GLK-Class (X204) Produced 2008-2014

2011 350GLK won't start

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Old 09-11-2020, 12:57 AM
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2011 350GLK won't start

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
Old 09-12-2020, 04:26 PM
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Hi all, I found the hidden engineering menu in the center console. Both batteries are registering at 12.4 V, which I assume eliminates the battery(s) as a primary culprit.

1) Is this an indication that the reason my 2011 350GLK won't start is likely associated with the starter or alternator?
2) Would using a portable jump starter enable me to start the car even in the event of a faulty starter or alternator? Is there a minimum amperage I should consider before purchasing a portable car battery jump starter (think I read 1000amps)?

I've read it's best to avoid jumping from a second vehicle as that can cause additional damage to the electrical system. Thanks for any advice you might have.


Old 09-12-2020, 04:27 PM
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It sounds like the main battery , what’s the voltage ? The auxiliary battery has nothing to do with starting . Is the battery original? The fact that you hear clicking when you turn the key , seems like it’s just a Old weak battery. If you have an AGM battery you need a charger with an AGM cycle or it won’t fully charge, and you should replace it with what you have.
Old 09-12-2020, 04:29 PM
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I’d start with a An AGM battery charger and a volt meter. If you don’t have an AGM battery your terminals could be corroded.
Old 09-12-2020, 04:31 PM
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See what the voltage is with a meter on the battery terminals when you crank it.
Old 09-12-2020, 04:32 PM
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Thanks for the reply. I used a 6V/12V Battery Charger 1.5A Trickle Charger to charge it until it completed the full cycle, maintenance mode went to a solid green (took more than 24 hours). Hidden engineering console now indicates voltage at 12.4V. Trying to find the starter to knock a few times with the hopes that it will enable contact and give me one or two more starts. Also wondering if I did buy a higher amp electric jump starter if that would enable starting (rather than using a second vehicle). Should I consider a minimum amperage? Car doesn't crank or turn over when turning key. Just nothing, although I have heard a very light click. Battery is World Source One, and is less than a year old. Should be in good shape. Terminals on battery and connectors look to be in good shape. Is the voltage reading in the hidden engineering menu not accurate?



Last edited by Merci_benz; 09-12-2020 at 05:03 PM.
Old 09-12-2020, 04:35 PM
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I want to delete this message

Last edited by Merci_benz; 09-12-2020 at 04:54 PM.
Old 09-12-2020, 06:34 PM
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Age doesn’t mean a battery is good, I had one fail in 6 months !!
the name World source one sounds like cheap Chinese. 12.4 is ok if a cell hasn’t shorted, that 12.4 is with no load, it could drop to 11 trying to crank it. you need a volt meter, Cca tester or load tester, and if that’s an AGM battery I don’t think your charger says it does AGM , a non AGM charger won’t charge AGM 100%, more like 80-90% World Source One? Is it an AGM ? (Absorbed glass Matt)
Old 09-12-2020, 07:24 PM
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12.4 is 79% charged. My original 2013 AGM battery is 12.5v after sitting all night.
Old 09-12-2020, 07:32 PM
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Thanks for the replies, greatly appreciated. OK, starting to understand a bit about AGM, can't say I knew there was a difference. WSO is supposedly the same battery that goes into new BMWs, looks like it is AGM, did cost considerably more than Duralast (autozone). Trickle charger is 1.5amp made by Ultrapower, advertised for AGM GEL lead acid batteries 6V/12V ($17). Going to order a volt meter/Cca tester or load tester after reading up on that a bit. Hidden engineering menu, voltage meter reads, cycling between 12.4 & 12.3v. Sounds like a tenth of a volt translates into significant battery power (or lack of). It's been more than a day since charging the WSO.

http://www.worldsourceone.com

Last edited by Merci_benz; 09-12-2020 at 08:07 PM.
Old 09-12-2020, 08:34 PM
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Why not jump it
Old 09-12-2020, 09:13 PM
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Think that is what I'll do. I read that using jumper cables with a helper car can be risky. Looking at ordering a portable, maybe NOCO or Stanley. I read a 1000amps jump starter for my 2011 350glk is probably needed.
Old 09-13-2020, 03:36 AM
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12.3 is about 50% charged, while enough to start your glk, as my old battery did just fine last winter in Chicago at 12.3, it points to a bad charger, alternator or battery . A bad cell will not give enough amperage to start. At one year old it should be much higher , near 85% -90% maybe 12.7-12.8 , if you have taken care of it and never drained it dead. I’d get Noco over Stanley, noco is just high quality chargers, Stanley is , who knows, Chinese I think. Most all auto parts stores will check out your battery and alternator for free while you wait , it takes only a few minutes . It could even be the starter.
Old 09-13-2020, 09:34 AM
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Try a different charger, I didn’t know they made 15$ chargers
Old 09-13-2020, 01:46 PM
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Thanks for all the input. It's helping me to better understand how to maintain the battery, as I want to keep my Mercedes, but electrical issues have been a common problem. I went ahead and ordered the NOCO 1500, hope that's enough. Getting a load tester to check battery quality. WSO has a two yr. warranty, so hope to get my money back if the battery is bad. For chargers I noticed NOCO has one, also CTEK. Battery is at 12.3V today.
Old 09-13-2020, 03:42 PM
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The problem with cheap trickle chargers is AC ripple. The cheap ones don't filter the AC enough. They can cause problems with your car's electronics because they introduce noise in the power supply. I tried several chargers and measured the amount of ripple on the output. The best one I found was the CTEK MUS.4.3 charger. It had less than 1% ripple. Any charger that has over 3% ripple can cause issues with your electronics. Mercedes dealers resell this charger as a MB part, but its almost $40 cheaper if you buy the CTEK on Amamzon. Note: this model isn't available anymore but Amazon have a comparable Cteck model at around $75.

One thing to be aware of when meaasuring battery voltage is you want to let the battery sit for at least an hour after use or charging before checking it. The battery chemicals take a while to absorb charges and discharges, so if you measure the voltage right after charging or driving, you could get misleading values.

One other issue is overnight discharge. If the key fob is too close to the car, it will prevent the car from sleeping and it will draw up to 3 amps continuously. I discovered this after noticing my battery was almost always at 12.3 volts the next morning. I expected that to be higher after driving 40 miles during the day. If you draw 3 amps an hour for 12 hours on an 80 amphour battery, you can end up with about 50% capacity on the battery. That equates to about 12.3 volts. My kitchen is right above the garage and I usually toss my keys in a tray on the counter. That's only about 15 feet from the car vertically. Turns out that isn't far enough from the car to let it go to sleep and the car and the key will talk aback and forth all night. I first bought one of those RF shielding bags and that helped, but the easiest and most effective solution was to put the keys in the microwave when I wasn't using the car. It's designed as a faraday cage to protect you from radiation and it completely shuts off any communication with the car. With keys in the microwave, the car draws less than 400 MA. Another benefit is the key fob battery lasts much longer.
Old 09-13-2020, 05:23 PM
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I have the CTEK 4.3 polar (orange) it has the higher voltage MB needs, I asked CTEK which charger was the same as the MB CTEK, it’s orange in color. It’s cheaper than buying the MB branded CTEK. Rolls Royce has CTEK as “their “ charger also , but RR tacks on about 800$ ! You will find most all the top car manufacturers recommend CTEK and brand it as their own. I also have a Noco, both are good but the CTEK Polar with the “snowflake” setting for higher MB voltage you can’t go wrong on. Use the CTEK on the snowflake setting. It also has a Recondition function which works if you do it several times.
Old 09-13-2020, 07:20 PM
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Solar makes a good Cca tester,
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Old 09-13-2020, 08:58 PM
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If you do anything to the car you can’t check voltage for 30-60 minutes . Just unlocking the car you need at least 20 minutes before voltage stabilized
Old 09-14-2020, 05:26 AM
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All the tools your buying will last your lifetime, good tools. But with a new battery of a year old (that’s never been drained down ) I’d simply jump it to not spend all this cash.
Old 09-14-2020, 03:50 PM
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Tell us the result , what was the problem?
Old 09-14-2020, 03:54 PM
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interesting information thanks
Old 09-14-2020, 05:20 PM
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Hi again, sorry for the slow reply and thanks so much for all the great info. I have the NOCO now, waiting for it to finish charging. The polar CTEK (orange 4.3) is on the way. The $15 ultra power ended up changing my sons 6V toy ATV. Going to try jumping the glk350 in an hour or so I guess. Fingers crossed.
Old 09-15-2020, 11:14 PM
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Quick update here -- charged the NOCO 1500 and hooked it up to the 350GLK battery and still nothing. Seems to be exactly the same as before, no crank, just nothing. Internal electronics seem fine. Hidden engineering menu indicates 12.1V after turning on the center console (another drop, although system had been activated via entry and monitoring before checking). On a side note, I also hooked up the NOCO to my 2004 C240, which has had a dead battery for quite a long time (maybe a year), and it started right up no problem. So clearly the NOCO works.

Orange polar CTEK should arrive tomorrow. I don't regret purchasing these items at all, as I feel very confident in their value and also think they are long overdue investments. Of course I could have just sunk the money into a tow and straight the mechanic, but I think in the long run these will pay off and I'm benefitting from excellent advice in this forum, while also gaining a better understanding of how to maintain my vehicle, especially the batteries.

I saw this Cca tester from solar.

Amazon Amazon

Still think I need a diagnostic scanning tool at some point.

Mmr1: would be interested to know what you think about the fact that the NOCO didn't work. My guess is that it could still be the battery, and the Cca tester will show that or it could still be the starter. Also, I went hunting for the auxiliary battery, assuming it was somewhere in the trunk, but couldn't find it, where I expected it to be located. Do all 2011 350glk have an auxiliary battery and would it even matter?



Old 09-16-2020, 02:49 PM
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Sounds like a bad battery or there is a 100+ amp fuselink built into the cable termination on the positive side of the battery that could prevent cranking. If the fuse blows, your starter is probably fried or something is badly locked up. I beleive that you will still see voltage on the console even if this fuse is blown, but not sure about the 2011 year GLKs.

If your Nocco was able to charge your C240 battery, its working as designed.

I have a Solar CCA tester and its been a great tool. Its not quite as accurate as the Midtronics unit that Mercedes uses to evaluate batteries, but its pretty close. Every 6 months I make sure I'm at full charge on my battery and then take a reading with the Solar tester. I keep track of the readings and can predict when its time to replace the battery before I get stranded somewhere. I got 9 years out of a battery in my Tacoma, but when the Solar said it was going downhill fast, I replaced it. I keep a trickle charger on that truck because it doesn't get much use.

Your 2011 GLK doesn't have an Aux battery. They added that in 2013 because the ECO function needs it to keep some systems running when stopped with the engine shut down.

A scanning tool likely won't help for a no-start situation, but its a neccessity for any troubleshooting involving CEL codes. It can save you having to pay the "diagnostic fee" to the dealer to figure out why you are getting codes thrown. Make sure you get one that reads Mercedes specific codes. The cheaper ones just read the standard subset of codes for all cars and won't get to the MB codes that are mores specific about the problem.

ZZ


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