Weird problem.
The car won't recognize it's in park even though the instrument cluster says it's in park.
"Move selector to park". Sometimes it manifests in that you can turn the key and the ignition won't start (weird since you can normally star this car in neutral). Even weirder it refuses to shut off because it thinks it's not in park.

Steps tried so far: 1. remove alarm siren that's known to fail and cause issues. 2. Install shift bushings that were non-existant lol.

I'm starting to suspect electrical gremlins, any ideas?

 

my 2003 S500 will turn off in DRIVE.

 

This is not a shifter or park selector problem. This is a CANBUS/SAM problem. You have a bad SAM, bad power supply, bad EIS, etc. Put it on SDS and stop guessing.

 

I think that's the move

 

What in the **** are you talking about?
Are you talking about the gear recognition switch in the shift lever, or is there one in the transmission?

 

There's no need to speak cryptically. Be specific. "Gear Recognition Switch", is that the shifter assembly inside the car?

DAS pointed to issues there. Actuations tested out correct. I saw a frayed wiring harness that I might try to deal with first before spending big $$$ on a shifter assembly. The instrument cluster correctly reports the gears.

 

Remember that the shifter is a theft relevant device, married to the other three devices.

 

What specifics does this entail?

Is it married to the alarm module in the left fender? I removed that one just prior to problems emerging. Reports indicating the removal is not an issue, and on the w215 it wasn't.

Specific codes:
P1856 Selector lever position detection failed
P1911 link between control module N15/5 and shiftgate illumination interrupted
P1833 outpt stage control module N15/5 has open circuit

It's hard to tell where these codes originate from as the battery was disconnected (to get the car to start), so these could be consequences of that.

[edit]

Per this post, a company called Beckman Technologies has replacement reman shifters that will work when programmed with SDS. I just spoke with them. They are virginized by the replacement of a specific chip and the guy who does that has retired. As such for the foreseeable future they are not available.

Per this benzworld post it might be worth checking fuse 37 on the passenger side engine bay fuse box.

Three options left:
1. I read about a disconnect between the shift lever and transmission reporting. I replaced the bushings for the shift linkage, but didn't adjust the linkage. I might need to check WIS for specific guidelines tehre
2. Remove the shift linkage and inspect for damages, incl. the wiring harness, possibly disassembly and inspect the PCB. I did see a frayed wire on the wiring harness.
There is information on a repair here: https://forums.mbclub.co.uk/threads/...0-2004.242177/
3. Buy a new shifter from Mercedes (Part #: 220-267-33-24)

 

I took the shifter assembly apart. The PCB everything hooks to looks relatively simple. It has a Mercedes part #: 220 545 26 32 and is made by Delphi. I can't find this anywhere.

Here are some pictures:



















Contrary to the above posted E211 shifter, this one seems to use photodiodes that detect the presence of a plastic thing. The weird thing is nothing, NOTHING, indicated any issues during normal operation.
I'm still suspecting a mismatch between what the transmission reports and what the shifter is reporting... meaning it could be a simple shift linkage alignment issue.

I see no smoking gun on this PCB...

Except possible one: the 4-pront white switch that must be for the park position. It's a physical switch. I will provide a picture later with a more detailed explanation of how this mechanism appears to work.
It has a # on it (visible in the pictures): S 2N$ ITT 3422F

That's about as best I can make out.

A cursory search brings up this: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/...2d78609fc9666e
Not particularly useful.
Will post more as I work on this.

[more]

I'm not convinced this is necessarily faulty. The fault codes indicate bad wiring. In DAS there were instructions on which wires to check for continuity. Does someone have a wiring diagram I can reference to check continuity in the wiring? (found it: pe27.19-p-2102-99sa)

[even more]
Here's a post where the Benzworld member pinpoints the chip required to revirginize the TCU:
https://www.benzworld.org/posts/17873045/
ATMEL 93C56
An 8-pin chip on the PCB. Scrolling down yields an image that shows it plain as day.

This isn't an option I want to explore lest it breaks down on the road. Now it's a matter of finding a replacement unit, possibly from the dealer. Mercedes says this is "not for sale".

[even more p2]

Another thought that would explain the wonky behavior: the capacitors have gone bad. These look like the same capacitors as in the instrument cluster LCD backlight and those have long failed. Bad capacitors could explain why the problem is intermittent, possibly temperature dependent.

 

I went through the codes.

ETC - Electronic transmission control:
Event: C404 No CAN message was received from the control unit N15/5 (Electronic selector lever module) Event Stored
ESM - Electronic selector module:
P1856 selector lever position detection failed
P1911 Link between N15/5 and shift gate illumination interrupt
P1833: output stage in N15/5 has open circuit

System diagnosis (only interior CAN fault)
No errors or events

Other errors involving CAN bus:
TPC - Tire Pressure Monitor - Stored
B1346-003 Signal transmission between A69/3 (LR TPMS) and N88 (TPM [RD] control unit) is faulty - Stored
B1074-001 No CAN message received from N73 (EIS [EZS] control unit) or N93 (Central gateway control unit) - Stored

AB - Airbag:
9003 supply under voltage; and then: 906C-F and 9070 "Fault in CAN communication with control unit N93(Central gateway control unit) - Stored

Emergency tensioning retractor: CAN message from control module N2/7 (restraint systems control unit) is faulty). B48 front passenger seat occupancy sensor - current and stored
Event 5018 5019 Fault in CAN communication with control unit N93 (central gateway control unit)

Rear SAM: B1381-001 B33 (ATA inclination sensor): self-test fault


Nothing else I am seeing.

 

Those pictures are N15/5.

I suspect the capacitors are bad.

 

I just replaced the capacitors and put everything back together. Care must be taken when reassembling the unit so as to ensure everything sits in place and behaves appropriately at every level of reassembly: putting the PCB back together, putting the shifter back together, and installing the shifter into the vehicle. The opportunities for issues are ripe.

For those interested, the two capacitors I used are these:
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/710-865080649013

I slightly angled the PCB when re-installing to ensure it sits squarely in the park position. This might be an issue, but can also be adjusted later.

I've also removed all the safety interlock features, including the stupid metal nubbin blocking access to the front hex key when the shifter is in park. Mercedes are lunatics.
So far the car starts and runs without issue. Gear reporting is accurate. It's possible manually shifting gears no longer works... i'm not sure what might be going on there. It's an annoyance for sure.

I'll have to take it for a test drive. If all goes well, I'll post a full writeup. Unfortunately I don't have many useful pictures.

 

Your tone of writing brings up the image of a fat ugly disgusting person asking a pretty girl for a picture of her *******.



I did both but don't have a pic of that. Here's after I did the first one.

 

A write up would be very helpful as these cars are getting older and capacitors fail with age

very few people or repair shops will do capacitor soldering they just swap parts . I’m impressed with your skills

 

I want to test this first to see if it resolves the issue, although I already tried starting cold and stuff like that and so far it looks like its working. Cleared codes on the transmission but haven't re-checked since doing the work.

 

For some reason manual shifting isn't working, but checking DAS, it's recognizing the actuations (when you operate the shifter) correctly.

It did this prior to the "repair" too. Possibly the disassembly and reassembly gave trouble.

 

Issues have re-emerged; car refused to start, probably an issue with the EIS.

Going to have to suck codes and see if it's the shifter module N15/5 or something else.

 

https://www.benzworld.org/threads/ca...ifter.3096231/

 

Update: It's been a month or so and it appears the repair worked. Everything is working as it should in the shifter assembly. Car isn't throwing EWS codes when trying to start.