Hi there, thanks for reading.
I was having a few intermittent issues with my C32... but as of yesterday the engine quit on me while I was driving down the road.
I had to tow the vehicle home ($250 ouch) and from here on its just sitting.

Let me tell you a bit of history:

As of a few days ago I started getting battery/alternator warnings... then it turned into an undervoltage warning.... so I'm like okay.... alternator is on its way out.... on the LCD display... the car was running low 11 volts while it was running..... toasted alternator... no problem, right?
So one by one the systems shut down, first the radio, then abs, then bas, then srs, and finally the car gives up a minute or two later.

I try to crank it and it just clicks... no power..
I charge the battery fully... and get 12.7V at the battery... and the dash is telling me 13.9V.... I crank the car... and it turns over and over and over until the battery is dead again... but won't fire.

No CEL, no misfire, nothing.. The engine will just turn over until the battery dies... Charge it up... same thing.

Is the fact that the alternator is dead preventing the car from starting?? I figured it would at least run for a little while... but nothinig at all.
It's almost like its not getting fuel, or spark...

Where should I start my friends??? (I am a first year auto apprentice, so I have a shop at my disposal and most tools)

Help a fellow (sad) AMG owner out!


edit: forgot a few details... 81K miles, original alternator......
All my buddies and co-workers are laughing that my Mercedes "AMG" won't start... but their little hondas with 300K miles are still banging.... Help me prove them wrong

 

You're right, your car should start after your battery has been charged. I went through a similar situation and once I charged the battery the car started right up. I'm thinking you're on your original battery and your cranking amps are probably not strong enough to allow your car to start. Our car's require substantial cold cranking amps.

See if you can borrow another battery to see if that will allow you to start your car. If that doesn't fix your issue, it could be your starter.

 

Hi, I did a vehicle AVR test on the car a few days ago.
It measured 725 out of 850 CCA said (good, but recharge)

I also performed a starter test (cranking voltage 11.5) which said normal/good.
and charge test showed 14 volts.... and then suddenly nothing.

Maybe I should perform another AVR test? I am positive the battery is new.. (I replaced it)

edit: I will remove the battery from the car and take it to the shop and give it a full day of deep cycle charge and see if it starts up.

 

Bump.. Any ideas?

Its my daily driver and I'm pretty hooped without her.

 

Back in the good 'ol days, my C32 had symptoms very similar to yours. Turned out it WAS the alternator.
Do a search in this forum - there are several excellent alternator threads.

 

Well today I purchased a remanufactured alternator, and a crankshaft position sensor just to be safe. (pretty sure its original, and at 81K miles why not)

Now I just have to wait for them to arrive... I hope its soon.

 

New alternator will cure your woes.

 

Thanks dude. Im hoping so!!

 

Decided to go ahead and pull the old alternator as she's sitting anyway... man what a PAIN!!
That tensioner pulley is a pain... you can almost not get it loose enough before you end up loosening the damn pulley off!!
Quick how I did it:
You will need:
3/8 and 1/4 ratchets
10mm socket (for removing battery terminals)
17mm standard socket (for relieving the tension on the belt)
t50 torx socket (for removing the top center bolt on the alternator)
a prybar or two (the alternator will be stuck on after you remove the 2 bolts
and most importantly female torx sockets

1. Disconnect the battery!
2. Remove the passenger side airbox and intake tubing (they just pull out and up)
3. Remove the air pump.. its a black infernal device that normally makes a bad sound... its held on by a few torx bolts.[female torx needed] (you will have to disconnect a few air tubes running to and from the pump to remove it)
4. Find the tensioner pulley and put your 17mm socket on the nut, turn it counterclockwise and the belt will become loose. Hold the tension on and pull the belt off... (I found its best to just slip it off the alternator, no point in removing the entire belt)
5. Next grab your 3/8 ratchet with a t50 socket on the end... remove the top (and most easily accessible bolt from the alternator).. mine was tight, use some elbow grease.
6. Next there is a male t50 torx bolt on the bottom holding the alternator on... bit more of a pain but you will need a FEMALE torx socket (the opposite of the one you just used) to remove this bolt.
7. Disconnect the wires on the back of the alternator.
8. Pry the alternator loose... this part was a pain... I used a few different prybars and a hammer... it eventually came.
9. The last step is where you basically fight the alternator out... I tried to remove it from the bottom.. no luck (others have)... but I ended up eventually just yanking it out the top where the air pump used to sit.. You'll know what I mean when you try this job.

All things considered I give the job a 6/10... the hardest part for me was physically removing the old alternator..

and for now.. I wait until my new alternator arrives!!! Getting it back in looks like a fun job..

 

The toughest part of installing the alternator is getting the alternator back in to position. I would suggest getting a small c-clamp to press in the top bolt hole so that you can slide the alternator back in place more easily.

 

Success!! The beast is back to life.
I had to wait a very long time for my alternator to cross the international border and clear customs. I purchased it remanufactured from a company called bnr parts. (they specialize in alternators)

After I reinstalled the alternator, wired it up, bolted it in, put the belt on, re attach the lines, air pump, etc... I put the battery on a deep cycle charge for 15 hours. The battery was fully charged when I woke up this morning.

I attempted to crank the engine and it just turned OVER AND OVER.. I was very disappointed. I checked every fuse (in the rear SAM, side, and engine bay... and till finally I discovered.

FUSE # 48 for the engine electronics was blown!
I replaced the fuse and the engine started immediately.

 

Congrats on having your car back to life!! So you bought a new alternator for nothing?

 

Hopefully this helps someone replace their alternator. Happy motoring

 

No my old alternator was very dead lol.
You can barely spin the pulley by hand its totally seized up. The new one spins very easily

 

Congrats on bring it back to life,
I had alternator woes a while back too. Good to know about the fuse (48) in the future.
Beautiful colour of your 32 btw.

 

Thanks the jasper blue metallic is a real nice colour.
The c32 is back running strong

 

That will solve your problem buddy! Happened to me few months ago at 120k miles and replaced it with a valeo style alternator, poof! Warning light is gone. Cars been good since, got me roughly $900 parts and labor after... gotta pay the cost to be the bo$$ hahaha

 

I had my C240 shut down all kinds of systems before going into limp mode, had to have it towed (Thank you AAA). I had the same problem, ordered a reman'd Bosch alternator and I'm going to have my mechanic put it in while he's doing the brakes.

I'm doing all this work only to sell it soon enough, replacing it with a C32 though