Help with car hesitation mystery
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 96
Likes: 1
From: Washington, DC
'03 CL55 AMG & '09 SL63 AMG
Help with car hesitation mystery
Hello guys, I've been trying to figure out whats wrong with my 2003 CL55 for the longest time and need help
Car jerks when i gun it from stop. Or it will lose immense power for couple seconds after shifting or until it pickes rpms back up. It also barely goes when i hit the gas while the car is on high gear and low speed (ex: driving 45mph on fifth gear then hitting the gas pedal). *it seems to jerk only when theres load on the car.*
The car doesn't have any issues when i hit the throttle on neutral or when i hit the gas when the rpm is readily high. Sometimes if i want to gun it i slowly climb up the rpm then hit it when the rpm is high.
The car does hesitate alot worse when it's on very low rpm (800-1500rpm)
Things i did in hope to solving the issue:
Changed fuel filter
Cleaned throttle body
Mixed injector cleaning additives to the gas
Checked airfilters
Deleted all 4 catalytic converters
Deleted resonator
Changed supercharger to fixed pulley w/ ecu tune
Changed ic pump to bosch 010
Any help would be appreciated, ive been stuck with this issue for months now
Car jerks when i gun it from stop. Or it will lose immense power for couple seconds after shifting or until it pickes rpms back up. It also barely goes when i hit the gas while the car is on high gear and low speed (ex: driving 45mph on fifth gear then hitting the gas pedal). *it seems to jerk only when theres load on the car.*
The car doesn't have any issues when i hit the throttle on neutral or when i hit the gas when the rpm is readily high. Sometimes if i want to gun it i slowly climb up the rpm then hit it when the rpm is high.
The car does hesitate alot worse when it's on very low rpm (800-1500rpm)
Things i did in hope to solving the issue:
Changed fuel filter
Cleaned throttle body
Mixed injector cleaning additives to the gas
Checked airfilters
Deleted all 4 catalytic converters
Deleted resonator
Changed supercharger to fixed pulley w/ ecu tune
Changed ic pump to bosch 010
Any help would be appreciated, ive been stuck with this issue for months now
Last edited by Afr00t; Feb 6, 2015 at 12:25 AM.
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 285
Likes: 22
From: New York
2006 CL55 AMG
Failing torque converter will illicit "surging" behavior. Begin with SL55 forever's suggestion of inter cooler pump. There's no CEL (check engine light) if fails but the ECU will cut power via spark and fuel.
Last edited by principledchiro; Dec 9, 2014 at 04:46 PM.
Member
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 120
Likes: 0
From: Florida
2008 S65 AMG, 2005 SL65 AMG, 2005 Porsche Carrera, 2011 Shelby GT500, 2001 Acura CL Type S
ESP
I just went through a lengthy and annoying debugging of the ESP Malfunction. Try getting another ESP module (from ebay - you can get it for $100 or so). If that does not help, it is possible that throttle body actuator is going bad or your accelerator pedal (and sensor which is part of the pedal).
A pain in the neck to debug. Hope this helps.
A pain in the neck to debug. Hope this helps.
Trending Topics
MB World Stories
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
Manual Mercedes? 6 Times Sindelfingen Let Drivers Have All The Fun
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Verdad Gallardo
8 Classic Boxy Mercedes Designs That Have Aged Like Fine Wine
Verdad Gallardo
Flawlessly Restored Mercedes 190E Evo II Heads to Auction
Verdad Gallardo
Electric Mercedes C-Class Unveiled: 11 Things You Need to Know
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes EQS Gets A Major Update: Everything You Need to Know
Verdad Gallardo
5 Underrated Mercedes-Benz Models That Don't Get the Love They Deserve
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes 300D Has Pushed Well Past 1 Million Miles and It Ain't Stopping
Verdad Gallardo
10 Most Reliable Mercedes-Benz Models You Can Buy Used
Verdad Gallardo
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 96
Likes: 1
From: Washington, DC
'03 CL55 AMG & '09 SL63 AMG
Wouldn't all of these throw a CEL? I don't have a CEL for those possible malfunctions
I just went through a lengthy and annoying debugging of the ESP Malfunction. Try getting another ESP module (from ebay - you can get it for $100 or so). If that does not help, it is possible that throttle body actuator is going bad or your accelerator pedal (and sensor which is part of the pedal).
A pain in the neck to debug. Hope this helps.
A pain in the neck to debug. Hope this helps.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 96
Likes: 1
From: Washington, DC
'03 CL55 AMG & '09 SL63 AMG
Is there a way you can film the symptoms or briefly explain it? I believe there are many things could cause similar symptoms. I'm gonna try and change all the spark plugs and check wires for resistence, not sure how to check the coils though.
Member
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 204
Likes: 0
From: San Jose, CA
Mercedes CL55
In my case, the car jerks only after I have been driving for awhile. I also noticed it happens when I drive hard, like after I just floored the car. It almost seems like the car is ether not getting fuel or its about to shut off. Scary thought because it happens on the freeway... Im hoping it's nothing major. I hope you get your problem solved.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 96
Likes: 1
From: Washington, DC
'03 CL55 AMG & '09 SL63 AMG
Have you checked your IC pump? Your issue sounds like sounds like your IC pump is shot. Look into that
In my case, the car jerks only after I have been driving for awhile. I also noticed it happens when I drive hard, like after I just floored the car. It almost seems like the car is ether not getting fuel or its about to shut off. Scary thought because it happens on the freeway... Im hoping it's nothing major. I hope you get your problem solved.
Member
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 204
Likes: 0
From: San Jose, CA
Mercedes CL55
I havent checked that out yet but I don't think thats the problem. I feel like it can be the throttle body or the fuel injectors being dirty?
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 96
Likes: 1
From: Washington, DC
'03 CL55 AMG & '09 SL63 AMG
Cleaning the throttlebody is a relatively simple thing to do so i would definitely start with it. Even though i don't think a dirty throttlebody could cause such an issue, maybe if ur car is idling rough but i do t think a dirty throttle body would slow down the car on an open throttle. And if u think it's the fuel injectors u could try those fuel additives they sell at every gas station. But in my opinion your issue sounds like it's a bad IC pump. Does ur car run fine when it's cold and get worse when it heats up or drive it for a while?
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 96
Likes: 1
From: Washington, DC
'03 CL55 AMG & '09 SL63 AMG
I'm now looking into the supercharger. Suspecting it's either the sc belt like you said, the belt tensioner went bad, or the SC clutch going bad.
Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
From: Monterey, CA
2005 E55 AMG, 2006 SL65 AMG
I had a similar problem with my 2005 E55 and it turned out to be the fuel pump (I had fuel leaking into the wires and it corroded them). It would drive fine but stutter when I floored it. You could try checking the fuel pressure (you can rent a fuel pressure gauge from auto parts store usually). You could also try doing a visual inspection of the fuel pump and wires. When I plugged my car into the STAR diagnostic system it also told me I had an issue with the fuel pump. Hope this helps.
Member
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 204
Likes: 0
From: San Jose, CA
Mercedes CL55
Cleaning the throttlebody is a relatively simple thing to do so i would definitely start with it. Even though i don't think a dirty throttlebody could cause such an issue, maybe if ur car is idling rough but i do t think a dirty throttle body would slow down the car on an open throttle. And if u think it's the fuel injectors u could try those fuel additives they sell at every gas station. But in my opinion your issue sounds like it's a bad IC pump. Does ur car run fine when it's cold and get worse when it heats up or drive it for a while?
Member
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 204
Likes: 0
From: San Jose, CA
Mercedes CL55
I had a similar problem with my 2005 E55 and it turned out to be the fuel pump (I had fuel leaking into the wires and it corroded them). It would drive fine but stutter when I floored it. You could try checking the fuel pressure (you can rent a fuel pressure gauge from auto parts store usually). You could also try doing a visual inspection of the fuel pump and wires. When I plugged my car into the STAR diagnostic system it also told me I had an issue with the fuel pump. Hope this helps.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 96
Likes: 1
From: Washington, DC
'03 CL55 AMG & '09 SL63 AMG
Do you know how much pressure the gauge should read for the fuel pump to be in regular working condition? Did your fuel pump ever throw you a CEL code? I'm going to also look into replacing my fuel pump but I want to make sure it is whats causing the problem before i waste money replacing it.
I had a similar problem with my 2005 E55 and it turned out to be the fuel pump (I had fuel leaking into the wires and it corroded them). It would drive fine but stutter when I floored it. You could try checking the fuel pressure (you can rent a fuel pressure gauge from auto parts store usually). You could also try doing a visual inspection of the fuel pump and wires. When I plugged my car into the STAR diagnostic system it also told me I had an issue with the fuel pump. Hope this helps.
Member
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 204
Likes: 0
From: San Jose, CA
Mercedes CL55
I had a similar problem with my 2005 E55 and it turned out to be the fuel pump (I had fuel leaking into the wires and it corroded them). It would drive fine but stutter when I floored it. You could try checking the fuel pressure (you can rent a fuel pressure gauge from auto parts store usually). You could also try doing a visual inspection of the fuel pump and wires. When I plugged my car into the STAR diagnostic system it also told me I had an issue with the fuel pump. Hope this helps.
Member
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 215
Likes: 5
From: North Texas
2005 CL55
I had similar issues. I replaced the IC pump with a new Bosch one. My car has since come alive and I have the infamous chirp of the SC kicking in now. The pump is cheap and relatively easy to replace. If it's the original pump you need to replace it anyway as it is most likely dead weight.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 96
Likes: 1
From: Washington, DC
'03 CL55 AMG & '09 SL63 AMG
I actually replaced the pump to the new BOSCH 010 and it didnt solve the problem. I just purchased a smaller blower pulley with an ECU tune from Eurocharge and going to see if changing the pulley (which will eliminate the clutch) will solve the problem. If not, I'm going to look into the Torque Converter and Fuel pump
I had similar issues. I replaced the IC pump with a new Bosch one. My car has since come alive and I have the infamous chirp of the SC kicking in now. The pump is cheap and relatively easy to replace. If it's the original pump you need to replace it anyway as it is most likely dead weight.
Newbie
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
Still looking
Really sounds like the typical intercooler pump issue. Eurocharged sells them for $150.
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 386
Likes: 12
Cl65 AMG
Classic secondary ign problem. Week coil (coils ? ) plug wire or cracked / corroded spark plug. If you can mix up some salty water and spray it all over the above parts. Drive it and see if it changes or just gets worse. Cold engine needs more KV as well as under load and more when engine is lugging along. 
