLUG! "someone" had cut the wire and removed the pin from the ECU plug!?!
Soon sorted a solution for the missing pin by soldering the end of the wire, making one end larger with solder so it would stay in. Once this wire was sorted I soldered and heat shrinked it to the cut wire. Feeling sure this was the solution I jumped in and put the key in... Result! Turned over and fired straight away! All I had to do was re calibrate the steering angle sensor, and turn the airbag light off!
All sorted!
Your a Class Needs a new DAS control unit!
Or my help!
Or my help!
maze123
New Registration
Hello all I am new to this forum.
I have a 1999 A140 as a run around vehicle and recently i experienced the dreaded "Start Error" message on the dashboard. What made me worry is that when the message appears it immediatley makes you think that the problem is worse than it actually is!
Initially when i had the problem, i did not get the start error message and since all the electrics including the central locking was working fine, i thought i'd try a jump starter kit from tesco to try and get it started - so i bought one immediatley for £29 and upon using it for the first time, the car started fine. However, i then took it to the local petrol pump as it needed fuel and air in the tyres i noticed it would not start again. Luckily i had the jump starter kit with me so i used it again to get it home.
A couple of days later i returned to my car and this is when the nightmare started, i tried to start the car but the engine kept ticking over and nothing happened, i then got the start error message on the dashboard. Fearing the worst (which i thought may be an electronic fault on the car), i started trawling the internet to see if i can find out what was wrong and i found myself entering this forum. I read how people who experienced similar issues had faults with the Immobiliser sync-ing with the ECU and that it could also be the DAS that needs re-setting etc. I no longer thought it was a battery issue as everything was working fine apart from it starting!
Anyway, as i could not get my car to a garage (i didnt want to tow it to a garage until i myself knew what the potential fault was) - i found a guy by the name of Mark@RMK on this forum who seemed to know his stuff when it comes to Mercs and specifically the problem of start errors. I got hold of his number from this forum (sorry Mark) and i called him straight away - As soon as i explained the issue to him - he knew straight away that if it was an ECU or an immobiliser problem or a key sync-ing with the barrel issue then i would have had issues getting the locks to work or other electrics would have failed etc and he also advised me that since the engine is ticking over but not starting, the problem i had was that the battery was knackered and needed replacing.
I followed Marks advice to go Halfords and buy a decent quality battery and just change it - so over this weekend I took the old battery out and took it to Halfords with me and as Mark correctly suspected - the Halfords technician advised that the battery was no good (showing under 10volts and 150 or so amps) So i bought a new battery and as soon as i connected it up, the car fired up without any struggle and has been driving absolutely fine without any issues.
I want to thank Mark@RMK for his superb technical advice over the phone and I would defo recommend him to anyone with a Merc A class or any other Merc - he saved me potentially spending money on a diagnostic assessment and stressing over electrical ECU related problems. Nice one and Thank you Mark your a legend!
I have a 1999 A140 as a run around vehicle and recently i experienced the dreaded "Start Error" message on the dashboard. What made me worry is that when the message appears it immediatley makes you think that the problem is worse than it actually is!
Initially when i had the problem, i did not get the start error message and since all the electrics including the central locking was working fine, i thought i'd try a jump starter kit from tesco to try and get it started - so i bought one immediatley for £29 and upon using it for the first time, the car started fine. However, i then took it to the local petrol pump as it needed fuel and air in the tyres i noticed it would not start again. Luckily i had the jump starter kit with me so i used it again to get it home.
A couple of days later i returned to my car and this is when the nightmare started, i tried to start the car but the engine kept ticking over and nothing happened, i then got the start error message on the dashboard. Fearing the worst (which i thought may be an electronic fault on the car), i started trawling the internet to see if i can find out what was wrong and i found myself entering this forum. I read how people who experienced similar issues had faults with the Immobiliser sync-ing with the ECU and that it could also be the DAS that needs re-setting etc. I no longer thought it was a battery issue as everything was working fine apart from it starting!
Anyway, as i could not get my car to a garage (i didnt want to tow it to a garage until i myself knew what the potential fault was) - i found a guy by the name of Mark@RMK on this forum who seemed to know his stuff when it comes to Mercs and specifically the problem of start errors. I got hold of his number from this forum (sorry Mark) and i called him straight away - As soon as i explained the issue to him - he knew straight away that if it was an ECU or an immobiliser problem or a key sync-ing with the barrel issue then i would have had issues getting the locks to work or other electrics would have failed etc and he also advised me that since the engine is ticking over but not starting, the problem i had was that the battery was knackered and needed replacing.
I followed Marks advice to go Halfords and buy a decent quality battery and just change it - so over this weekend I took the old battery out and took it to Halfords with me and as Mark correctly suspected - the Halfords technician advised that the battery was no good (showing under 10volts and 150 or so amps) So i bought a new battery and as soon as i connected it up, the car fired up without any struggle and has been driving absolutely fine without any issues.
I want to thank Mark@RMK for his superb technical advice over the phone and I would defo recommend him to anyone with a Merc A class or any other Merc - he saved me potentially spending money on a diagnostic assessment and stressing over electrical ECU related problems. Nice one and Thank you Mark your a legend!
U
user
Guest
Hi got this problem with A170cdi 2002 the car was used yesterday this morning then suddenley it showed "start error" wont do anything how can i reslove this please let me know if you can help thanks
Gary Nelson
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Can you help me? Got Start Error on a T reg A Class
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