W203 no go

Ben Longden

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W203 220CDI. Silver with grey and black trim. 1992 W140 400SEL Silver. 1999 CLK430 (missus)
Seems my C220i wants a holiday.

Got in the car after a 60 min drive.

Unlocked with the fob.
Inserted key into ignition.. all dashboard lights up as per normal.

Turn key to crank..
Nothing
Not a sound.
Not even a cricket chirping.

Any ideas?

Could I have pressed buttons on the fob to confuse it? The battery in the fob is ok to lock and unlock at 20m.

Its a w203. 2006 2 litre diesel.
 

JBell

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Shake the steering wheel from side to side and see if it will start
 

Oldspanners

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C CLASS 2004 C180
Seems my C220i wants a holiday.

Got in the car after a 60 min drive.

Unlocked with the fob.
Inserted key into ignition.. all dashboard lights up as per normal.

Turn key to crank..
Nothing
Not a sound.
Not even a cricket chirping.

Any ideas?


Could I have pressed buttons on the fob to confuse it? The battery in the fob is ok to lock and unlock at 20m.

Its a w203. 2006 2 litre diesel.
Is the steering lock off?
If not, do you hear the noise of the electric motor unlocking the EIS on the steering column when you insert the key. If not do as JBell suggests and loosen the column adjustment and give it a good thump up and down and side to side.
 

Steve@Avantgarde

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Flat battery?

Did you say you can turn the key to the crank position? If so, it won't be anything to do with the EIS or steering lock. Releasing those is the first part of drive authorisation meaning the problem is further along such as starter motor

Rest assured, Thumping the steering column, wheel or anything else won't do anything, apart from making you feel better perhaps!
 
OP
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Ben Longden

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W203 220CDI. Silver with grey and black trim. 1992 W140 400SEL Silver. 1999 CLK430 (missus)
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Traced the fault one step closer...

Its blowing the 20 amp fuse in the starter circuit.

Fuse located in the right hand side. Rear. Closest to road .

I picked it up from the mech on weds.
Started it weds. Thurs 2x. Fri 2x and this morning.

Just done 300km... arrived at motel and parked . Blew my spare as I tried to go for a cuppa tea
 
OP
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Ben Longden

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W203 220CDI. Silver with grey and black trim. 1992 W140 400SEL Silver. 1999 CLK430 (missus)
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Update...

Seems to be blowing the starter fuse.

RACV guy thinks one of the glow plugs msy have a short ...
 

alexanderfoti

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Update...

Seems to be blowing the starter fuse.

RACV guy thinks one of the glow plugs msy have a short ...

Is it not more likely that the starter solenoid has a short?

Unplug glow relay and see if it cranks, that rules out a shorted glow plug
 

richardstubbs

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2002 C270CDI
It's not a glow plug - it's got no connection to the starter circuit at that level. If a glow plug goes short circuit it will blow the fusible link in the glow plug control relay. No harm in unplugging it though - it'll work fine without it.

It's the starter itself most likely, or maybe the solenoid, but easiest to change the whole thing. If it fails to engage it will blow the fuse, because the starter windings are like a dead short until the motor turns. Odd, I know, but the solenoid earths through the windings, and as soon as the motor starts to turn the voltage rises and the current falls. The one thing to check before you change it is to take the small cable off the solenoid itself and keep it clear of anything metal, then put a fuse in and turn the key to start to make sure the fuse doesn't blow. If it does then there's a short in the cable. If not then the starter is at fault.

I changed mine (C270CDI) on Monday (in the rain, yuk) for the same fault, blowing fuse 52. I tested it as above and by putting a cable directly on the solenoid terminal and touching it to the battery positive. It clicked loads of times then engaged and was fine, but I thought best to change it because an auto can't be bump-started and it's only a matter of time before it does it again. The motor was £63.77 from Germany, free delivery. The 220 one is cheaper I think. It's Chinese obviously, but I've had one before and it lasted years so fingers crossed. It's awkward to get to - both bottom covers off and there are pipes and cables in the way - and the top bolt is really difficult to get anything on, but basically it's battery off, two bolts and two terminals so not a difficult job really. Might be a bit easier on a 220 because the engine is shorter so perhaps not as close to the tunnel.

Starts really well now. I didn't realise that the old one was a bit slow.
 

alexanderfoti

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It's not a glow plug - it's got no connection to the starter circuit at that level. If a glow plug goes short circuit it will blow the fusible link in the glow plug control relay. No harm in unplugging it though - it'll work fine without it.

It's the starter itself most likely, or maybe the solenoid, but easiest to change the whole thing. If it fails to engage it will blow the fuse, because the starter windings are like a dead short until the motor turns. Odd, I know, but the solenoid earths through the windings, and as soon as the motor starts to turn the voltage rises and the current falls. The one thing to check before you change it is to take the small cable off the solenoid itself and keep it clear of anything metal, then put a fuse in and turn the key to start to make sure the fuse doesn't blow. If it does then there's a short in the cable. If not then the starter is at fault.

I changed mine (C270CDI) on Monday (in the rain, yuk) for the same fault, blowing fuse 52. I tested it as above and by putting a cable directly on the solenoid terminal and touching it to the battery positive. It clicked loads of times then engaged and was fine, but I thought best to change it because an auto can't be bump-started and it's only a matter of time before it does it again. The motor was £63.77 from Germany, free delivery. The 220 one is cheaper I think. It's Chinese obviously, but I've had one before and it lasted years so fingers crossed. It's awkward to get to - both bottom covers off and there are pipes and cables in the way - and the top bolt is really difficult to get anything on, but basically it's battery off, two bolts and two terminals so not a difficult job really. Might be a bit easier on a 220 because the engine is shorter so perhaps not as close to the tunnel.

Starts really well now. I didn't realise that the old one was a bit slow.

Starter will have a maxi fuse rated at more than 20 amps. If the ops fuse is 20 amps that's blowing its more likely to be solenoid I think.

I agree, glow plugs are unrelated.
 

richardstubbs

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Starter will have a maxi fuse rated at more than 20 amps. If the ops fuse is 20 amps that's blowing its more likely to be solenoid I think.

I agree, glow plugs are unrelated.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. Yes, it's the fuse between the relay and the solenoid. In fact on mine it's 15 Amps - I think they made it bigger to stop it blowing. But it blows when the starter itself is u/s, because the solenoid earths through the starter windings, not directly, and when a series-wound motor (like a starter) is stalled, it's like a short-circuit. So it can either be the solenoid (if the contactor isn't working) or the motor, if it's either sticking or one of the brushes (there are four) isn't making contact, so it sits stalled without enough torque to turn the engine.

But my point is that at sixty quid for the whole thing, and bearing in mind that it's blooming awkward to get off, it's not really worth taking the starter off to change the solenoid, putting it all back together and being stranded a couple of days later when it does it again because it was the motor after all. If the solenoid is worn out then the brushes, bearings and commutator are too. After lying on my back in a puddle for an hour I certainly don't want to be taking it out again :)

Most vehicles don't have a fuse here. Mercedes do, to protect the relay which is only rated at 15 Amps. Most things would click repeatedly until the starter eventually operates. That's one of the reasons that Ford ignition switches wear out so quickly. The other is that they are rubbish.

The starter itself doesn't have a fuse as such, it's a fusible link, i.e. a slightly thinner bit of cable. There would have to be a really serious and sustained short circuit to blow that.
 

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