C180 Kompressor, W203 2004 petrol cranks but won't start - all basic checks seem OK..
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 3
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Mercedes Benz C180 Komressor W203, 2004 model, Petrol
C180 Kompressor, W203 2004 petrol cranks but won't start - all basic checks seem OK..
Hi all,
I have been reading the forums for a long time, never had to ask anything, unfortunately not a Mercedes pro, so been lurking in the shadows a bit, but now I need help please...
Wife was driving the car, all was fine, after she finished shopping she started the car up, drove less than a kilometer then it just cut out on her. Brought it back home, could not get it to start, but it cranks just fine. Plugged hand held diagnostic in, found 2 codes: miss fire on cylinder 3 and miss fire on cylinder 4. Cleared the codes, still would not start.
Spark plugs were replaced about a month ago along with the fuel pump but checked it again for failure. Spark plugs are all fine and gives good spark when tested outside the engine. After cranking the engine, when I remove any of the spark plugs, they are wet? So can it be that I don't have a strong enough spark as it is not burning the fuel?
Checked the 4 coils, all 4 are firing and producing a similar strength spark. Checked the fuel pump, pump is fine (I do not have a fuel pressure gauge, so going on the fact that it is new, I am hoping it is ok) Removed and checked the injectors individually, tested fine, replaced them onto the fuel rail, all 4 seem to be working at a consistently strong level of spray when attached to the fuel rail.
Checked vacuum hoses, found 1 that showed signs of wear, replaced that, but did not think it would be the issue. So, I have fuel, I have spark, I have air, car still wont start.
Checked timing, found timing chain stretched (4.5 mm) and timing out a bit, so replaced timing chain, tensioner etc. as well as the 2 cam sensors.
Car still will not start. Removed and tested the crank sensor, seems fine, gives pulse as you move metal past the magnet and on the diagnostic I can see that the rev counter changes, so know the signal coming through from the crank sensor is there.
Did leak down test - around 4 to 5% leak, which is acceptable, did compression test, all 4 were within range with less than 8% difference between max and min reading. Car has 162 000 km's on the clock.
Checked fuses, none were blown. Car cranks, sometimes sounds like it is just about to start, but then just goes back to cranking again.
Now, when I check for codes, none come up! nothing pending, nothing stored.
Car is still just an expensive paperweight and I am running out of ideas.
Any ideas form your side?
Thanks,
Dan
I have been reading the forums for a long time, never had to ask anything, unfortunately not a Mercedes pro, so been lurking in the shadows a bit, but now I need help please...
Wife was driving the car, all was fine, after she finished shopping she started the car up, drove less than a kilometer then it just cut out on her. Brought it back home, could not get it to start, but it cranks just fine. Plugged hand held diagnostic in, found 2 codes: miss fire on cylinder 3 and miss fire on cylinder 4. Cleared the codes, still would not start.
Spark plugs were replaced about a month ago along with the fuel pump but checked it again for failure. Spark plugs are all fine and gives good spark when tested outside the engine. After cranking the engine, when I remove any of the spark plugs, they are wet? So can it be that I don't have a strong enough spark as it is not burning the fuel?
Checked the 4 coils, all 4 are firing and producing a similar strength spark. Checked the fuel pump, pump is fine (I do not have a fuel pressure gauge, so going on the fact that it is new, I am hoping it is ok) Removed and checked the injectors individually, tested fine, replaced them onto the fuel rail, all 4 seem to be working at a consistently strong level of spray when attached to the fuel rail.
Checked vacuum hoses, found 1 that showed signs of wear, replaced that, but did not think it would be the issue. So, I have fuel, I have spark, I have air, car still wont start.
Checked timing, found timing chain stretched (4.5 mm) and timing out a bit, so replaced timing chain, tensioner etc. as well as the 2 cam sensors.
Car still will not start. Removed and tested the crank sensor, seems fine, gives pulse as you move metal past the magnet and on the diagnostic I can see that the rev counter changes, so know the signal coming through from the crank sensor is there.
Did leak down test - around 4 to 5% leak, which is acceptable, did compression test, all 4 were within range with less than 8% difference between max and min reading. Car has 162 000 km's on the clock.
Checked fuses, none were blown. Car cranks, sometimes sounds like it is just about to start, but then just goes back to cranking again.
Now, when I check for codes, none come up! nothing pending, nothing stored.
Car is still just an expensive paperweight and I am running out of ideas.
Any ideas form your side?
Thanks,
Dan
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 3
Likes: 1
Mercedes Benz C180 Komressor W203, 2004 model, Petrol
Hi again,
Bobby735 on Benzworld.org forum suggested flaming off the fuel as a test for quality, so I took his advice on the fuel test, and wouldn't you know it, flamed up like an old camper lantern - lazy and smokey, only took by the 3rd attempt. Got some fuel from my other car, flamed that up, flamed first try, big and bright flame.
So there you have it, bad, oily fuel! Looks contaminated. Checked with the wife, she put around $30 top-up in the tank just before she went shopping.So I guess that was about all it needed to muck up the system.
So I drained the fuel, put new fuel in, pulled the spark plugs and cleaned them from the oily fuel residue (remember I said they were always wet when pulled?) drained the fuel rail, cranked the car to flush the fuel pipe up to the rail, reconnected and cranked the car.
Took around a minute of spluttering, but she's purring like a kitten again!
Got a code on Intake Air Temp Sensor that is shorting out, so going to replace that before I drive anywhere, but it looks like the fuel was the culprit.
Thanks everyone - hope this one day helps someone else.
Cheers,
Dan
Bobby735 on Benzworld.org forum suggested flaming off the fuel as a test for quality, so I took his advice on the fuel test, and wouldn't you know it, flamed up like an old camper lantern - lazy and smokey, only took by the 3rd attempt. Got some fuel from my other car, flamed that up, flamed first try, big and bright flame.
So there you have it, bad, oily fuel! Looks contaminated. Checked with the wife, she put around $30 top-up in the tank just before she went shopping.So I guess that was about all it needed to muck up the system.
So I drained the fuel, put new fuel in, pulled the spark plugs and cleaned them from the oily fuel residue (remember I said they were always wet when pulled?) drained the fuel rail, cranked the car to flush the fuel pipe up to the rail, reconnected and cranked the car.
Took around a minute of spluttering, but she's purring like a kitten again!
Got a code on Intake Air Temp Sensor that is shorting out, so going to replace that before I drive anywhere, but it looks like the fuel was the culprit.
Thanks everyone - hope this one day helps someone else.
Cheers,
Dan
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 3
Likes: 1
Mercedes Benz C180 Komressor W203, 2004 model, Petrol
Hi again,
Bobby735 from Bensworld.org forums suggested I do a flame test on the fuel to check for quality. I took his advice on the fuel test, and wouldn't you know it, flamed up like an old camper lantern - lazy and smokey, only took by the 3rd attempt.Got some fuel from my other car, flamed that up, flamed first try, big and bright flame.
So there you have it, bad, oily fuel! Looks contaminated. Checked with the wife, she put around $30 top-up in the tank just before she went shopping.So I guess that was about all it needed to muck up the system.
So I drained the fuel, put new fuel in, pulled the spark plugs and cleaned them from the oily fuel residue (remember I said they were always wet when pulled?) drained the fuel rail, cranked the car to flush the fuel pipe up to the rail, reconnected and cranked the car.
Took around a minute of spluttering, but she's purring like a kitten again!
Got a code on Intake Air Temp Sensor that is shorting out, so going to replace that before I drive anywhere, but it looks like the fuel was the culprit.
Hope this helps someone else int he future.
Cheers,
Dan
Bobby735 from Bensworld.org forums suggested I do a flame test on the fuel to check for quality. I took his advice on the fuel test, and wouldn't you know it, flamed up like an old camper lantern - lazy and smokey, only took by the 3rd attempt.Got some fuel from my other car, flamed that up, flamed first try, big and bright flame.
So there you have it, bad, oily fuel! Looks contaminated. Checked with the wife, she put around $30 top-up in the tank just before she went shopping.So I guess that was about all it needed to muck up the system.
So I drained the fuel, put new fuel in, pulled the spark plugs and cleaned them from the oily fuel residue (remember I said they were always wet when pulled?) drained the fuel rail, cranked the car to flush the fuel pipe up to the rail, reconnected and cranked the car.
Took around a minute of spluttering, but she's purring like a kitten again!
Got a code on Intake Air Temp Sensor that is shorting out, so going to replace that before I drive anywhere, but it looks like the fuel was the culprit.
Hope this helps someone else int he future.
Cheers,
Dan
