S
simont1952
Guest
Hi there,
I own an S320CDI W220 bought new in Sept 2001.
I have a problem that only manifests itself whe I am on holiday in the Alps.
When driving over mountain pass roads (therefore log periods of uphill driving at lower air density) my car has a tendency to overheat - the coolant dial going up towards but not into the red. Associated with this the external air temperature gauge usually also plays up and overreads the outside air temperature (50C at 2000 meters!).
Twice, when driving over the highest road pass in Switerland, the car has suffered a major loss of power with clouds of black smoke coming from the exhaust. Both times I was so close to the top that after a short wait I could get the car to limp to the summit and then it was downhill for the next 60km.
Subsequent visits to the local MB dealer got the thing fixed but the return journey the last time was back over another lower mountain pass - no major catastrophic failure but the coolant and outside air temperature readings both increased again.
Subsequently I have had the coolant system flushed (in the UK) and thought that would clear it. However recently i was driving home uphill (I live on the sode of the Malvern Hills) and had to do so at a slow speed. I notice the coolant temperature gauge and outside air temperature gauges both heading north again. As it was just a short stretch the problem went away quickly.
I am due to drive my car over the Alps again next February. I am concerned that all I have done is fixed the symptoms rather than any underlying cause.
Does anyone have any ideas what I should be asking my garage to look for - they really do not have any ideaa.
I look forward to the rush of replies!
Regards
Simon Thompson
I own an S320CDI W220 bought new in Sept 2001.
I have a problem that only manifests itself whe I am on holiday in the Alps.
When driving over mountain pass roads (therefore log periods of uphill driving at lower air density) my car has a tendency to overheat - the coolant dial going up towards but not into the red. Associated with this the external air temperature gauge usually also plays up and overreads the outside air temperature (50C at 2000 meters!).
Twice, when driving over the highest road pass in Switerland, the car has suffered a major loss of power with clouds of black smoke coming from the exhaust. Both times I was so close to the top that after a short wait I could get the car to limp to the summit and then it was downhill for the next 60km.
Subsequent visits to the local MB dealer got the thing fixed but the return journey the last time was back over another lower mountain pass - no major catastrophic failure but the coolant and outside air temperature readings both increased again.
Subsequently I have had the coolant system flushed (in the UK) and thought that would clear it. However recently i was driving home uphill (I live on the sode of the Malvern Hills) and had to do so at a slow speed. I notice the coolant temperature gauge and outside air temperature gauges both heading north again. As it was just a short stretch the problem went away quickly.
I am due to drive my car over the Alps again next February. I am concerned that all I have done is fixed the symptoms rather than any underlying cause.
Does anyone have any ideas what I should be asking my garage to look for - they really do not have any ideaa.
I look forward to the rush of replies!
Regards
Simon Thompson
