TemjinX2

yeah i would get some nice 8 gauge wire. You should get a little more voltage with a stronger ground.

jturkel

yah thats what hooley and i are thinking. that wire in place is a temp fix until i have time to fix the main ground that PTE posted and until Hooley builds me a killer ground kit.

i'll post pics of the fix and the "Hooley ground kit" when i/we get around to it.

elflaco7

hello guyes...

my alternator/battery light came on about 1 month ago, took it to the shop they said it was the alternator and the battery. i changed them both for a heavy bill of 1500 dollars. i used to have a honda accord and id get my hands under it with out a problem, with the mb i am affraid of getting under the hood cus people say its too complicated. a week into having the new alternator and battery the alternator/battery light came on again. the ca stalls on me, all the electric shuts down, i have to ask for a bust many time a day. I took it to the shop again and now they are sayng that the alternator is fine and the battery is fine but the STARTER CABLE and the PREFUSE BOX are all coroeded and that to fix it its going to cost 1000 bucks. im desperate i just bought this car 5 months ago. im out of cash and need help. thank you,

oscar

02C32guy

Oscar, don't be afraid to get under the hood of your MB. Mechanically, they are no more complicated than your Honda. The electrical systems get pretty confusing, but as far as things like alternators etc.. they are just like any other car. Honestly, if you're on a budget, you need to get dirty, otherwise you're not going to be able to maintain this car. There is a massive amount of information on this forum. Pretty much anything you're going through, someone else has already repaired. Good luck

elflaco7

thank u. i like to stay positive and hope i get to the bottom of this problem. its cost me time, money, and alot of lost time from work. I spoke to the mechanic at Ray Catena he said that if im on a budget then he'd clean the starter connectors with baking soda, and thats the best he could do. I have been looking for answers about the FUSE BOX, but i dont find anything, and about the STARTER CABLE. nothing either. i dont want to touch the car and leave it in worse conditions

thanks for your advise ill try to get dirty on this C240.

jturkel

C240? Try posting in the W203 section. there are a lot of knowledgeable guys over there as well. GL!

Jndubi

Thanks for your post, I solved my problem by reading your post,similar problem😀😀😀😀

CaliBenzDriver

I have the same low voltage problem on a E350 W212 MY'14. Many years later Benz still failed to improve on this perfect PITA profit center.

I don't think a tiny 14AWG wire can ground the 120Amp starter current... so that kind of tells us the engine power ground is mostly OK. Problem may be a GND DISTRIBUTION issue but elsewhere: like a GND reference for computer or alternator or a SAM that measure wrong floating values...

I don't know if this ALTERNATOR is rubber insulated and has or needs a GND strap (Seen that exact problem on Porsche alternator with a missing GND strap)

Also the "smart charging" alternator is controlled by the main computer... to go between 12.6 to 14.9 based on engine coasting.

I've seen my new car at 3KMiles purposely draining its battery while cruising at freeway speed courtesy of this "genius" alternator control: showing "11.9V @ 90A" on cluster display !!

EDT2: traced to CAN modules faulty from factory impacting Alternator with low-charge command.