My 190e has died!

[TheJim]

Well, I managed to change the water pump and fan belt OK over the weekend- then- a couple of days ago the car went decidedly odd.
It was driving along fine and then the engine started jerking the car violently and the rev counter went bonkers. I killed the engine and then could not restart it. After a couple off hours it started again fine- and then died again after about ten minutes. When I tried to start it the engine made a loud clicking noise, then the alarm bleeped once. It has done the same since. But last night I went to start it, no luck, and when I used the fob to do the central locking the alarm armed but the locks did not close. The courtesy light was also flashing on and off, as were the seatbelt warning lights. It has carried on doing this all night.
HEEEEELP! Is my car possessed? Or has the alarm immobilisor gone haywire? Or something even worse?
Any advice would be gratefully received- I have had the car a fortnight, more than half of which has been off the road. Bugger.

 

[stuarth]

FWIW

MY guess would be the alarm system but I am no expert. I had similar problems on mine but no engine jerking (which is probably it cutting out intermittently). In any event, I would have the alarm system removed- for practical purposes, alarms are useless. Buy a Crooklock instead.

 

[190]

sound like an eletrical fault either alarm or at the coil or the distributor would check wires and ht leads

 

[TheJim]

I have a sneaking suspicion that it is the alarm, I was reading the tech specs on Cliffords site and whilst the complexity of the alarm is great for deterring thieves, boy can you get problems after it has been hanging about for 15 years. The Immobilisor shuts off your fuel pump, starter motor and ECU. I am guessing it won't be cheap to remove. Plus I need to get the car transported between god knows how many garages to get the fault diagnosed. I just hope the car is a goodun after the teething probs.

 

[jberks]

Hi,
Just a thought.
Most garages won't fix your car themselves but will call in a mobile auto electrician. Why not save the expense and call one in yourself.

 

[stuarth]

alarms

Ruislip has a lot of inhabitants, right? Remove the sticker on the window saying which alarm it is or better, get a sticker for another alarm.
I had my system stripped out for 40 pounds and even that was robbery - you can probably do it yourself especially if it is not a Mercedes original.
I have found car thieves able to disconnect alarms and drive off inside 20 seconds or less. Given that NO-ONE will do anything if the alarm goes off (except complain to the police about the noise), get rid.

 

[stuarth]

a possible solution

Underneath the steering wheel is a panel you can remove with a couple of screws. Inside you will probably find the alarm and it will probably have a fuse. Remove it and try again. Mercedes did this and had the car going inside 2 minutes after it showed weird symptoms and would not start

 

[joe bloggs]

Flat battery mate, alarm will be ok, not sure why it ran rough though, maybe you got water on the distributor when you did the water pump, in any case dont panic,it will be easy fixed.

 

[TheJim]

The battery is dead now but was fine when the car conked out originally, we also tried jump leads to no avail. The problem also started before I took off the water pump, so it can't be drenched components.....
Upon doing some research on clifford alarms it would appear that the alarm I have is a bit crap anyway- a clifford dealer told me as much. Concept 50- not their best product. Typical!
I have looked under the dash and opened the steel box that the alarm is in- not a simple bit of kit- it goes everywhere. I am not scared of wielding a soldering iron but this thing just goes off into the wiring loom of the car in every direction. Not a five minute job. The car is off to a workshop next week so fingers crossed they can rip the bugger out. At least it would rule something out. Ho hum.

 

[TheJim]

Well, thanks for your ideas. Turns out I have got a small warranty on my car because it was bought from a trader- I can get some technicians to diagnose the fault and prepare a quote for the insurance company. If it turns out to be the alarm they will not repair it under the warranty but at least I will know what needs to be done. If it is something in the ignition system then it will be repaired for free, which would make a refreshing change. If they cannot sort the problem then I guess I will have to hire a Chinook to lift it home.
Either which way next thursday is DDay and I shall let you guys know the outcome.
Take care guys and have a good weekend.
Jim. (soon to be on first name terms with Green Flag call centre)

 

[TheJim]

Well, after all that it turns out that it was just the alternator. The battery kept dying because the alternator could not supply enough charge when lights, radio, jacuzzi etc were all on at once. When the charge in the battery gets below a certain point the alarm thinks someone is tinkering and activates the immobilisor. Hence the bizare behaviour.
So the new alternator is going on come monday and fingers crossed the car should be tickety boo.
Perhaps I should invest in a multimeter........
Once again cheers for the advice!