vrandolph7

My '05 S500 will not start. It is displaying an "S" in the gear range indicator to the right of where the P, D, or the N is displayed if the car were in drive , neutral, or park. The car was running fine, I stopped at the store and when I came out and attempted to start the car that's what I got. If anyone has experienced this problem or has any ideas I'm open to suggestions.

tusabes

Its normal for the gear indicator to say S (or W) depending on which mode the transmission is in . There is a switch on the console to switch from sport or winter mode (S or W)

Does the starter crank over and try to start or are you not even getting any cranking at all ?

If its cranking but just not starting Most likely is a bad crank position sensor . If its not even cranking at all most likely is weak battery or problems with the ignition /key system

starprint

Had exactly same problem.
was the crankshaft sensor.
Sorted it

corkshoppe

if it restarted after a cool down then its the cps

vrandolph7

I replaced the crank position sensor with one from CARQUEST. It started to turn over then stopped. My battery is at 100%. I tried a couple of more times the "S" came back on the gear indicator display and now it just click or does nothing when the key is turned. I did notice when it first turned over it seemed like the starter was dragging. Does anyone think it may be the starter. Or have an experience as to how it may act when the starter goes out?

wallyp

My first thought would be to try it with a good set of jumper cables correctly connected from your battery to a known-good battery in another car.

DNA47

Edit: SORRY: i haven't read that you did replace the CPS!

Just like everybody else said, replace your crankshaft position sensor (CPS). it's a known issue, i've had it on two w220 s-classes. the part is really cheap, less than 100$ and you can DIY, look it up on the forum and you'll find instructions. It can take less than 15 minutes if you're lucky, but a little bit more time if you have difficulties putting back the screw in place.

DNA47

I'm no mechanic, and i don't know that much about cars since i'm only 22, but at that point i would think it's the starter, but i'd get in contact with an indy that knows mercedes to be sure.

However, what do you mean by you battery is at 100%? From what i know, these cars need a lot of juice to start, so you're battery could seem to not have any problem, but still be at fault. Anyway, i hope you can find a solution soon!!!

tusabes

You arent being clear enough as to what is happening

Was it not cranking at all, and
did putting in the new cps allow it to crank, even though it did not start running ?

There's a couple possibilities
1. Weak battery (as said the batteries need to be strong on these cars , a battery that tests good may not be strong enough )
2. Shifter safety interlock if its not cranking at all
3. Key/eis issue
4. The replacement cps you bought from car quest is bad
And last is the starter , its very uncommon and all the problems above are more likely the issue