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12.1 indicates a bad battery that just won’t charge . There is a restore feature on the Noco, did you try it? I think you hold the button for more than 5 seconds to then be able to scroll to the Restore function. But I dont think the Restore feature will help, I’d say just get a new battery. Charge it up first since you don’t know how long it’s been sitting.
Didn't see the restore function on the Noco will look for it. CTEK arrived, I've had the battery plugged into it for awhile already now. Completed the snowflake 8 step process, and then I decided to go ahead and run the recondition process on it. Going to plug it back into the 350glk to see what happens once it finishes.
Gave the battery a good charge using the CTEK, including the recondition function, no errors or faults. Plugged it into the GLK350 and still the same as before, no crank, no start. Hidden engineering monitor reads at 12.5V now (I checked after only opening the door and turning on the console). Then I also attached the NOCO boost 1500 normal mode, no crank no start, and followed with the manual override start (activating button for 3 seconds) and still no crank, no start. I think the polar CCa tester will be conclusive, but it seems as though perhaps the issue with starting is outside the battery. Would a scanning tool diagnosis if it was the starter, alternator or possibly something else? Looking for the starter in the engine and possibly that 100+ amp fuse link.
Last edited by Merci_benz; 09-17-2020 at 02:37 PM.
Why not take out the battery , take it to auto zone or most any auto store will test it for free, and sell you a new one . It’s not charging. Even if it works today when it’s colder it won’t work
Yes, pretty sure I have heard clicks, although they were very faint. I moved the WSO battery over to my C240 and it started right up, hidden dashboard meter read 12.7 or maybe it was 12.9 -- much higher than before (probably should have thought of this sooner). Still want to get that pulsar to be definitive. I'm thinking now I need to test the connection from the battery to the starter. Guessing to start with the 100+ amp fuselink as mentioned above and somehow work my way to the starter. Am I looking at it here in one of these pictures? Answer is mostly no, I probably haven't done any of the easy stuff like checking fuses (although much much thanks for all of the guidance). I think the starter is connected via the corrugated cable, and looked to be pretty far down near the bottom of the car. I have a simple multimeter. Googling checking fuses now too.
Even a cheap voltmeter is mostly 99% accurate, I can only guess but you say the battery reads 12.1 in the glk and much higher in another car, maybe you have a bad ground, trace the battery ground and clean the the ground point , how about the starter terminals clean and check voltage to the starter
Oh I had no idea you could even do that, I have the NOCO or just plain jumper cables. I just tested the multimeter on the battery, and it gives me a 12.58 reading. Also 12.58 on each of the three terminals (leads?) see in the image above. The first two terminals closest to the battery, appear to lead into two cables that go into the main body of the car. The third terminal (furthest from the battery with the thin, light blue ring) snakes around and appears to lead down to what I think is the alternator. I'm trying to see / access the starter, still haven't identified it. I don't now what the other three components are (the rectangular shaped, 4 wire connection; the vertical taller, metal plate thing; or the connection with the circular-extended yellow cover).
Is there any way to find a diagram of my engine? Googled videos but can't find one for a 2011 350GLK or similar.
Last edited by Merci_benz; 09-19-2020 at 05:48 PM.
If you can get to the starter and can find the positive terminal and can hook up a jumper cable to the battery you should be able to try it , but without a lift it might be real hard,
Im just trying to think of a way to test if it’s the starter or a cable or the grounding because it reads very low in the engineering menu, when in fact your voltage is much higher, I’m just thinking and guessing it could be a bad ground? Or even positive cable , that something may be corroded. I hope I’m not leading you down another wrong path, I’m just guessing and I’m not a mechanic. Isn’t there an electrical issues group in this Mbworld? Or general mechanic ? Either way I’d be interested to find out the cause if this issue.
Mmr1: no worries or wrong paths here -- just good advice in my opinion. Just checked the battery voltage (this morning) directly with the multimeter and it reads 12.52, while at almost the same time the hidden engineering menu reads 12.2/12.3 (kind of cycles back and forth, but mostly settles on 12.2). Wish I had a better idea of exactly where the starter is. If I could just see it, I could probably take a long metal rod and knock it a few times while trying to start the engine. Otherwise, I think it's time to call the tow.
In the past, i've seen about .3 Volts difference between my fluke voltmeter and the engineering menu, with the engineering menu always reading lower. That just means there is an additional diode dropping voltage before the computer measures it. Once you know it's there, you can compensaate for it or just measure the battery terminals directly. 12.58 volts means your battery is almost fully charged.
One thing that stands out in the pictures is the green corrosion on the ground lug. First thing I would do is pull that apart and clean it and make sure the contact point on the car is clean.
I'm pretty sure you can subscribe to Alldata in order to get diagrams for your model GLK. They have them for my 2013. Be aware that the diagrams they show aren't like the old schematics you used to find in Chiltons or Hayes manuals. Since everything nowdays is run by the CPU, you will usually just see wiring connections from the SAMs to whatever item your looking for. Its harder to use these to troubleshoot a problem. That said, there is good information in the documents. The site is http://www.alldatadiy.com/ It costs around $27 for a years subscription for one vehicle. I've found it well worth the money.
If your starter is as buried as mine, you won't be getting at it without lifting the car and pulling the belly plate.
My guess at this point is that you have either a bum solenoid or starter, or perhaps a corroded connection on the solenoid. Could also be that ground lug connection next to the battery or a bum cable. You know your battery is charged. You don't know if has enough juice to crank the engine until you test the CCA.
At least, when all this is done, you will have a better understanding of your GLKs electrical system
ZZGlk: Thanks for the observations. Didn't think to notice the green corrosion until you identified it. Is that due to copper? Went ahead and had the tow take it to mechanic, feel like I have a somewhat good idea of what the problem could be. Ordered the solar Cca tester to check out the Duralast in my C240 and to have a look at the WSO in the 350GLK once I get it back. Is there a separate use for the LoadTester (i.e. the alternator or some other part of the system)? Also, which diagnostic tool do you all recommend? I see the iCarsofts i980, MBII, MB V2.0, foxwell, autel (seems expensive). I have been thinking to get the i980. Thanks so much for all the responses. Definitely know my GLK electrical system better. Will update after mechanic reports back.
Last edited by Merci_benz; 09-20-2020 at 06:27 PM.
ZZGlk: Thanks for the observations. Didn't think to notice the green corrosion until you identified it. Is that due to copper? Went ahead and had the tow take it to mechanic, feel like I have a somewhat good idea of what the problem could be. Ordered the solar Cca tester to check out the Duralast in my C240 and to have a look at the WSO in the 350GLK once I get it back. Is there a separate use for the LoadTester (i.e. the alternator or some other part of the system)? Also, which diagnostic tool do you all recommend? I see the iCarsofts i980, MBII, MB V2.0, foxwell, autel (seems expensive). I have been thinking to get the i980. Thanks so much for all the responses. Definitely know my GLK electrical system better. Will update after mechanic reports back.
I have the Icarsoft and initially I was impressed with it but after using it along side a few others I found the best one so far is Carly For Mercedes. Its an Iphone/Android app and you need to get a bluetooth/wifi dongle. Then you pay for your particular vehicle. It was about 50$? It was able to read the Mercedes computers and CLEAR MY CODES, where as none of the others were able to.
The solar CCA tester isn't like a traditional load tester. Instead of putting a known resistive load on the battery for a known time and calculating load and voltage, it puts a 1KHZ AC signal through the battery and measures the impedance of the battery. I have both testers and find I use the Solar most because it's quick and easy and gives repeatable results. If your battery is slowly losing capacity due to age or internal issues, the Solar will tell you that without stressing your battery too much. I believe that you can test the alternator with the Solar, but haven't ever used that functionality so don't know how effective it is. I've always used a voltmeter and a DC clamp-on to judge whether the alternator is working to spec.
I have the Icarsoft MB II and its OK. I haven't had more than 1 or 2 instances where I needed to read codes, so it suffices. I liked that it was easy to download the latest updates, but the interface is a little dated and not very intuitive. If I had a lot of issues, I would probably just buy a Chinese copy of the MB diagnostic software. I bought the MB workshop manual software that runs in a VM on my PC, but haven't used it that much.
Hi all, I have a 2011 350GLK. We've been driving it less these days and a few days back I went out to turn on the vehicle and it wouldn't start. Internal lights, radio, door locks, seems to me that most of the power is fine. Doesn't seem dim or anything like that. Specifically, when I put the key in the ignition it turns all the way to third position but no crank or any kind of engine activity turning over -- almost just silent. I do hear a very light click sound, maybe once or twice or something. Thought it was the main battery under the hood, so I went for a 1.5 amp trickle charger and let it fill up for a good while. The charger went through I think three steps of appearing/blinking green lights, until they were all constantly on (assuming a full charge). It was somewhere about 20 to 28 hours I think, but I left a bit longer in the maintenance position anyways. Plugged the fairly new WSO battery back into the car and again apparently power, but no crank and that light click. I'm focusing on the starter and the auxiliary battery. I'm also thinking that it wouldn't be the key itself, but any input is appreciated. I've seen some posts suggesting to bang the starter a few times to get the contacts to connect and it should give me a few more starts before replacement. Wondering what you guys think. Thanks so much
Based on what your described this happened to me with my 2010. It turned out to be ignition switch for me. Cost me about 1100CAD to repair.
Just got the car back. Turned out it was the electronic steering lock. Apparently it can become defective after some time and freeze in the lock position. Took two full days to repair. Car seems fine now.
I'm just wondering, is there some cause other than the mechanism itself being faulty that might have caused this to occur? Would an improperly maintained / running electronic system over time increase the likelihood of such a malfunction?
Thanks so much for all the input. Very informative, and much more knowledgeable about my GLK350 now.
Ahh, the dreaded electronic steering lock mechanism. There’s a plastic part in there that breaks, a common failure on most 204 chassis vehicles. Usually on the older cars.
Last time I dealt with that was on my 2008 C300. I paid close to $2500 at the stealership including a tow. Not fun. I started working on my car myself after that...
Yep towed to my mechanic, ended up costing me ~$770, but also got my state inspection. I noticed on google it was possible to remove a part from the steering column and send it to some company and they would return the part for reinstallation and proper operation. Think they wanted 3 or 400 dollars. Felt like the difference in cost was OK. There was some large plastic part left over that appeared to have broken.
All this done, and I'm still noticing a gradual drop in voltage on the battery. Seems to settle at around 12.2/12.3 after about 12 to 24 hours. Starting voltage rises to ~14.6 then gradually settles back down to 12.5 or 12.6. I suspect that means my alternator is OK. I'm going to check the battery with the pulsar and also clean out the corroded green discoloration.
09-17-2020, 10:47 AM
