jobambo

Hello all,
My car is a 2005 c230, USA spec, about 120k miles. Last week, after driving to work, my car decided to not restart. No crank, no start. Had to towed to a local shop who did the basic checks and was not able to find the problem. 2nd mechanic found an issue with the the communication with the whole start up system.

I am able to unlock doors using the key fob. Able to shift gears to neutral, turn the steering wheel and turn the key. I am able to jump start the starter using the the relay bypass method but the car will not start. Starter relay and fuse are good. There is no 12v going to the starter relay when trying to crank. I am suspecting that the EIS is the problem. Using search, there are many posts over the years. The common solution is to replace the EIS and have Benz reprogram all the modules for it to work, about $2000 worth of work. Some google searches revealed some shops offering "repair" services for these systems. Has anyone successfully used these services? Are there any new and current methods to have this problem fixed? Willing to listen to all suggestions. Thanks everyone!

Tirgoman

Have you checked the brake light switch and neutral safety switch. If the brake light switch is open the starter will not crank. Have someone watch the brake lights while you try to start the car. Same with neutral safety switch, it will keep the starter from cranking except in neutral or park.

jobambo

Thanks for the reply. To confirm, are you suggesting to see if the brake lights turn off while the ignition switch is in the cranking position?


Some additional info: About 2 months ago I replaced my shifter module with a used newer model. I had the common issue where my transmission would intermittently lose track of which gear the vehicle was in. Car refused to shift and stayed in a single gear. Newer shifter module was one with a push start which my car obviously did not have. I just left this part uninstalled. This completely solved this issue with no side-effects until this new no crank arose.

Sorry for the multiple edits: Can you shed some lights on the neutral safety switch and how I can test this?

Tirgoman

As for the brake light switch, when you put your foot on the brake the lights should come on, but that signal also gores to the ECU to let the engine crank, this prevents starting if the brake is not depressed.
When you crank they should stay on, if they and other lights dim seriously then there is a battery problem or the starter is pulling way to much and of course you should hear the engine cranking which you said you don't so I don't think that's the problem. Sounds like the signal to allow the engine to crank is not being received.
Now for your transmission problems, this could be the neutral safety starter switch, this also prevents the engine from cranking unless the transmission is in neutral or park. Not sure where it's located.
If you eliminate the brake switch which is easy, it's up under the dash adjacent to the brake peddle, then you can go on to the neutral safety starter switch.
Sounds to me like the signal to turn the starter is not being received.

jobambo

Thanks for the info. I will have a look when i have the car towed back to me. Its not that the signal to the starter is not received, its the signal to the SAM unit related to the starter relay not being delivered. I am able to "jump" the starter relay and turn the ignition switch to "on" and the car will attempt to crank but never start.

C230 Sport Coup

So, without an SDS printout, you're pretty shooting in the dark.
Did the car throw a CEL?
Do you have any printouts you can share?
You could have any number of problems not related to
the EIS and if it was the EIS the SDS printout would say so.
Find a mechanic who can scan the computer. Too many so called
Mercedes mechanics don't have this.

If you did need an EIS there are places that will swap the chips
internally in the part, and you can get a used one and have the chips swapped
specific to your car. Don't ask me where...check on the forum it's here somewhere.

Words to the wise, don't put a lot of crap on your keychain.

jobambo

Thanks for replying. There appears to be no CEL. The shop said there is a communication issue between the ECU and the EIS. As the mechanic claims, 75% chance its the EIS, 25% chance it is the ECU. I asked and confirmed with him that he did have a SDS. This car is worth about 4-5k in good condition, which mine is not. I am already down about 500 in diagnostics, my fault for not towing it to the dealer first. Would you suggest paying for another tow and another diagnostics for a dealer to do a another scan or should I attempt an EIS repair and trash the car if it fails?

C230 Sport Coup

Did you not get a copy of the SDS printout? Yarrr!!!
Go back and get it!!! And post it here!!!
75% this, 25% that. Huh? What the....
And for this you paid money?

That's like when the weathermen say 50% chance of rain.
Or to put it another way, 50% chance of sunshine, or rather just
"I don't f'ing know, so flip a coin yer guess is as good as mine".
So 25% chance one over the other thing, and 2 grand out of pocket to find out.
That's choice.

When I scan my car it say on and on about the CAN Bus has issues, and somehow
it keeps starting and running. Must be a module somewhere
dumping indecipherable data into the bus or a short.

Where are you located anyway? Update your profile.

jobambo

I am located in San Diego. Asked the mechanic today for the print-out, he was asking I wanted a picture of the results. Instantly known he just had a one of those advance odb2 readers and not the SDS. Even though when I first asked him he said he did. Once again, my fault for not doing my proper research. Your comments are 100% warrantied. I am extremely disappointed and unfortunately lack the funds to keep this investigation going. My AAA only has 1 tow left for the year, so I might just take it back home and take the loss for now.

I want to thank everyone on this forum for their input. If there will be any progress or additional info, I will try to post the outcome to maybe help future people doing searches for the same issues.

C230 Sport Coup

Find someone with an SDS also known as Star System and DAS,
lots of hobbists have the chinese knock offs.
There's a guy locally that rents his out in Sunnyvale here in the Bay Area.
He's on craigslist. Or find a mobile mechanic that has it...
big city San Diego. Someone's gotta have one!?

Someone has got to get a scan of this thing.
What an *** mechanic. He wouldn't be able to install the EIS anyway,
requires SDS. I've seen a new one. Comes with a special activation code
to be used in SDS to link the new EIS to the ECU.
AND likely he couldn't even purchase the damn thing either, it's a high security item not sold to just anyone. Only dealer, and maybe some mechanics known to Mercedes with to the capability to do the work, like the guy I know who showed me one he was about to install.
So sounds like your mechanic is full of crap, and was just looking for a fat paycheck from an unsuspecting customer.

And regarding "Your comments are 100% warrantied."
Sorry, I don't provide ANY Warranties on comments.
The warranty expires the moment I commit my thoughts to paper, or in this case, the forum.

jobambo

I have resolved the issue. Just wanted to post a reply as it wasn't as the common EIS related parts. My shifter linkage got disconnected. The car stayed in "drive" therefor did not want to start regardless what the gear shifter was showing. Absolutely no indication something was wrong while i was driving it. Stupid problem, stupid of me for not detecting it earlier. Hope this might help someone down the line.