car came to a standstill 300se

[mountainman40]

the first sign that my 300se was unwell was when i noticed that the wipers seemed to be running slower than normal but everything else was ok. the following day i was at the traffic lights with my wipers on when my dials on the dashboard were going haywire, i managed to pull away but then came to a complete standstill. i tried turning the engine over but the battery seemed to be drained. i returned soon after with jump leads and the car started as it used to but the abs light came on and the car came to a halt, again the battery seemed to be drained. i jump started again but the abs light came on, the dashboard dials were giving wrong readings (the rev counter would redline when using the brake, speedo would jump about erratically). please could someone help me, thankyou.

 

[Richard Moakes]

Sounds like your battery and or alternator have died.

You need to get to a battery specialist, NOT Halfrauds, and get them to test your charging system.

Good Luck,

Richard

 

[mountainman40]

thanks for helping richard and i will check the battery and alternator tomorrow. i can't understand why the dashboard dials were going crazy though and the abs light coming on and then cutting out but something was def' draining the battery. i hope it will b a simple battery change and nothing seriously expensive.

 

[paulcallender]

Could be alternator bushes.

 

[Richard Moakes]

Could be alternator brushes.

Good call, could be that, nice and cheap to sort out if it is.

Electrics will go haywire as the voltage drops, so not surprised the ABS light came on etc..

Richard

 

[mountainman40]

thanks guys for the help, i was afraid that it was a very expensive job.

 

[Griffo]

Have the same symptoms on my '95 E280. Can you please advise what the outcome of your problem was? It could be helpful to me and others. Cheers.

 

[giddyme]

Hi, I have a problem with my dials not working intermitently. One day they all work well, another day they are all slow to work having to drive for some way without any working. Suddenly they will one by one start working again. I wonder if this may be a bit of condensation somewhere? I have had it in a workshop but the mechanic admitted that he didn't know enough about Mercs to solve the problem. Also the car was put into a garage for some diagnostic tests concerning emissions failing its mot. Although they were aware of the problem when I first put the car in, (they were not working at all that morning), because they came back to life, it finally passed its MOT and the garage was not concerned about the dials.

Anyone got any ideas. I have just had an expensive MOT which cost me around £900 and could do with a much cheaper option to sort this problem out.

Many thanks

 

[giddyme]

Further to my last post: I did a general search online for this problems and came across a forum for another make of motor. The thread was much as mine and someone had suggested disconnecting and reconnecting the battery. I didn't really believe it was going to work! But low and behold my dials all seem to be working normal again.