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2000 C230K (W202) Shifter not working great after spilled coffee
Lessons learned: never drink hot coffee while operating a car, even at super slow speed!
A few days ago, while I was holding my coffee cup above the speed geat stick, about 1/3 to 1/2 of it spilled everywhere accidentally... Got some minor burns on my hand and I suspect some coffee managed to get into the gear
shifter system. Right after the spill, on the parking lot, my gear shifter and engine stopped responding
correctly. Since the event, I've been able to drive, but imperfectly as something is not working correctly.
The symptoms are:
1) When i rotate my keys all the way to the right to turn on the engine, it takes about a full second more before the engine ignites. 2) The stick engagement downward from P to R, N, D works fine and the car is operating BUT there's a big mechanical "bump" (and sound) when I start my car pulling the stick from P to D.
3) Moving the stick upward from N to R is blocked.
So once done driving, I cannot move it back to P from D, unless I pull to N then turn off the engine. Then I can switch back to P.
4) When driving, speed gear is stuck in gear 1 or 2. I can drive faster than 20 miles/hr, but only under gear 1 or 2, which is not great.
5) The semi-automatic D- / D+ shift mode is not working anymore.
I guess things could be worst. Does anyone know what is going on? Am I experiencing the infamous "limp mode"?
I'm planning to remove the gear covers like in the screenshots below I found, then and clean the circuitry with alcohol and a piece of clothes or cotton swabs.
Maybe also clean the 2 wire connections under those plastic covers...
Do I need to absolutely disconnect the battery before doing so?
Is there anything else I can try to fix this myself that is not too hard?
Thank you for any piece of advice that can save me a trip to the mechanics.
I had a problem like this on my w203 but I think the previous owner spilled the coffee. I want to say the small ECU can be damaged and I would look for a good used shifter. When I put mine in drive it registered P on the cluster, and when it was in park it showed drive. Right above your shifter there might be a box/Control unit the says SRS, you don't want to smack that or bump it to hard as it might deploy your airbags. Might be a good idea to disconnect battery just to be safe. Hope this helps.
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