CLS 320cdi - HELP

MARtinClS

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Hi all,

Some help needed for a weird problem...

Car is a 2007 with 85k miles. Always been serviced early or on time, etc etc etc. Lately an issue has developed. From a cold start (morning) the car seems to be in limp mode. No warning lights and no codes stored. No issues with starting but there is a distinct bass note to the exhaust which isn’t normal. If I travel any distance (even a few hundred yards) and restart the car the problem disappears and will not show again, regardless of distance travelled.

My first port of call is to look at the EGR (performance and fuel economy are exactly as they should be though...).

The fact I can get rid of the problem just by restarting the car is what I can’t get my head around! Any ideas?....

Thanks in advance,

Martin
 

Wighty

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I'm sure someone will chime in with suggested problem areas to look at , but consider getting the cars fault codes read by a Merc Indy so you don't throw money into guesses .
Where do you live so we can recommend a good Indy ?
 
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MARtinClS

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Hi there

Many thanks for coming back to me.

I’m in Edinburgh so anywhere central Scotland is ok.

Seems to be so many potential things which would cause this issue. I would almost rather it was a constant issue; being able to get rid of it by switching the car off and on is very confusing when trying to work out what could be wrong!

Thanks again,

Martin
I'm sure someone will chime in with suggested problem areas to look at , but consider getting the cars fault codes read by a Merc Indy so you don't throw money into guesses .
Where do you live so we can recommend a good Indy ?
.
 

John Laidlaw

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MARtinClS

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How old is your battery?
Um, not sure to be honest. I’ve owned the car for the last 4 years and I’ve not changed it. May still have the original. Could/would that cause this issue? It doesn’t happen on every cold start but a decent percentage of late.

Thanks again all
 

Uncle Benz

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If you have a voltmeter, measure how low the battery drops when cranking. On the old w211 they would classically put the gearbox into limp, stuck in 2nd, because the battery voltage dropped on cranking sending the gearbox ecu into an error. Couple of minutes running brought the battery voltage up, and a restart would be back to normal. Sounds very similar to what you are seeing, just a different ecu. Worth checking that first Imo.
 

Uncle Benz

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Duplicate post - forum slow
 
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Wighty

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If it turns out you need a new battery ring MB Grangemouth , mention the forum discount (they deliver ) . I paid £123 delivered a couple of months ago for a W211 MB battery....Bargain !!!
 

Frontstep

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The battery would be my first place to look as well and if its the original its had a good innings.

Low voltage problems plagued my old car till I got around to fitting a new battery and that always started as well.
 
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MARtinClS

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The battery would be my first place to look as well and if its the original its had a good innings.

Low voltage problems plagued my old car till I got around to fitting a new battery and that always started as well.
Many thanks for all your help (and the tip for calling MB Grangemouth).

The logical part of my thinks that if it were some kind of mechanical issue it would be there all the time/most of the time and would be accompanied by some kind of performance issue (either speed or fuel consumption).
 

Mr Filipov

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When you say starts in limp mode, does it have lack of power? Does it shift up really early and seem like the turbo is not running?
 
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MARtinClS

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When you say starts in limp mode, does it have lack of power? Does it shift up really early and seem like the turbo is not running?
Yip, exactly those symptoms. Very early shift and no turbo at all.
 

Larkone

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Is the turbo actuator working when it is cold?
 
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MARtinClS

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Is the turbo actuator working when it is cold?
I’m not too mechanically minded so not entirely sure what the turbo actuator is!

I would say 70% of the time the car is fine when it starts, drives exactly as normal, turbo working as it should.

For the other 30%, car drives but has no turbo/boost and will change up through the gears far earlier than normal. If it’s like this I can drive it for 1/4 mile, stop and start the engine and the problem is gone.

Thank you so much everyone for your time and help
 

Wighty

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I’m not too mechanically minded so not entirely sure what the turbo actuator is!

I would say 70% of the time the car is fine when it starts, drives exactly as normal, turbo working as it should.

For the other 30%, car drives but has no turbo/boost and will change up through the gears far earlier than normal. If it’s like this I can drive it for 1/4 mile, stop and start the engine and the problem is gone.

Thank you so much everyone for your time and help
This is an example of why a good Indy is important :D . The om642 engine, can suffer from some common issues , one of which is turbo actuator failure , as well as inlet manifold motor failure caused by oil sludge dripping from the orange turbo inlet seal . All examples of where the Merc Indy with extensive knowledge about these engines will save you money in the long run , they also know when to go reconditioned turbo rather than new which could save money in the long run .
All comes back in the end to getting the fault codes read . But if it was me and the battery was original I would change that anyway....there should be a date stamp on the top of the battery terminal if it original MB battery .
 

EmilysDad

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.... All examples of where the Merc Indy with extensive knowledge about these engines will save you money in the long run , they also know when to go reconditioned turbo rather than new which could save money in the long run .
... .

My quote, from a local indie, was £2500 for a new one ...... so far my £180 re-con'd actuator is playing the game.
 

mercedes13156

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I’m not too mechanically minded so not entirely sure what the turbo actuator is!

I would say 70% of the time the car is fine when it starts, drives exactly as normal, turbo working as it should.

For the other 30%, car drives but has no turbo/boost and will change up through the gears far earlier than normal. If it’s like this I can drive it for 1/4 mile, stop and start the engine and the problem is gone.

Thank you so much everyone for your time and help


Hi! I'm just outside Edinburgh and I have an iCarsoft 980 which will read your codes. And.... it's free for fellow Forum members.
 

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