Cruise Control / Speed Limiter Problems...Still

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

One of the problems I have been having with my car is that the cruise control / speed limiter seems to be deciding not to work on occasion. Amoungst a whole bunch of other things this was one of the reasons why Tony Purslow in Guildford had the car back last week.

They claim to have fixed this problem by fitting a new gearbox control unit. I have driven it for a couple of days and it seems ok. However, on the way to work this morning it died again. I pulled over and turned the car off, took the key out and turned it back on again and it worked fine for the rest of the journey.

So, aside from the fact that TP seem to have fitted a new part, probably at great expense, nothing more seems to have happened.

I have a call out for them to phone me but it seems that they may be trying to tackle the symptoms rather than the cause of the problem. Maybe the control unit was at fault but the new one has now been broken by whatever is actually causing the fault.

Any suggestions on what may be causing this?

 

[Blobcat]

Any suggestions on what may be causing this?

The driver :mrgreen:. Seriously if you tell the car it is reliable over time the Linguatronic system will update the car systems and it will then be reliable

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

PMA right ?

 

[television]

The driver :mrgreen:. Seriously if you tell the car it is reliable over time the Linguatronic system will update the car systems and it will then be reliable

I have not tried this on mine,dont think that I dare too , flossie (linguatronic) is OK with the cds and radio,when i want to phone she always turrns the TV on , so she is a bit of a phoney. On Feb24th when it stops raining I wll put the reliability question to her

Malcolm

 

[television]

Your cruise/limiter works on speed signal taken from the ABS that is shared by the BAS an ESP,this goes into the front left hand SAM, it then goes on to the engine ECU that shares this info with gearbox ECU and the instrument cluster and the Command, if you had an electronic gear shift,that would use it too,if you had traction control then the rear wheels would link up to it.

there you are, so simple when you know how.


ps,the fault could also be in the cruise module itself.

Malcolm going funny in the head

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

and the leg bone's connected to the jaw bone......

That all sounds horribly complicated. I've spoken to the service manager, now I'm waiting for the service engineer assigned to the case to call me back. It all sounds rather like any number of things could be causing the problem. I may try some different things on the way home to see if I can find a single action that causes it to fail every time. Not that life's ever that simple....

p.s. yes I did fail anatomy before anyone asks.....

 

[television]

and the leg bone's connected to the jaw bone......

That all sounds horribly complicated. I've spoken to the service manager, now I'm waiting for the service engineer assigned to the case to call me back. It all sounds rather like any number of things could be causing the problem. I may try some different things on the way home to see if I can find a single action that causes it to fail every time. Not that life's ever that simple....

p.s. yes I did fail anatomy before anyone asks.....

Well I did get the rear window amp right, re going home try and syncronize your self and the car with any holes or bumps in the road to see if it drops out.95% of all faults are still basic.

Malcolm

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

Thanks Malcolm. I just had a call from TP and they want the car back for a couple of days. Sadly the only time they can get me a loan car is the 7th Feb. I'll let you know what happens. I'll also look out for the bumps thing.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Hi Omni,
I had a similar problem on my 210. The cruise would not engage after first start-up, yet after that would set when the car was used again that day. I didn't bother with the problem until I had more time to research what it might be. In the meantime however I replaced the battery, and, lo and behold the CC started to function properly. The battery had obviously been past its best for some months and this had been detected by the ECU which in turn had been programmed to cut out the CC in that circumstance.

I would suggest you try a known, good, fully charged battery before spending any more time and money on it. Disconnecting the battery and the subsequent ECU reset may help also.

Hope this helps!

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

Thanks Malcolm210. Fortunately the only money its costing me is petrol to get to the garage as its all covered by ServicePlus, but I do want to get it fixed. The car has just had its 4th Birthday and only done 47k miles so I wouldn't expect the battery at that age. But then again I wouldn't expect any of the problems I have been having at that age!

I will mention it to the guys at the garage when it goes back and they can test the battery too.

On my car the cruise fails whilst driving. What happens is that I will be using it quite happily, then slow down (which obviously disengages the CC) and it will then not turn back on again without turning the car off and taking the key out. On the way home tonight it worked perfectly.

Based on what you have said though I would have though that if it was a battery or charging problem of some kind it would be more likely to affect the car in the morning when it has been sitting idle and in the cold for quite a while. I'll keep an eye on it on the way in to the office tommorow and see if it fails in the morning again.

btw, as it has just had the aerial amp, and the gearbox control unit replaced (last Thursday) I would hope the garage disconnected the battery anyway (and certainly reset the ecu)

Thanks again.

 

[psmart]

A quick note on the battery Omni, Mercedes had a recall on all C's with batteries made in South Africa because they exploded. I know you've got service plus, but they replace the batteries for free if you've got an SA unit.

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

ouch! You got any details on the recall? The car is a South African one, and MB Dealers are "supposed" to check all recall issues when it goes in for service. Any idea where I can tell on the battery where it's made?

 

[psmart]

This is the thread from Pascal re:recall. My folks C is about same age as yours, and it had it replaced about 9 months ago! The battery doesnt have any vent holes in the top, which can lead to a gas accumulation and ignition during charging!

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=11325

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

That recall notice says "all cars with chassis number WDB203", mine starts WDC203. I'll check it out tomorrow anyway.

There was also a recall on an altenator voltage regulator on all 6 cyl engines. When I asked TP about it they said it didn't include mine but the recall says ALL 6 cyl cars between 2001 and 2004, which would include mine. I think I'll call a different MB stealer tomorrow and see what they say

Thanks

 

[The Hooded Claw]

Thanks Malcolm. I just had a call from TP and they want the car back for a couple of days. Sadly the only time they can get me a loan car is the 7th Feb. I'll let you know what happens. I'll also look out for the bumps thing.

Hi Neil
I would offer you the loan of my sons Skyline GTR33 complete with 565BHP at the wheels (Would get you to the office in mega quick time) Unfortunatly hes having the toilet removed ( I used it last & I insist on using it as a driving seat )

Still I have a grand butchers bike in me garage yer welcome to use !!!!!!!

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

I think I'm less likley to lose my license with the bike....although the skyline does sound rather a lot more fun. He should join the GRRC and take it to one of their member sprint days.

Thanks for the offer..

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Your absolutely right about the first start on a cold morning affecting the CC. As you say I would get the garage to try a new battery, the ECU is obviously sensitive to undervoltage and the operation of the CC. I would have thought that if there is an inherent fault with your battery the ECU could switch CC off at any time.

Hope you soon get it sorted.

With my E Class, the CC wouldn't work after the foggy weather at Xmas, due mainly to me doing short journeys. Acts as a reminder for me to do a reasonable run to put some charge in the battery.

 

[Tim Green]

INteresting comment about the battery. My car is exactly the same as malcolm210. The CC usually works, but sometimes after first start in the morning it appears to be "locked out", espeicially if the weather is cold. Sounds like it could be the battery - the ECU could be thinking the battery is low after engine cranking - I'll change it I think.

 

[television]

INteresting comment about the battery. My car is exactly the same as malcolm210. The CC usually works, but sometimes after first start in the morning it appears to be "locked out", espeicially if the weather is cold. Sounds like it could be the battery - the ECU could be thinking the battery is low after engine cranking - I'll change it I think.

What happens here Tim, is that the nominal 12.5 volts of a good battery can drop down to 11 something when a cell goes short circuit. Our cars run on 13.8volt, though the faulty battery may crank the car, when trying to charge the battery the running voltage of the car will drop to say 12 volt, enough to trigger some odd faults until the voltage has rissen.

When you get a battery only get a good one,no cheap unknown brands.

Malcolm