P0705 gear position error. Limp mode. Shifter stuck intermittently.

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Oct 30, 2018 | 10:07 PM
  #1  
Hi. My clk430 ‘02 has been sitting for a a couple years cause of a rear end hit. It was hard enough to pinch the spare tire in but was still drivable. Then the shifter began to get stuck and wouldn’t go to reverse. Getting out of park was also bad too but not as hard to get past as form N to R. With a few attempts it would go but after more time it wouldn’t go at all and the key was left stuck in the ignition and shifter in neutral. I could not hear the click on the shifter when pressing the brakes.

Recently bought a used shifter off eBay and had a mechanic install it. It shifted again but the manually tiptronic was mostly not responding. Sometimes it did. I figured not a big deal but thought the used one was the issue.

Two weeks into it, I got a check engine light and limp mode, pulled over and couldn’t shift to reverse unless I turned off the car. Got the P0705 and P0600 code.

I reset it and drove limp mode home and after trying to reverse didn’t work, I turned off the engine and it into park and the check engine light went off. Limp mode was gone too and the shifter seem to respond normally again. The solenoid click responded normally again when pressing the brakes. When it was getting stuck, I could not hear the solenoid clicking when pressing the brakes.

What’s strange is that the same issue of not being able to shift was happening on both shifter assemblies. . Only diff is the new used one gave a ECL and limp mode.

Oh ans ABS was coming on with the first assembly a few times but I reset it by turning the steering wheel back and forth and didn’t think nothing of it. Abs went on with the second shifter but went out on it’s own.

What do you guys think?

I read somewhere a bad brake switch could cause those symptoms as well. Ordered one for the hell of it and waiting to replace since it’s inexpensive. I’ll be damned if it was that all along.
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Nov 2, 2018 | 09:39 AM
  #2  
John76.....the P0706 and P0600 are basically OBDII fault codes, described below and not as useful as the full, detailed set diagnostic codes you would get from the MB SDS software system.

P0705 - Transmission Range Sensor Circuit Malfunction

Possible causes:

Faulty Park/Neutral Position Switch
Misadjusted Park/Neutral Position Switch
Park/Neutral Position Switch harness is open or shorted
Park/Neutral Position Switch circuit poor electrical connection

The transmission range switch detects the selector lever position and sends a signal to the Transmission control module (TCM)

P0600 - Loss of Serial Communication Link

Possible causes:

Faulty Engine control Module (ECM)
Engine control Module(ECM) harness is open or shorted
Engine control Module (ECM) circuit poor electrical connection
Low battery voltage

The Engine control Module (ECM) sets the OBDII code when is unable to communicate with other control modules.

However, the combination suggests that the electrical signal path, from a sensor, to the TCM, to the ECU, is not plausible.

A faulty brake switch has been a common problem that would cause a ABS/BAS/ESP warning. The switch actually has 2 separate circuits, one to turn on the brake lamps and the other to enable the ABS/BAS/ESP system.

In other words, when the brakes are applied, if the section of the switch that enables the ABS/BAS/ESP system does not actuate, the warning will turn on. However, if the switch is OK, but there is a fault in the ABS/BAS/ESP system, you'll also get the warning.

Since you're experiencing limp mode, as well as the hard rear end collision that affected the wheel, the problem could likely be caused by an issue with the wheel's speed sensor.

Point being, without further diagnosis and troubleshooting, guessing and needlessly replacing modules, will be expensive.
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Nov 2, 2018 | 01:03 PM
  #3  
thanks for the reply.

My daughter told me some extra info about when it happened when she was driving.

Apparently she spilled some water on the shifter and it errored soon after. Smh I just replaced the shifter assembly too.

Lights are gone and it’s out of limp mode and shifting again so I’m assuming it’s dried up and no damage.

I replaced the brake switch still for good measure. It’s an old switch and the contacts seemed aged.

The tiptronic manual still is intermittently working so that still bugs me. Got it from eBay and says it was tested working. That obviously was most likely a lie.

wished I had just bought a brand knew one and paid the full price. Instead of this.
Reply 0
Nov 3, 2018 | 11:12 AM
  #4  
The were a good number significant upgrades made to the W208/A208 models in 2001, that included the power soft top, engine management systems, as well as other minor tweaks.

Due to the ubiquitous issues, with liquids being spilled onto the center console, the electronic shift switch module was updated, with a new part number, that make it more resistant to spills.
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Nov 7, 2018 | 08:36 AM
  #5  
Quote: thanks for the reply.

My daughter told me some extra info about when it happened when she was driving.

Apparently she spilled some water on the shifter and it errored soon after. Smh I just replaced the shifter assembly too.

Lights are gone and it’s out of limp mode and shifting again so I’m assuming it’s dried up and no damage.

I replaced the brake switch still for good measure. It’s an old switch and the contacts seemed aged.

The tiptronic manual still is intermittently working so that still bugs me. Got it from eBay and says it was tested working. That obviously was most likely a lie.

wished I had just bought a brand knew one and paid the full price. Instead of this.

https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...ng-lights.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...ter-spill.html
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