kcattorney

2006 S430 4matic. Just turned over 200,000 miles. I do a lot of my own work on the car. I'm a decent wrench, but not an expert, especially with electrical stuff.
Current problem: Key turns in ignition, dash lights up, all accessories work, but starter doesn't crank at all. Car will not jump start - used 2 different vehicles to try. Shifter will not move out of park.

This problem started all at once - wife parked the car Wednesday after work in our driveway and when I went to start it about an hour later, no joy.

I have spent several hours reading the related threads here and elsewhere. I have troubleshot several things to eliminate:
-Took battery to have tested and it tested strong
-Pulled both plugs off the brake switch and jumped the leads using a paperclip. Did this with both brake switch plugs in all configurations of jumping the leads.
-Pulled the passenger footwell carpet back and got into the fuse box there. No corrosion. I found a YouTube video on how to bypass the fuse to jumpstart from that fusebox, but it didn't work. The YouTube video said you can just connect to the red out post on the lower right corner of the top of that fuse box (that leads out of the fuse box). But I don't know if that would send power to the starter - doesn't make sense since the out wire to the starter exits from the bottom of (underneath) the fuse box.

The next two culprits would seem to the starter and the gear shift lever. I'm thinking gear shift lever since that is a common problem with these cars AND the car won't shift out of Park with the key in any position in the ignition (I have tried holding the key in every position, including the "crank" position while trying to move the shift lever).

I saw a couple of references in different threads that a bad gear shift lever could cause a no start situation like this. Can anyone confirm?

tusabes

Yes a bad shifter will prevent starting, but your problem isn't necessarily a bad shifter

Could be a bad ignition switch or even a bad key . There are four components that are part of the security system that prevent starting - key , ignition switch , ecu and shifter . They must all be replaced as a matched set from the donor car/junkyard . eBay sells matched sets for about $350

kcattorney

Thanks for the reply tusabes.
2 questions:
1. Does the fact that the ignition key allows me to power up the car and to turn the ignition all the way to the crank position mean anything? Or would it do that even if the key was bad? Or the ignition switch (I think the ignition switch is also called the "EIS"?) was bad?

2. Does the inability to shift out out of park mean anything? Both my '06 Cayenne and '05 A4 allow me to shift out of park with the key in the "on" position in the ignition but with the engine off. Although it may not rule out a problem with the other 3 components, does it mean that the shifter definitely has a problem? Or could a problem with one of the other 3 components keep a non-broken shifter from moving out of park with the key in the "on" position?

Thanks in advance for any help.

tusabes

I haven't personally had a car with a bad key or eis , so I can't tell you definitely if they would allow turning all the way to the crank position even when they have failed .

Like you I am able to move the shifters of my normally functioning cars as long as there is power . I don't know if the w220 prevents shifting if any one of the anti theft components is faulty , or if it pinpoints the fault to the shifter alone .

If you do have a faulty shifter , you're going to need to replace all four parts anyway with a used matched set (unless you get a brand new shifter alone from mb and get it programmed which costs over $1000) . However, a fault in the key , eis or ecu is far more common than a fault in the shifter (besides the stuck in park issues , when the plastic piece fails , but that still allows starting even when the plastic is broken and it's stuck in park )

I would also want to check the main fuses under the passenger floor . They will allow electronics to power on but prevent starting or jumping . I don't think applying power at the passenger floor actually jumps the bad fuse, it's just another method of starting a dead car. Might be worth paying for a diagnostic at mb to identify the issue , then tackling the actual repair yourself

blackopal

It's odd that the car won't shift out of P with the ignition on.











I did a bit of searching and another W220 owner (S500) had the same issue and he reported it turned out to be the Electronic Shift Module in the actual shifter - ie it wasn't registering that it was in Park and therefore no signal to the starter. Could be a long shot but it sounds feasible.

wallyp

It's not common, but I have seen this be a loose connection on a shifter harness.

kcattorney

Thanks guys. Definitely helps in the troubleshooting process. Like tusabes points out, I had read that the common shifter problem (broken plastic piece) doesn't prevent the car from starting. But the inability to shift out of park still makes me highly suspicious that the problem resides in the shift lever.

kcattorney

Update: Yesterday afternnon, for the first time the key would not turn the ignition switch. The key was turning the ignition switch just fine as of Saturday evening when I stopped working on the car.

I have only one key for the car. The key case was somewhat buggered up from before the no-start problem started, so I had ordered a new case for it a week ago and it arrived in today's mail. Tonight I swapped the innards into the new case. I had done this once before about a year ago, so that was easy. With the new case, the remote will unlock the doors and open the trunk, but it will still not turn the ignition. Odd that beginning yesterday it would not turn the ignition switch. I did nothing to it from Saturday evening when the key would turn the ignition switch to Sunday afternoon when the ignition switch wouldn't turn, so that is somewhat puzzling. Actually, I hadn't hardly touched it since early Thursday morning, other than to put the key in the ignition on Saturday afternoon and give it a try at starting (which of course it didn't, but the key turned in the ignition switch just fine).

I still plan to tear into the shifter to check the harness in the shifter for the Electronic Shift Module. If I find nothing out of sorts there, I will either buy a matched set of key, shifter, ignition switch and ECU and install myself, or cry uncle and have it towed to my indy mechanic.

kcattorney

I am about to order the 4 piece set (key, ignition switch, shifter, ECU) from a dismantler. I see two sets that should work. One is $399

http://www.ebay.com/itm/01-06-MERCED...tXgDrP&vxp=mtr

and this one is only $255, but it says it needs to be reprogammed for your car:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/03-06-MERCED...tXEShh&vxp=mtr

I thought that if you bought the entire set of 4 items, you didn't need to reprogram - just install and go.

Also, the $399 set says it is good for years 2001 to 2006, but other ads seem to differentiate betwee 2001-2002 cars and the 2003-2006 cars.

tusabes

I don't see a key included in the $399 ad?

I would get the right year for your car. Ideally you should pull your parts first and confirm part numbers

With the correct set of all 4 matched parts there should be no need for any programming , assuming those 4 parts all worked together before they were removed . Beware of sellers just grouping together 4 parts from different cars !!

I'd still give the battery /main fuses a triple check , with a fresh battery, before you start changing the anti theft components . Batteries that test strong have been known not to be strong enough, and the degradation of more functions in your car is a classic symptom of a weakening battery

kcattorney

Update: I ordered a matched set off eBay for $247. Installed the set today and voila, my car works! As expected, my odometer is blank, although the trip odometer works fine. SRS warning light. Presafe unavailable. ESP inop. I am taking it over to a buddy's house tomorrow. He is a MB dealership tech, so hopefully can do a little computer whispering.

tusabes

Great deal and glad it worked !!

Be sure to retain the vin of the car you got the parts from- if you lose a key you'll need to find a third party programmer to duplicate it , as Mercedes will not duplicate a key to a different vin

kcattorney

Thanks! And thanks for the reminder. I will just keep the old parts with a copy of the ebay ad with VIN. I noticed the parts yard put a sticker with the VIN, model, mileage and their contact info on the shifter box. Nice touch. I would highly recommend Danyx Auto Parts. They answered an ebay message right away, shipped the parts immediately, packed them very well and were about 30% cheaper than everyone else.