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mb virgin

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Hi all, Help please:- went to start my 220 cdi est today and the battery died almost instantly, there should be plenty of charge as I did a 340 mile round trip on sunday with almost no problems. What I really want to know does anyone have any ideas apart from a new battery and are there any no no's for starting the car with jump leads. I have also had a few other scares this week, the car firstly stuck in first gear and when I stopped turned off and restarted had no further troubles which is just as well as I was 140 miles from home. Secondly I started the car drove to the end of the street and when tuning right all sorts of warning lights lit up saying abs failure suspension failure etc and just like the other fault pulled up turned off and no problems since.

Any advice much appreciated
MB Virgin
 

colechelle

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Hi mb virgin, you dont state what model, age, i suspect the stuck in gear was the start of your undervoltage fault, common on e,class 210 models and c,class 203 models, normal fault as you righty say battery u,s, shouldnt have any major problems with jump starting as long as you get them on the right way, only one prob you might get if its a 203 it has been known to fry the rear SAM, ESP fault also common due to undervoltage when driving, hope some help, cole
 

television

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If the battery is 4-6 years old then it could be past its sell by date.

As colechelle says under voltage will do strange things.

203 are very sensitive to jump starting
 
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mb virgin

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Hi and thank for replying, the car is a 2001 220cdi auto estate. Its the first time a battery has died on me without giving a little warning. I will jump start it in the morning and call into my local garage to have the battery checked, I hope thats all it is as the strange electrics have had me very worried. A mate who is a mechanic had suggested that the fan belt slipping on a damp evening causes all kinds of strange issues with the electrical system which I suppose could also show under voltage from the alternator, is there any truth in this?

Regards

MB Virgin
 

w124Stu

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I have experience with bmw diesels, expect 4 years max. from a battery fitted to a diesel. when the garage check the battery, also get them to do an alternator test, both loaded and unloaded. yous being a modern engine it should have a ribbed belt, self tensioning so i doubt its belt tension thats to blame.
 

colechelle

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No as you said you had done 340 mile trip, if no charging you would have cut out on the way, battery us and running on alternator has shown up ESP fault and now non start, hence stuck in gear, fault comes up as supply voltage undervoltage to the valves, new battery should sort all the faults out, cole
 
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mb virgin

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Hi all and thanks again for your replies, I had a bit of a mare today as I got out the jump leads and opened the bonnet only to find no battery under there; er where could it be my local spares shop assured me it was in the boot somewhere and then took £96.00 from me to order a Bosch replacement. My local garage assured me it was under the front passenger seat, well I checked in the boot for about 20 mins and decided it was not in there and there was no way it was under the passenger seat so decided to check under the rear seats and almost gave up then thought I will just try removing the covers under the seats BINGO. Picked the battery up @3 and at 3:30 it busrt into life and I am now one happy chappie, all sorts of warning lights came on then diisapeared after about 30 secs now all I have to do is find the radio code I know I have put it somewhere safe. Checked the output from the alternator even under load it shoved out 13.7v so thank you all once again.
 

television

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MB should give you the code,,so pleased its all fixed
 
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mb virgin

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Thanks Malcolm, I hope all is well now as my car fund has been somewhat deminished recently and the Scimy I have just purchased is going to need lots of tlc; who would have thought that when I went out to start both cars that it would be the Merc that let me down, anyway I dont think 7 years is bad for an oem battery and it was bound to happen sooner or later.
 

television

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Thanks Malcolm, I hope all is well now as my car fund has been somewhat deminished recently and the Scimy I have just purchased is going to need lots of tlc; who would have thought that when I went out to start both cars that it would be the Merc that let me down, anyway I dont think 7 years is bad for an oem battery and it was bound to happen sooner or later.


I had a 3liter Scimy with the ford engine , also with a special body, it did shift
 

lmn

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help

I have similar problem- my Mercedes A 140 doesn`t start. When we push it up, it starts and I can drive all the day and even start it again, but when I try it on the next day it doesn`t start. All the dash-board lights go on but the engine doesnt react. The battery ir new and OK, I even tried some other batteries. Does anyone have some suggestions?
 

mattkh

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Hi
How old is the car ?
It could be the ignition switch or the starter.
 

lmn

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Thanks!
The car is not very fresh, year `99, but is in good condition.
 

Cole@MBS

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New starter needed, common fault on one of those, engine down to remove!!

You could flash up the male side of the purple lead next to the battery positive to see what happens but i suspect its a starter!!
 


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