2011 S550 struggles with starting and blower doesn’t work after start
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Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 18
Likes: 2
From: Tuscaloosa, AL
2029 S560
2011 S550 struggles with starting and blower doesn’t work after start
Yester day when I started my car, it didn’t start easily and struggled with that. When the engine started working I noticed the blower is not working. It Startet working again when I turned off the engine and restarted it again (this time it didn’t have any problems with starting the engine).
Today I Recorded the process and as you can see in video the engine didn’t even start at the first attempt and struggled again at the second attempt but, this time the parking sensors malfunctioned instead of the blower.
Any thoughts about the problem causing this?
Today I Recorded the process and as you can see in video the engine didn’t even start at the first attempt and struggled again at the second attempt but, this time the parking sensors malfunctioned instead of the blower.
Any thoughts about the problem causing this?
Last edited by sepehrkz; Sep 17, 2020 at 05:41 PM.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 5,142
Likes: 1,293
From: Southern US
2010 E550, 273 Engine: 2012 S550, 278 Engine
I’m new to the 221 forum but have been in the 212 forum for years. This issue with starting sounds very familiar to me with the E550 I have.
Symptoms were that sometimes car took long cranks to start. A couple of times engine did not start on the first try. Cranking seemed to be very good but engine did not fire up.
A few times Distronic and other “gizmos” did not work and car had to be re-started.
Battery was the first thing to replace but after a month or two the problem came back. I actually replaced the battery again (not at dealer this time) and the result was the same.
Reading the 212 forum I found lots of writing about the starter motor problems. This is not the first thing in your list of things to change as the cranking is very good but I finally did it, i.e. replaced the starter. This fixed the problem more than a year ago now.
I think the issue is with the starter shorting out and robbing so much voltage that the car does not have enough to start. New fully charged battery fixes the problem until the smart battery charging system in these cars allows the charge level to go down some. That is the 1-2 months time everything is good with a new battery.
For troubleshooting you can use a battery charger to make your battery fully charged. Then see if the problem goes away for some time but returns. You can also get a brand new battery and observe it problems return. If they do the root problem very likely is the starter motor.
My E550 is a 2010 model and it’s starter went out when it was about 10 years old. Your 2011 is close to that age now.
Symptoms were that sometimes car took long cranks to start. A couple of times engine did not start on the first try. Cranking seemed to be very good but engine did not fire up.
A few times Distronic and other “gizmos” did not work and car had to be re-started.
Battery was the first thing to replace but after a month or two the problem came back. I actually replaced the battery again (not at dealer this time) and the result was the same.
Reading the 212 forum I found lots of writing about the starter motor problems. This is not the first thing in your list of things to change as the cranking is very good but I finally did it, i.e. replaced the starter. This fixed the problem more than a year ago now.
I think the issue is with the starter shorting out and robbing so much voltage that the car does not have enough to start. New fully charged battery fixes the problem until the smart battery charging system in these cars allows the charge level to go down some. That is the 1-2 months time everything is good with a new battery.
For troubleshooting you can use a battery charger to make your battery fully charged. Then see if the problem goes away for some time but returns. You can also get a brand new battery and observe it problems return. If they do the root problem very likely is the starter motor.
My E550 is a 2010 model and it’s starter went out when it was about 10 years old. Your 2011 is close to that age now.
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Joined: Aug 2014
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S500
the early cars had software updates to the battery control module
its quite possible no one bothered to do this... (its why we still see cars 12 years on with the windows not working very very few dealers ever update the software on ANY part of the car)
P-B-54.10/176 AUG06 Notes on power consumption and charging of battery (221.171 & 176); disabled convenience functions or partially discharged batteries after a workshop visit or after work with the ignition switched on and the engine off – when the ignition and telematics systems are on the power requirement can be up to 30 A. It is absolutely essential to connect a battery charger during workshop visits.
P-B-54.10/195 MAR08 “Battery – Service Required” illuminated in red in the IC without impairing the electrical system, the software in the Vehicle Power Supply control module (BNS) will be flashed.
its quite possible no one bothered to do this... (its why we still see cars 12 years on with the windows not working very very few dealers ever update the software on ANY part of the car)
P-B-54.10/176 AUG06 Notes on power consumption and charging of battery (221.171 & 176); disabled convenience functions or partially discharged batteries after a workshop visit or after work with the ignition switched on and the engine off – when the ignition and telematics systems are on the power requirement can be up to 30 A. It is absolutely essential to connect a battery charger during workshop visits.
P-B-54.10/195 MAR08 “Battery – Service Required” illuminated in red in the IC without impairing the electrical system, the software in the Vehicle Power Supply control module (BNS) will be flashed.
