solitairECLASS

Hi, this is my first post, sorry if my english is bad...im french speaking.

I bought my e320 4matic 1998 last april,everything worked just fine until this morning. I stored my car in the garage for the winter without unplugging the battery, every monday I would go and start it, repark-it , and let the engine roll for about 3-4 minutes.

I went to do the same thing this morning, but the car just won't start, the first time I turned the key it seems like it wanted to start but lacked energy in some way and stopped...it made a noise like it started but stopped in the middle...Now every time i'm turning the key everything seems to work just fine (light on the dash board,radio) except that it won't start and won't make any noise like if it was trying to start.

This is my first car and i'm not really familiar with car problems at all !!!!!! I was wondering if this could be cause by the battery being very low (wich is highly plausible since it was stored since december) or is this could be due to bigger issue like a starter problem ? Since I don't have my winter tires on , I can't boost the battrey ...because I won't be able to take it on the road to fully recharge it ( the law obligate us, here in Quebec, to have winter tires installed from dec 15 to march 15, so i'll have to wait till sunday to do it) but what do you think ? could this be the battery ? I called the MB dealer and they told me that it was normal for the radio and lamps to still be on even if the battery is low, everybody else are telling me the opposite, I really don't know what to think

I had a check engine light on in november, I took it to a repair shop and they told me it was the oxygen sensor,I didn't change it at the time since i was going to store it for the winter...but could this be linked in any ways ?

Figuero

Your dealer is correct. These cars are controlled by computer and when the voltage is too low they simply won't start. Lights, radio etc might work, but the computer will shut you down.
My guess is that it's probably the battery. Do you have access to a battery charger? Borrow, buy, rent? If you can I would charge the car for a full 24hrs on an automatic charger. Then try starting the car.
Read the owners manual if you are not familar with connecting a charger especially to a Mercedes. There are terminals under the hood that you use. Do not connect directly to the battery.
Also, remove the key from the ignition before connecting anything.
Once you get the charger connected, let it charge and do not try to start the car until fully charged and you have disconnected the charger.

Figuero

One thing you should check before charging is the electrolyte level in the battery. It is located under the rear seat on the passenger's side. Again, check your owner's manual if you are not familiar with batteries, fill all cells to the proper mark with distilled water.
Then charge the battery.

solitairECLASS

Thanks for your advice !!I was really confused with that issue... I will definitely check how to plug it properly before trying to charge it, I thought you could just plug it on the battery like on a regular car(even if the battery is under the rear passenger seat)... so i'll be careful !! One of my friend was suppose to come and try to boost it later, to see if that was really the problem, I think i'm just gonna wait til sunday when the law will allow me to take it on the road with the summer tires !!

Everybody keeps on telling me that it's not normal that lights and radio are working and the car won't start, they re all saying that its probably the alternator or the starter...but none of them ever had a benz so I guess only a benz owner knows best about this stuff !! Thanks a lot for the info, i'll be now able to sleep lol

Figuero

The reason for connecting to the terminals is to minimize the risk of volage spikes in the system as the electronics in your Benz are very sensitive. Even the ignition key can be fried if you don't remove it from prior to connecting a charger.
While I've done it myself, most everyone on this forum strongly discourges jump starting for two reasons. 1) The sensitive electronics. 2) You can over work your alternator trying to charge a dead battery once you get your car started.

If you want to check your battery voltage, turn the ignition key to the "Run" position, the position where all the instrument lights come to life, but don't try to start the engine.
Then press your "REST" button until the number "1" appears in the left side climate temperature display. Then press the left "auto" button until the number "6" appears in the left display. The number in the right display is your battery voltage.

Don't forget to check the electrolyte prior to charging.

Figuero

That's press and HOLD the Rest button to get into the diagnostic mode. Then press the left auto button repeatedly until "6" comes up.

Figuero

Sorry, doing from memory.... it's actually the number "24" you want displayed in the left readout. "6" is for the coolant temperature.