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As it gets cooler now my E220CDI estate does NOT like to start.
When i turn the key NOTHING happens.
Many times i remove then refit the ignition key and it will start.
Any suggestions please ?
Michael jam1es38@yahoo.com
As it gets cooler now my E220CDI estate does NOT like to start.
When i turn the key NOTHING happens.
Many times i remove then refit the ignition key and it will start.
Any suggestions please ?
How old would you say is the main battery?
Have you got a battery charger ?
When you say "NOTHING happens", you mean dash lights are on but no cranking noise, right?
Check that your brake switch and transmission position allow cranking.
What's your current mileage ?
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Nov 2, 2021 at 11:46 AM.
Both batteries have been replaced within last 4 years, the larger front battery being the last changed.
Mileage is 178,000 miles
The ignition lights do stay on when i turn the key. Just NOTHING else did happen. I turned OFF ignition the returned it this morning and it started great.
Then it showed on the dash screen the fault attached.
I think the outside temperature went to 2c last night.
Between the months of March and end of September it has started without any problem BUT some times i did get the attached this warning does happen
message after it had started.
Both batteries have been replaced within last 4 years, the larger front battery being the last changed.
Mileage is 178,000 miles
The ignition lights do stay on when i turn the key. Just NOTHING else did happen. I turned OFF ignition the returned it this morning and it started great.
Then it showed on the dash screen the fault attached.
I think the outside temperature went to 2c last night.
Between the months of March and end of September it has started without any problem BUT some times i did get the attached this warning does happen
message after it had started.
That message is probably caused by low voltage in the AUX battery Colder temperature is bringing up battery issues.
You may have issues with the main battery too that cause starting problems. But, if you do not hear a “click” from the starter when you turn the key something else is wrong, like the starter solenoid itself or before mentioned brake pedal sensor or something else. How old is your car? Has the starter been replaced yet?
It seems you've got a combination of problems, one leading to another. The cause being a low voltage perhaps a bad alternator...
The "Pre-Safe..." message is a consequence not a cause.
Take your car to a Mercedes specialist that will be able to diagnose the charging system in-depth. Your car will need to get scanned for a comprehensive report to help diagnose it.
In the short term, buy a CTEK smart charger and learn to charge/float your batteries, mostly the MAIN AGM between uses. This charger will serve you well and pay for itself.
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Nov 3, 2021 at 11:22 AM.
I will go with Arrie and Cali, it is the battery. The trick question: which one to change first?
If you can scan for codes, it would help a great deal. If too many, clear them all and wait for the first one after you start the car once more.
Alternatively, if you can get the battery tested under load, or evaluate the "battery health", you will find out if the batteries are any good. Once it is installed and used for some time and ignoring original quality issues, the battery health is only a function of the state of the car's charging system, i.e. it can be healthy or slowly decaying w/o much notice.
My Merc is 2013,
Not long after i did get the car the eco light was not working on the dash -- the problem was the small AUX battery located in the rear of the car.
This was replaced and the ECO ( Stop - start ) does work great.
When the ignition does work it does POWER the starter very well as if the battery was fully charged.
My Merc is 2013,
Not long after i did get the car the eco light was not working on the dash -- the problem was the small AUX battery located in the rear of the car.
This was replaced and the ECO ( Stop - start ) does work great.
When the ignition does work it does POWER the starter very well as if the battery was fully charged.
Got it, if the "ignition switch behaves", the car start w/o issue and you get the "PreSafe ... " message.
However, the intermittent starting issue is separate I believe. Keep in mind that w/o scanning the car, we all here are taking a guess. If you can scan it for codes, it would be great
Separately, by any chance:
Has it been raining recently?
Have you or someone recently opened the fuse box under the hood (driver's side just below the windshield)?
Is the area around that fuse box CLEAN? or just full of leaves/else? Any sitting water around it?
Check the fuse box is properly closed (I hope so). If you feel confident to open (two slides), take a look inside and verify it is DRY (very dry) inside. Close it, and check you did it well (you do not want water inside there by any means of your imagination)
If you have DISTRONIC, get it fixed. Sensors on the nose have crap on them.
As for the ignition, at 178k mi, I would suspect the ignition switch itself, and I don't think this would necessarily throw a code. As temperature drops, circuitry connections contract/break/loosen, and lose continuity, especially on parts that are cycled a few hundred thousand times. That's why you're successful after jiggling it around a few times in the cold, and didn't have any problems in the summer when things were warm and expanded.
What is Distronic ?
I wonder if it is the sensor on the footbrake ?
More than half times when i had or have problems starting it has NOT rained.
The fuse box has NOT been opened
My car has parking assist
but NO distronic.
During last night the temperature went down to 0c.
This morning (friday) i have been to the car and NO FOOT on brake pedal turned ignition and the car started easily.
Then the PRE-SAFE came up on dash
My car has parking assist
but NO distronic.
During last night the temperature went down to 0c.
This morning (friday) i have been to the car and NO FOOT on brake pedal turned ignition and the car started easily.
Then the PRE-SAFE came up on dash
Pre-safe message showing up together with cold temperature points to the battery problem. If you let the car run for a couple of minutes and then re-start it do you still get the error message? If not then it even more points to the weak battery from cold temperature.
I had this issue years ago with my 2010 E550. With cold starts during cold days (not even cold compared to your location) I started having the error messages about Distronic, Pre-safe brake, Blind Spot monitoring etc. not operational. After running a couple minutes and then re-starting everything went back to normal.
My car has the very small "fist-size" AUX battery in the end of the dash. There are writings that AUX battery and main battery are not connected in any way but as I got the errors during cold starts it kind of points to that they are. Why would the errors go away when the engine is re-started after a couple of minutes when it obviously starts easier not pulling battery voltage as low as when cold?
Anyway, I replaced the AUX battery and it has been flawless ever since and this was very many years ago, at least 4, perhaps over 5 years ago.
starting problems
