Hello All,
I have a 2003 CL55 AMG. Prior to parking it 2 months ago it was running fine. No issues mechanical / electrical issues whatsoever (a little bit of a leaky trunk). Fast forward 2 months, I return from an extended trip and as expected the battery was dead (I normally would've disconnected the battery - but forgot to before I left). I charged the battery completely, hooked it back up and got into the car and tried to start it. Nothing happened, dash lit up, every warning light that could be on was on. Transmission was locked (cant switch gears or put it in neutral) with the ignition in the on position and if I try to turn it over nothing happens at all. The AC turns on, and even with it off I hear a whirring from the engine compartment - I imagine its a fan of some sort.

Also the Airmatic suspension doesnt rise, (the car is sitting on the tires right now) and the rise and abs buttons are both lit solid red and wont toggle on or off. I assumed it was the battery not being strong enough to turn it over or properly start the system, so I went and bought a new battery and installed it. Same thing - no turn over - no nothing. Battery eliminated as the issue.

I hooked up my code scanner - and upon initial hook up EVERY test resulted in an error code. I reset the codes and then proceeded to try restarting the car - still nothing. Despite multiple tries at getting it to start, disconnecting and reconnecting the battery - the error codes have not returned however - so Im thinking it must be something in the electrical system and I am about to embark on a process of checking all the fuses and replacing relays. Why the fuses would be shot I dont know - but I figured that was the next step in my process. I cant imagine every system failing in unison and am thinking that it must be a fuse or relay failure causing some weirdo issue within the system.

I should also note that the cars bose audio and nav system doesnt turn on any more either. It was fully functional when I parked it.

I was going to have it taken to the dealer (yikes!) but the tow guy cant tow it without the car at least rising to its normal level (he cant put it on wheel dollies without the suspension height going up) so he wanted to drag it up onto the two truck and have me sign a damage waiver - and I really dont want the car damaged so I had him leave it alone.

I have this sinking suspicion that whatever it is its probably something really dumb - but outside of the battery, fuses, and relays I have no idea where to begin. I figure at bare minimum I have to get the vehicle to rise enough to have it put on dollys and towed to the dealer. If I can get it to run again without the dealers help all the better. Has anyone else ever encountered this and if so, can you shed some light on what could be wrong?

Thanks in advance.

Rick

 

with "code scanner", I presume you are talking about some 100$ plastic scanner or do you have Xentry/Das and real results ?

 

I would start with a new Carankshaft positioning sensor.

 

 

+ 2 of these giant connectors/fuses
1 under the passenger footwell
1 in the trunk

 

If not the fuses you must get a proper diagnostic,
does engine ECU and Central gateway respond when pulling OBD ?

 

The code scanner I have is an icarsoft mbII.

 

does engine ECU and Central gateway respond when pulling info on OBD ?

 

So before I cleared the codes initially - the central gateway reported under voltage. Once cleared - it has not come back. I just ran a manual check of the ECM which came back as being unable to communicate with the ECU. So that would definitely be a problem - funny hting is that the automated diagnoses didnt show this but the manual test did.

I also noticed something very troubling as well. I had the battery disconnected and just reconnected it to run the test on the modules you asked about. I ran the test, and then after getting the results I went to disconnect the battery again. The negative side of the cable in less than 5 minutes was too hot to touch - almost as if it were shorting out. Now im concerned that something was chewing on wires while the car was parked. I will report back on the fuses, I plan to go through each of the panels today to see what I can find.

 

So I started checking fuses and ran into something rather unexpected. I started with the passenger side fuse boxes on the interior. The set of fuses by the dashboard were non-issues all fuses intact no problem. I pulled the panel off the rear right site and went to pull the first fuse and found standing water coming about half way up to the top of the relays along the bottom. (roughly an inch deep).

This has led me to stop looking at fuses and to ponder what this means exactly. Obviously there is a leak - somewhere - but where would a leak like this most likely be to cause water to pool underneath the rear seats? Previosuly there was a trunk leak that would occassionally cause the spare tire well to collect some water, but I there isnt any water at all in the trunk right now, so it makes me wonder where this water could be coming from.

The second question it raises - is can I just drill a drain hole through the bottom of the car to drain out the water and let it dry. Or should I try to get a wet dry vac (getting the end of the vac into the space with the fuses and relays is the challenge) and suck it out and let it dry it a few days before I try it again?

Im inclined to drill a drain hole and then just use some rubber sealant to close it back up after I figure out where the water is coming from. The more important issue right now to me is getting the vehicle running.

Finally, could this water be causing the issues im experiencing? I looked through the fuse diagram that was posted, and it explains why I dont have power to the nav / stereo system and it also explains why the passenger side door is non-responsive, but would it cause the locking of the transmission, the ecu not responding and the issue of the airmatic system not raising. That im unclear on..

Let me know your thoughts.

 

did you ever fix the leak??

i had a leak from the rear lights on my one.. if you can see condensation in the rear lights, the water is coming from the lights, its an easy fix, took about half an hour and a silicon gun.. let me know and ill send you the video i followed to fix it!

leaking water does cause havoc in these cars as it did in mine previously!!

 

Amish,
The leak by the tail light was fixed about a year ago. It seems that particular leak is fixed, and that I have another one somewhere. I did manage to get the car to the dealer, who took one look at it, and said they wont fix it. They suggested I tear the trunk and interior down, trace the wires, and figure it out. I got the car back yesterday (had it towed) and it is now sitting in my driveway under a tarp until I figure out what to do next.

Do you or anyone out there have a procedure on how to tear down the trunk and rear seat? I have to:

1. Find and correct the leak
2. Test all the wiring for continuity
3. Probably replace a bunch of electronics.

At this point I dont know if its even worth me doing this - I love the car, but Im not sure I have the time it will require to do all this... very unhappy about the situation.

 

I am having a similar problem with my car, yesterday I lifted the engine up a bit to get a pulley out once I put it back down it wont start, today my mechanic came reset it with star and it starts but once you turn it back off it wont start again, now it wont start after star resets either.