M-Class (W164) Produced 2006-2011: ML280CDI, ML320CDI, ML420CDI, ML350, ML500, ML550

No glow plug light and no crank

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Old Jul 25, 2021 | 10:15 PM
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No glow plug light and no crank

When I turn the key the dash lights come on but the glow plug light doesn’t come on and it doesn’t turn the starter. I can jump the starter to the relay and it rotates fine. Replaced the starter and battery recently. Checked all the fuses front and back. Checked the fuses under the jumper terminals and all is fine. Have not checked beside the battery yet. Any help would be appreciated.


Track missing right hand side!

Last edited by Allen Sadler; Jan 23, 2022 at 08:04 AM.
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Old Jan 23, 2022 | 07:41 AM
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ML320 CDI W164
Originally Posted by Allen Sadler
When I turn the key the dash lights come on but the glow plug light doesn’t come on and it doesn’t turn the starter. I can jump the starter to the relay and it rotates fine. Replaced the starter and battery recently. Checked all the fuses front and back. Checked the fuses under the jumper terminals and all is fine. Have not checked beside the battery yet. Any help would be appreciated.
Allen did you find the problem i have the same problem on my m class w164
Tony
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Old Jan 23, 2022 | 07:49 AM
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Bad fuse panel board under hood

Originally Posted by tosh bish bosh
Allen did you find the problem i have the same problem on my m class w164
Tony
the fuse panel under the hood had a track burn off it. I suspect it was caused by excessive draw on the wipers driving through a heavy rain! Changed the unit from one at the junk yard $35 and put in the same relays! All good!
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Old Jan 23, 2022 | 08:07 AM
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Hi Allen i will check that in the morning did you expose the circuit board , check the photo pls is this the fuse panel

el your talking about
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Old Jan 23, 2022 | 08:14 AM
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Originally Posted by tosh bish bosh
Hi Allen i will check that in the morning did you expose the circuit board , check the photo pls is this the fuse panel

el your talking about
That is the fuse panel. I took it apart twice. First time it looked fine because the green was still over it. The fuses were all good in mine too. But the way to check it is with a probe with the light. The left side of the board was 12 volts and the light lit up. The right side of the board was reversed on the polarity and you had to connect the light to positive to get it to light!
it is a bugger to get the cover off the bottom of the board. Just check it with the test light and replace it if it is not lightning up the test light on all the fuses with the key on!
I am in Canada.

Last edited by Allen Sadler; Jan 23, 2022 at 08:20 AM.
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Old Jan 23, 2022 | 08:17 AM
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ill go check it now what country are you in im in the uk
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Old Jan 23, 2022 | 08:21 AM
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I am in Canada, say hi to Emily for me!
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Old Jan 23, 2022 | 08:52 AM
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Hi mate my board isnt the same as your it does not have the track that was burned on yours
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Old Jan 23, 2022 | 08:56 AM
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ha its under the green stuff ill check it now
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Old Jan 23, 2022 | 09:23 AM
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i checked the track with ohms meter on bench it has a circuit does it have to be checked with voltage
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Old Jan 23, 2022 | 10:01 AM
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allen did your car have fuel pump run when you turned ignition on then no glow plug light and no crank ? my fuel pump does not run when ignition is on and no glow plug light and no start
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Old Jan 23, 2022 | 10:34 AM
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I don’t think the fuel pump was coming on either. The second relay from the left when you are looking at the fuse panel in the truck might be the problem. Just jump the contact on the board then turn the key on. This is the Master control relay. My board was also broken under the steel strip and you could not get to it!

This is how mine looks from the top!
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Old Jan 23, 2022 | 10:46 AM
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do you mean the relay ive numbered as 6 is the main one or the one numbered number 2 ive noticed your first 15 amp fuse up from the bottom as you look at your picture is in a different slot to mine .ive run out of day light so will have to put the fuse box back tomorrow now and check it then
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Old Jan 23, 2022 | 10:59 AM
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Originally Posted by tosh bish bosh

do you mean the relay ive numbered as 6 is the main one or the one numbered number 2 ive noticed your first 15 amp fuse up from the bottom as you look at your picture is in a different slot to mine .ive run out of day light so will have to put the fuse box back tomorrow now and check it then
it is number 2 on yours. Circuit 15 relay H on my diagram.



I also found out my five month old battery was defective and the voltage was too low for the computer when trying to start it. You can check it on the dash display as well.
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Old Jan 23, 2022 | 11:02 AM
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thanks ill check this out tomorrow in the day light ,ive fully charged the battery
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Old Jan 23, 2022 | 11:07 AM
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Originally Posted by tosh bish bosh
thanks ill check this out tomorrow in the day light ,ive fully charged the battery
My battery was fully charged and read 12.6 volts, but when I tried to load it, it would drop to 11.3 volts and nothing works! I put a load tester on it and when the load resistor was on it showed it was bad! Have a good night!
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Old Jan 24, 2022 | 10:22 AM
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Hi Allen front fuse box checked out ok ,under the rear fuse box and SAM ,i found water laying in the water was the main rear loom and loo what i found a chaffed/shorting wire ,im trying to find what it feeds its brown with a black trace


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Old Jan 24, 2022 | 04:53 PM
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Originally Posted by tosh bish bosh
Hi Allen front fuse box checked out ok ,under the rear fuse box and SAM ,i found water laying in the water was the main rear loom and loo what i found a chaffed/shorting wire ,im trying to find what it feeds its brown with a black trace

Looks like a trailer connector wire. Water gets in the seals around the tail lights or the sunroof!
my code reader will actually tell you if there is a short in the wiring. It is made special for the Benz.
icarsoft i980 $150 Canadian.

iCarsoft Genuine Mercedes Benz I980 Professional Diagnostic Scanner Tool

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Old Jan 24, 2022 | 05:44 PM
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Ive just taken delivery of a new Icarsoft v3 for Mercedes but it powers up and say no communication . Been studying wiring diagrams and it seems that wire runs from the EIS to the rear sam
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Old Jan 24, 2022 | 05:52 PM
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Originally Posted by tosh bish bosh
Ive just taken delivery of a new Icarsoft v3 for Mercedes but it powers up and say no communication . Been studying wiring diagrams and it seems that wire runs from the EIS to the rear sam
do you have an old code reader that will power up on the obd and read anything? There is connections under the passenger seat that cause issues as well. Might want to check them too.
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Old Jan 24, 2022 | 05:56 PM
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My old foxwell reader powers up but wont connect, neither did the local AA one connect . ill check those connection in day light tomorrow
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Old Jan 24, 2022 | 06:04 PM
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Originally Posted by Allen Sadler
do you have an old code reader that will power up on the obd and read anything? There is connections under the passenger seat that cause issues as well. Might want to check them too.
just remember, don’t look for a blown fuse, use a test light and look for the correct polarity with the key on. Did you try to jump the second relay with the key on? Should have +12 volts on all fuses under the hood except two. When you jump the second relay and turn on the key, you should hear the fuel pump come on with the key!
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