Gmoney124

Hi all. I'm Gary and I'm new to the Mercedes Club. This is only my second Mercedes first was a 80 model 280d I loved that car. Well let me start car is in limp mode. Read through a lot and seen my harness was bad. I replaced the harness and ETA. Also swapped the K-40 relay for a brand new one at a cost of $161.00. Also replaced the MAF( with a cheap China knockoff from EBay) waste of money. Gonna buy the Bosch one this week. After I replaced everything and disconnected negative cable for about 30 minutes Asr and check engine lights are off car runs great but transmission still in limp mode. Also noticed after shutting the engine off and cranking back up check engine light came back on and car won't rev over 3000 rpm. But after resetting again I can nail it no problem. Sounds like the cheap Maf? I lost my job recently and was found intelligible to receive unemployment benefits ( which I am fighting in court) so money is extremely tight. I mean tight. This is the only car I have. I can't get anywhere hard to find a job without having your own transportation. I need help bad guys. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all and God bless you.

Plutoe

Well you have succumbed to the "thats gota be the problem syndrome" and start to throw money away before getting the car scanned to really determine the problem.

Do yourself a big favor---have the codes read and any faults cleared.

If after the car still does not come out of limp mode then you know the reason for not coming out of limp mode is an issue with the transmission----if that becomes the case, remember your handy dandy OBD scanner can't read the MB transmission. Therefore you need an indy with very good diagnostics to define the issue and clear the fault so the car will come out of limp, but also remember and depending on the transmission fault it may just go back to limp because the problem still exists

Additionally look to the simple thing first---fluid level!!

Gmoney124

Hi and thanks for the advice. I have took my car to the best Indy in my city. He had my car for two days. And afterwards told me to come pick it up didn't even charge me. Said he never seen anything like it. Said he cleared faults and they would come right back. So I don't know what to do. I can't afford the dealership. Not at the moment so I'm kind of stuck between a rock and hard place ya know.

Plutoe

Well the good news you now know that your car has loads of faults. The bad news is that your indy buddy did not give you a list of the faults, so you could fix the faults yourself. Back to square one. Buy a power ball ticket!!

Gmoney124

Yeah I know right. Lmao. Well I think the new eta and wiring harness cleared a lot of the codes. No check engine light anymore. Dash no longer looks like a Christmas tree. I'm about to go out and check my fluid for level and condition of fluid. I made me a dipstick last night. I do not know if the Indy checked it or not didn't say. So first off I'm thinking of doing a filter and fluid change to see what happens. Depends on if I have old fluid inside that's dark. It could be possible they guy I bought it from may have not changed it in forever. Wish me luck. I have seen others posts with all sorts of people chiming in. Thank you much Plutoe. For your responses and advice. You are greatly appreciated.

Gmoney124

Ok. Update I got codes pulled. I have po753. Po743, po758 and I think po763. I know they are torque converter electrical circuit and solenoids a,b,c electrical. Anyone know where I should proceed next? Any help would be greatly appreciated thank you.

Gmoney124

Do I need a new conductor plate? Or is it not getting power to the transmission? Please help. Thanks

Plutoe

Well if your indy buddy has the correct diagnostic equipment he would have done all of the guided tests associated with the four faulty solenoids---those tests would have told him whether the solenoids have electrical issues or there is just material under the solenoids preventing the correct electrical resistance.

If it's the former, you don't need a conductor plate but four new solenoids. If it is the latter, your buddy needs to remove the conductor plate, remove the solenoids and do a proper cleaning job.

Therefore no one except you buddy can answer your question with any assurances of truth!! What did he really do and with what!!!

Gmoney124

Ok thanks for the heads up Plutoe. I have a friend that has a Snap on Modis. He came by long enough just to pull my codes with it. He was in a hurry so that's as far as I got. I have never seen solenoids. Are they expensive? Well I know they probably are. But could it possibly solve my issue if I replace the plate and the solenoids?

Plutoe

If they are really faulty they are about 40 bucks each. FYI when you purchase a conductor plate, you purchase the conductor plate---now what do you do about all the other crap on the plate.

I would stop speculating and have your buddy come back and do all the tests, that is if his equipment is equal to DAS Xentry.

Gmoney124

Ok I have encountered a new problem. I got a new battery. My other was fine just got a original Bosch for 50 bucks so could not pass it up. I was putting it in my car. I noticed upon hooking it up I'm getting way more sparks than normal it will smoke a little to. Like I'm getting a draw from something. Like a bad ground maybe? Could this be my original problem and the computer is putting into limp mode because of this issue?

Gmoney124

On another note I was going through my cars work history. And I noticed the instrument cluster was replaced any not long ago. Could it maybe have went bad again? And could a bad cluster cause any of the problems I am having. Just looking for any and all avenues of where to proceed. Thank you. And a big thank you to Plutoe. God bless you man.

Plutoe

Based upon post 11, you must have been using a 9v pen light battery---when you put in the new, new to your car battery, I bet that car never had so much juice go through it before----no wonder the smoked

A new IC has nothing to do with your issues-----hopefully you will find that you have new fenders, gas tank, lights, transmission and axles

Gmoney124

Ha ha. One question if my car was in electronic limp mode and it cuts power to the transmission through the TCM. Ok it's 6 solenoids on the conductor plate. I only have fault codes for 4. If I was in electronic limp mode wouldn't their be faults for all 6 solenoids since their would be no power there presumably? Any answers are appreciated thanks.

Plutoe

Nope----the good ones keep working(no faults) and the bad ones(produce faults)---Now you are groping at straws----while groping, think about this, maybe you are just putting too much gas in the car, forget about the solenoids for a moment and spend some time figuring out what was the gas tank level when you went into limp mode, could be that your plate does not like to be full---additionally,maybe letting the air out of the tires will take the car out of limp mode----worth a shot!!

Gmoney124

It had a quarter of a tank of gas in it when all this happened. And letting the air out of the tires? Never heard that one.

Plutoe

Oh yea, with all the air out of the tires you are closer to the conductor plate!!

PS: I think you are ok with the gas!! Hey whatabout the ashtrays are they full??

Gmoney124

Look here I can do without your smart *** remarks. How about if i was near your eye right now with my fist. Smart *** *******.

Gmoney124

You must hate God. You were very helpful at first. But since I said God bless you. You have been nothing but an *******. Hey I'm sorry if you don't like God. I was just thanking you for your help. And not for you to be a smart ***. If you we're in front of me right now. You would be Plutoe for real because I would kick your *** all the way up there to it. Believe that.

apl175

I would also look at obvious things, including the wiring that goes from the transmission to the transmission computer. The harness that enters the transmission is notorious for having fluid leak past the seals. This fluid then actually travels up the cabling and fills the transmission ECU with fluid which causes all sorts of issues.

You can check this yourself by opening the module box (which is where you found relay K40), and looking at the first module from the bottom - it should have two big multipole connectors with cables routed to the left and right. Remove the two connectors and check for oil or fluid contamination here. If it's perfectly dry, you're good to go. If there are signs of wetness, or oil, remove the module and check for fluid contamination. I saw one that held about 1 pint of fluid that drained away when we removed it. After cleaning with 99% alcohol and electronics cleaner it worked fine.

This is something that represents a common issue on W210 vehicles, that can be easily checked without scanning for codes, and does not involve buying parts. It's uncommon (but not unheard of) for 4 solenoids to become defective at the same time. That being said, replacing the solenoids, while possible, will inevitably require use of a Mercedes (or equivalent) scan tool to properly do the adaptations.

Gmoney124

Hey thanks for your response. I have checked the transmission module it's perfectly dry no bad connection. I also took the plug out of the transmission. It was dry no leakage at all. And could it be maybe the copper ribbon on the plate broke and is not powering those certain solenoids? I have heard that plate is very prone to failure that's why they updated it right? But I have no leaking wires look good no fluid leaks. I'm thinking about draining it and have a look at that plate and take the solenoids to my transmission guy and have him test them for power and open and closing. Won't hurt

Gmoney124

Thanks to Apl175.

Gmoney124

I was thinking fluid could get to that plug from the inside and I can't see it unless I drop the pan and valve body

Gmoney124

I just looked at my vacuum lines. I just found a leak going to my EGR valve. Could this cause any of my issues? Just asking. I'm very mechanically inclined. Worked on cars ally life. Just a newbie to the Mercedes brand. Any suggestions?

apl175

There is alot of "could happen". Keep in mind that once you drain the transmission you will have to refill it with fresh fluid which is costly, and a new seal which isn't expensive but still one that you will have to pay for. If your transmission does not have a dipstick (some early 5 speeds still did), you will have to obtain the service dipstick tool, and then it is still difficult because you must use a scan tool to determine the fluid temperature as the level can only be properly checked at a certain temperature.

My advice, which probably is not what you want to hear, is to take it to your "transmission guy" and have him put a full estimate together. If you can't afford it, at least get the diagnosis information from him, if the estimate was not free.