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New here! Great value !
W211, 320 CDI Avantgarde, 2003.
Problem: when hot, the engine does not start (intermittently), e.g. at a petrol station or after a short stop. When cooling down for a little while (can be from a couple of mins to 10-15 mins) engine starts again. Never (observed for 2-3 weeks) had the problem when engine is cold. Message “ESP malfunctioning – go to workshop” and engine fan starts. Diagnostic (after 1-day testing by my regular and must say excellent team at local MB workshop): no problem w/ ESP, at first sight it looked like problem was a relay (no details) which was replaced, does not fix. MB garage proposes to replace the ECU. Price of the part (MA6481531679/80) is about 2000$. Looks about 5-6x what you can find on the web! I am told reprogramming of ECU needs to be done by MB. Car passed the regular (every 2 years) formal tests (mandatory in Switzerland) 6 months ago and is otherwise in very good conditions, regularly maintained and cared. I am evaluating different options and wonder about what the MB veterans and experts here might recommend. Thank you in advance! :-)
PS
Problem seems already known here: https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...sperate-2.html
Starting problems are initially random, but more frequent when the engine is hot most likely crankshaft position sender (CPS). Try replacing before moving on with diagnostics.
Starting problems are initially random, but more frequent when the engine is hot most likely crankshaft position sender (CPS). Try replacing before moving on with diagnostics.
Brilliant. I think I need to have this checked. When looking at symptoms of possible CPS malfunction I also see engine idling, stalling and uneven acceleration (e.g. here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cranks...ition_sensor): "...A bad crank position sensor can worsen the way the engine idles, or the acceleration behavior. If the engine is revved up with a bad or faulty sensor, it may cause misfiring, motor vibration or backfires. Acceleration might be hesitant, and abnormal shaking during engine idle might occur. In the worst case the car may not start..."
Now that I think about I did have a similar behavior a couple of times in the past 5 years and also recently when the problem w/ engine started to appear.
Just in case, for everyone benefit, I found this video but rather prefer to ask a professional opinion and intervention instead trying myself (or ?) :
Question. When CPS fail, will still crank and doesnt start ? or just not even cranking ?
Sorry I cannot retrieve the reference but recollect having read you might have both and sometimes you might have no crank and then no start at all, the latter being my problem: the only thing which starts is the engine fan (with the message "ESP malfunctioning – go to workshop”).
Sorry I cannot retrieve the reference but recollect having read you might have both and sometimes you might have no crank and then no start at all, the latter being my problem: the only thing which starts is the engine fan (with the message "ESP malfunctioning – go to workshop”).
Here it is:
"...Your CPS may have failed if the engine cranks but it will not start. At first, you may experience no start conditions intermittently. As the crankshaft position sensor fails completely, the car will no longer start or will die when you are driving. Starting problems are initially random, but more frequent when the engine is hot. Other symptoms of a failed crankshaft position sensor are poor acceleration, engine vibrations, poor throttle response, bad fuel economy, hesitation, engine stalls. The engine starts if you let it cool down. If you are stuck on a parking lot and the car will not start, let the car cool down at least 30 minutes and then try again..." https://www.mercedesmedic.com/crank-...sition-sensor/
Scheduled to test CPS next week. I will report results here. Does anyone here know an original part number for the CPS sensor or where I can look?
This video below refers to a 2004 model (I have 2003) and shows
p/n VNE 4440, Ref 003 153 28 28. Again my car is (W211) E320i CDI Avantgarde 2003
Thank you Konigstiger and others. I am really happy I found this Forum .....
It will be interesting if we (meaning my trusted garage professional) will find a problems with CPS vs. the official dealer MB asking to replace entirely the ECU. But again I have been happy with them for many many years. As a non expert something tells me it is not the ECU but I might be wrong of course..... will let you know in the thread! I really hope it is not the ECU but I do not know how to score the probability. Sorry to post duplicates but I am learning and found this site where I could find precisely my car using the 17 digits VIN code: http://mbepc.net/en/1/m/om648/63t/64.../105#gsc.tab=0
I also found this site and the symptoms of a defective CPS are precisely mine but of course the problems can be elsewhere too:
"...A failed crankshaft position sensor can cause your engine to stall or not start at all. Your Mercedes-Benz may start and run for a short time, or until it gets warm and then it dies. The engine may crank, but it will not start. You may need to crank the engine longer in order to get it to start. Failed crankshaft position sensor can also impact the idling, the acceleration, or even your transmission shifting. In some cases, it can cause your transmission to go into limp mode. You may also notice an increase in engine vibrations..." https://www.mercedesmedic.com/crank-...-7bd14856-209b
Last edited by mbchowner; Aug 15, 2020 at 11:36 AM.
Reason: spelling
Looks like the problem is "99%" with the ECU electronics (possibly a faulty diode). So, either I find someone with electronic skills able to repair it or I have no other choice that having it replaced and have the reprogramming made by Stuttgart as my official dealer has told me they must do. Also, it looks like the problem has been reproduced also when engine is not hot. This did not happen to me. When the problem appears (again: no start, engine fan goes off and error message “ESP …”) it is sufficient to remove, wait few secs and reinsert the key a couple of times to restart. But it is not regular and maybe it is getting worse with time (my assumption). Also, at the moment of the problem, there is no stored error code as the communication with the ECU is cut off. The communication immediately is reestablished when the problem disappears. One important point to emphasize to the workshop was that the engine is not cranking at all (in which case the CPS would be a key suspect) and only the fan goes off. Should I find something more informative I will let you know here. Otherwise I am likely heading, but not immediately, to replace (unfortunately) the ECU
For everyone convenience I also found here another thread where folks have had a very similar problem and ECU replacement was one solution: https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...desperate.html
Still not decided to replace the ECU as the problem with the no-start (no cranking) is not frequent, however .......
...... something which indeed happened few years ago, never noticed during the scheduled maintenance, reappeared: after about 30 mins driving on highway the engine did not respond to acceleration (e.g. if I decided to overdrive) and I noticed in the mirror some (looking white) smoking on the rear of the car. I reduced speed and went from "D" (drive) to manual "4". Impression is when I am bypassing the automatic gear chance when the engine is hot there is no problem.
Can you confirm if this could be related to the ECU and diesel injection? As safety is now at stake I might really need to replace the ECU but wish to have your comment first. Can this new problem NOT be related to the ECU?
Last edited by mbchowner; Sep 12, 2020 at 07:12 AM.
Reason: spelling
Exactly my same problem as in these two videos w/ possible solutions: (i) temporary fix (by wire bridge to ground) to start engine (vs. waiting engine to cool down) and (ii) reportedly permanent fix by replacing ECU. Anyone tried this? I am concerned to mess-up everything!
(i)
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