Engine Not Turning Over?????

[rajinder_1]

Hi ,
I have recently bought a 01 SL320, driving down the road from work the car was stuck in one gear so i pulled over and turned off engine.... went to restart and the car wouldnt turn over nothing coming from the engine at all???

AA guy checked battery and is 12 volts all lights and windows work fine just nothing when i turn the key...... had to have it towed home

Any Suggestions to what it might be and how to resolve it your help will be greatly appreciated????????

Thanks in advanced

Regards,

Rajinder

 

[Charlotte001]

Can you turn the engine on a spanner or socket ? If so start to check the ignition circuit then the fuel

If not then the engine may have had it and will require rebuilding or the gearbox has seased up. It's going to be expensive (less you can do the work yourself)

Charlotte

 

[Ian Brown]

Hi ,
I have recently bought a 01 SL320, driving down the road from work the car was stuck in one gear so i pulled over and turned off engine.... went to restart and the car wouldnt turn over nothing coming from the engine at all???

AA guy checked battery and is 12 volts all lights and windows work fine just nothing when i turn the key...... had to have it towed home

Any Suggestions to what it might be and how to resolve it your help will be greatly appreciated????????

Thanks in advanced

Regards,

Rajinder

Is the car manual or automatic

 

[Charlotte001]

True if it's auto then the inhibitor switch could have quit (had that on my Range Rover)

charlotte (temporarily ignore previous post)

 

[television]

This can and does happen to our SL's Biggest problem is ignition switch failing. I had to change mine at 36k, second your year is one of the worst on record for wiring problems, you do also have a starter relay.

Where do you start, you do need a voltmeter and test that you have 12volts on the small terminal on the starter ( you can just reach it on yours)when the key is in the start position (possition 3) come back after checking (make sure you have a good ground for the meter test lead. The thick cable on the starter is always live 12 volt.

don't worry nothing terrible
Have you noticed any strange thing recently like the wipers or anything else behaving strange

Please Charlotte don't scare him to death with engine or gearbox seized.

malcolm

 

[television]

Is the car manual or automatic

99.9% of these cars are auto, I know I say that and this one will be a manual.

Malcolm

 

[Ian Brown]

99.9% of these cars are auto, I know I say that and this one will be a manual.

Malcolm

The reason I asked was the car was stuck in one gear so I pulled over and turned off engine. Why did the need to turn the engine off. Surly if it’s an auto and you put it in park or neutral the engine would turn over as the inhibiter switch is attached to the gear lever. same if its a manual just press the clutch and the engine should turn over. Sound like an eletrical fault which is linked to the starter & the auto box.

 

[television]

The reason I asked was the car was stuck in one gear so I pulled over and turned off engine. Why did the need to turn the engine off. Surly if it’s an auto and you put it in park or neutral the engine would turn over as the inhibiter switch is attached to the gear lever. same if its a manual just press the clutch and the engine should turn over. Sound like an eletrical fault which is linked to the starter & the auto box.

I understand what you are saying Ian,I read that part too, twice. I think what happened was that the electrics went down, although not an electric gearbox as such it is part controlled thus locking up the gearbox. With a manual he could have just dipped the clutch, the car was then turned off, With the failed electrics he lost the starter relay. the ignition switch is a big source of problems, it is a 124 circuit and parts with a lot more added to it, and it cant cope. I have never heard of a failed inhibitor switch on a 129, do they fail on the 124, that I do not know. One has to start somewhere, either backwards or forwards, the starter terninals are easy to get to.
These are also of the year with wiring harness problems and we do not know if this has been modified. Another way of testing is to drop the ign switch and measure what comes off there but that is a lot more work, but may have to be done, one can test the inhibitor from there, we will see.

malcolm

 

[rajinder_1]

Guys thanks for your replies, i will advise my mechanic to check for all these. Charlotte... i have never spent so long on the toilet, after reading your reply.... Malcolm again you have probaly hit the nail on the head with your answer i will let you know what happens....

Funny thing is that this morning it started fine and i drove round switching the engine on and off and on the 3rd or 4th time it locked in gear again so drove back home and parked up....... and am waiting for my mechanic to come round and have a look at it.

Malc you are right about it being a automatic, i have not heard of a manual w129 wouldnt have thought they existed???? but you never know....And the reason i switched the engine off was to see if the car would reset and allow me to drive normally i.e change of gears, but instead it wouldnt even turn over.

 

[rajinder_1]

Sorted!!!!!

Guys thatnks for all your help had a mercedes STAR computer hooked up to the SL this morning and guess what.... was a low charge in battery was only holding 355 amps on a 760 amp battery.
the clever STAR pc( all 28k worth ) found the faults which were all linked to the battery.... and the aa man said battery was fine.....
merc man also checked battery on seperate handheld device (£1500 worth) which showed that battery was at fault.....
Moral of story dont trust the aa when diagnosing a problem!!!!
cost me £60 for new battery and £30 to merc man all sorted..

Thanks guys for your help....

Rajinder

 

[rajinder_1]

Back Again in limpo mode

Guys it seems the battery wasnt at fault, i have got the car going into limp/warning mode again ie locking in second gear, then the whole thing of it not starting again.
Malcolm when the report came out from the pc it showed a load on CAN faults which i was told a wiring problems ie bad connection etc....
Do you think that it is still the ignistion switch, i will try and get a volt meter on it tonight to see if it is ok... this is really worrying me now

 

[kth286]

rajinder

when you say you switch the engine off - what postion is the auto gear selector lever in, when you do that ????????

Do you leave it in D (drive), or do you move it to P (Park) position before you switch off ?????????

When the car engine is shut down, and the ignition is also off, can you move the auto gear selector lever ????????

Regards

 

[rajinder_1]

Hi David,
Yes the gear stick moves up and down, and it is always in park when i turn the engine off. and when i start it.

The strange thing is it will be fine for a few days then it locks in second gear and wont start for a day or so , but then its ok again.

It last happened on monday 6th feb and it wouldnt turn over at all and started again this morning 9th ??? it boggles me and i cant trust the car which is not good..... im actually tempted to take it into benz!!!!

 

[kth286]

rajinder

OK so the lever moves.

So, what actually locks - you say second gear - but how does it lock ???

Does the lever not move ?

As you slow to a halt, is the car still in second gear and trying to drive forward ??
Do you have to stall the engine by treading on the brake pedal whilst it is in second gear ?

It is being "locked" in second that is difficult to understand.

Any other way to explain it please.

When you try to start the car on the occasions when it will not turn over - can you get as far as turning the ignition key until all the dash lights come on ??

Regards

 

[rajinder_1]

Hi David,
The car goes into Limp mode, where the computer recognises a fault and the automatic gear box will lock in second gear.
When i turn the ign on everything happens as normal but there is no engine turnover.

Rajinder

 

[television]

Does the rev counter jump to 2k when trying to start.that can stop the starter motor, I do not think there is a Can Bus on this car, optical yes, the fault codes must be read and removed, the starting after two days is the odd bit, Ign stitch ? no I do not think that now, the alarm isolates the starter, but that has nothing to do with limp home, getting lost now, I wish the fault was on my car, that would make it easier. Maybe the fault codes will show more.

Malcolm

 

[rajinder_1]

Hi Malc,
Do you think that the alarm might be playing up??? i did mail you with what my mechanic has said about ther being no power going into the purple wire which goes to starter relay???

 

[television]

Hi My Outlook Express has gone down, cant receive messages, can you PM me.

Malcolm

Just thinking that if the alarm removed a voltage from somewhere when you are driving, that night make the car limp home, Im thinking

 

[rajinder_1]

Hi,
That might stop it from starting if it engages the imobilizer or some thing maybe??? as for it not starting????

 

[television]

your control unit anti theft warning system is just under the dash over ign switch, mine is not even fixed down , its just floating that is called EDW.
there is another one DAS drive authorization, fitted on your car, that's under the bonnet and contains the starter lock out.the starter cable comes from a small relay, that's energized from a transponder coil(around the ign key hole), this coil is fed from the fuel pump relay.
your starter lock out relay is just behind the radio(below just)
You have a fuse box in boot with 7 fuses for this system, make sure contacts are good.

I am running out of time tonight, been working all day and have to Sunday.
Your fault codes would have been useful, No CAN BUS same as mine


All of the items in the first piece are all in serries

malcolm. PS Email working again