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2012 Mercedes-Benz S550 (m278) Misfires Left Bank (cyl 5, 6, 7, 8)

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Old 03-06-2023, 05:11 PM
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Originally Posted by cruiser02
I bought it for reliability.
Old 03-07-2023, 02:21 PM
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Originally Posted by cruiser02
Update: It is the infamous “motor oil in engine wiring harness” that plagues m278 engines. It has leaked enough to reach the oxygen sensors on the left bank, hence the misfire codes.

They have also stated that it has reached the ECU a little bit. They will be attempting a cleaning of all affected areas and see if that fixes it. I have a feeling neither they nor I want to replace the whole harness.

I don’t understand how an engine can be designed like this.
Get the harness extensions for the camshaft magnets. They're designed to prevent oil from travelling into your main harness. Something like $10 each.
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Old 03-07-2023, 04:24 PM
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Originally Posted by Shadly1
Get the harness extensions for the camshaft magnets. They're designed to prevent oil from travelling into your main harness. Something like $10 each.
Sounds like a great idea. Know where to source them?
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Old 03-07-2023, 04:27 PM
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Update: Car is fixed, they’ve cleaned up the harness well and changed out the 2 camshaft sensors that I didn’t.
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Old 03-07-2023, 05:00 PM
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Originally Posted by cruiser02
Sounds like a great idea. Know where to source them?
Anywhere that sells the adjuster magnets will have them.
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...des-2711500156
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Old 03-07-2023, 07:38 PM
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Originally Posted by cruiser02
Update: It is the infamous “motor oil in engine wiring harness” that plagues m278 engines. It has leaked enough to reach the oxygen sensors on the left bank, hence the misfire codes.

They have also stated that it has reached the ECU a little bit. They will be attempting a cleaning of all affected areas and see if that fixes it. I have a feeling neither they nor I want to replace the whole harness.

I don’t understand how an engine can be designed like this.
Cost cutting and incomplete development. The testing budget and schedule was cut so the necessary tests, with sufficient length (time) were not done to discover and correct the problem with failed sensors.

MB is no different than Kia or Dodge in this regard.
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Old 03-16-2023, 12:43 AM
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Got back from a work trip and picked the car up last Monday. Drove 300 miles so far and it rides like new! I am averaging 27mpg as well
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Old 05-08-2023, 01:01 AM
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Have driven about 2500 miles since the sensors replacement and harness cleaning and so far so good.
Old 05-08-2023, 09:23 AM
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04 E55 AMG (totaled), 07 S550 4Matic, 14 E63S
Anecdotally I read a lot of issues on cars that have done a lot of sitting, or maybe short trips (basically lower than average mileage for the age). For example, my 2014 E63S with 99k had only a little oil on the cam position sensor plugs and none at the computer. Twice the mileage of yours.
Old 05-30-2024, 11:18 PM
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Originally Posted by cruiser02
Update: It is the infamous “motor oil in engine wiring harness” that plagues m278 engines. It has leaked enough to reach the oxygen sensors on the left bank, hence the misfire codes.

They have also stated that it has reached the ECU a little bit. They will be attempting a cleaning of all affected areas and see if that fixes it. I have a feeling neither they nor I want to replace the whole harness.

I don’t understand how an engine can be designed like this.
so all that work done previously was for nothing? It was the O2 sensors!? Is the car working fine right now?
I was driving home from work yesterday when I had the engine light flash, then go solid after sometime...I limped back home but haven't driven since.
My odb 2 scanner says cylinders 5,6,7 misfiring. Guess it could be the same. Was wondering if I should take it to Robinsons in toronto or to the dealership!!?
How much did it cost you?

Last edited by VarunBajaj; 05-30-2024 at 11:22 PM.
Old 05-31-2024, 03:57 AM
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thats three posts going round now on funny idle and strange misfires on the V8s - this link to the same engine in another part of this forum shows an owner going through major huddles trying to resolve

https://mbworld.org/forums/cl55-amg-...8-low-rpm.html

as it was some special dealer tool magic that resolved - makes me wonder with the point here about not using it much !

about 4 years back on later cars it turned out some extra software in the engine ECU needed to be removed... if the car sat greater than 3 week of no use, a mistake in the engine management software incorrectly interpreted data from the ambient temperature sensor and threw a fake EML (why does it even look at it - other than it was how the dieselgate emission scandal on the merc tractors functioned !!! ) these cars get fixed by flashing an update at the engine ECU....

and why am I mentioning it - my car just before the fuel consumption fell off a cliff, dropping 30% at low speed for the last 18 months threw an ambient temp fault just before that happened - it was counting down as as I drove - did it twice, then the outside temp readings have worked correctly ever since - but fuel use is horrific - I can't find a cause or any faults (FYI mates CL did EXACTLY the same thing about the same time !!!)


.

Last edited by BOTUS; 05-31-2024 at 04:00 AM.
Old 06-01-2024, 12:37 AM
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Originally Posted by VarunBajaj
so all that work done previously was for nothing? It was the O2 sensors!? Is the car working fine right now?
I was driving home from work yesterday when I had the engine light flash, then go solid after sometime...I limped back home but haven't driven since.
My odb 2 scanner says cylinders 5,6,7 misfiring. Guess it could be the same. Was wondering if I should take it to Robinsons in toronto or to the dealership!!?
How much did it cost you?
Wouldn't say it's for nothing because I got new parts out of it (ex. coils and plugs). But yes, they weren't needed at the time. Car has been great since with zero problems, and I have put on about 20,000 miles since.

The issue is that the oil in the harness can ruin all sorts of things, in my case it was the O2 sensors. Cost was about $1500, new sensors, harness cleaning. I would NOT take it to the dealership, they are the ones that swore up and down that it is the coils and plugs. You need a mercedes only performance shop, preferably one that has knowledge in M278 engines. Most shops would say you need a new harness to the tune of $10,000+. The owner of my shop is super knowledgeable and has engineered a way to clean them instead of replacing.

Also look into the purchasing the pigtails that connect to the camshaft sensors, I have linked them in previous posts.

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