Very interesting information for all those with low power concern, slow w210 e55
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Joined: Feb 2008
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From: Bostonian Ma
2012 CLS63 AMG
Definitely a one off 
wouldn't hurt to PM Ohlord, I PM'd him a few times on some stuff even spoke to him a few times over the phone really nice guy. I also had him ship me a floor shifter along with a tool box to remove radio, climate control and cluster at a great price.
He's the Guru for W210
Best advise I can offer, he may also be able to get you a used ECU
I know he has a lot of connections for parts.
GL!
Keep us posted
Johnny
wouldn't hurt to PM Ohlord, I PM'd him a few times on some stuff even spoke to him a few times over the phone really nice guy. I also had him ship me a floor shifter along with a tool box to remove radio, climate control and cluster at a great price.He's the Guru for W210
Best advise I can offer, he may also be able to get you a used ECU
I know he has a lot of connections for parts.GL!
Keep us posted
Johnny
Thread Starter
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 400
Likes: 1
From: SD
00 e55
Definitely a one off wouldn't hurt to PM Ohlord, I PM'd him a few times on some stuff even spoke to him a few times over the phone really nice guy. I also had him ship me a floor shifter along with a tool box to remove radio, climate control and cluster at a great price.
He's the Guru for W210
Best advise I can offer, he may also be able to get you a used ECU I know he has a lot of connections for parts.
GL!
Keep us posted
Johnny
wouldn't hurt to PM Ohlord, I PM'd him a few times on some stuff even spoke to him a few times over the phone really nice guy. I also had him ship me a floor shifter along with a tool box to remove radio, climate control and cluster at a great price.He's the Guru for W210
Best advise I can offer, he may also be able to get you a used ECU
I know he has a lot of connections for parts.GL!
Keep us posted
Johnny
I was told its got be be programmed vin spacific one time use on a new ECU only, used can not be reprogramed Dealer won't do it
Either wa thank for advice Il pm that guy..
Last edited by amgalex; Mar 17, 2010 at 01:25 AM.
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From: City with Tall buildings!
C43/55,2k11 Volvo S60 T6AWD,2k Audi B5 S4,95 Eagle Talon Tsi AWD 500+awhp
How is the compression on all the cylinders? Was that chkd? A slightly bent or a burnt valve could cause similar issues as well. This of course would be a worse case scenario.
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From: SD
00 e55
No Compression was not checked because vehicle has plenty of power after the reset but after that ecu pulls fuel out... so it can't be Bad compression can it and have full power after reset ?
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Joined: Mar 2010
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2001 E55 AMG
I had a similar problem with my 01 E55. I noticed the power just wasn't there. Every time they flashed it, it felt like she woke up and was ready to go. Within a day it would settle back into an almost lazy feel. I replaced Air Mass Sensor, didn't help but they said it needed it because idle was poor. The only time I ever got to see what this car is really capable of is after it's flashed. The dealer acted like I was crazy. The answer I got was AMG's being hand built, are all a little different, some are really responsive and others aren't, yours is just on the slower side of the spectrum. I was pissed. I felt like, "then where is the one I paid for"?!
I never replaced the ECU and have no plan to spend the money to do that, the car is still faster than 90% of whats on the road, but it does still frustrate me at times.
I never replaced the ECU and have no plan to spend the money to do that, the car is still faster than 90% of whats on the road, but it does still frustrate me at times.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 400
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From: SD
00 e55
I had a similar problem with my 01 E55. I noticed the power just wasn't there. Every time they flashed it, it felt like she woke up and was ready to go. Within a day it would settle back into an almost lazy feel. I replaced Air Mass Sensor, didn't help but they said it needed it because idle was poor. The only time I ever got to see what this car is really capable of is after it's flashed. The dealer acted like I was crazy. The answer I got was AMG's being hand built, are all a little different, some are really responsive and others aren't, yours is just on the slower side of the spectrum. I was pissed. I felt like, "then where is the one I paid for"?!
I never replaced the ECU and have no plan to spend the money to do that, the car is still faster than 90% of whats on the road, but it does still frustrate me at times.
I never replaced the ECU and have no plan to spend the money to do that, the car is still faster than 90% of whats on the road, but it does still frustrate me at times.
now there is even a service bulletin on this problem but dealer still has no clue or do they?,, what is going on here? Mercedes just don't want to face the problem or what?
Buy an obd2 reader, they are cheap and watch your O2 voltages at load and see if they go way lean to confirm a defective ECU issue...
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 316
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From: New York
Stg3 B5S4-C55 AMG
I doubt its you ECU. Even though the Motronic has an idle circuit your problem sounds like issues the other posters mentioned.
Sounds to me like clogged injectors or a faulty fuel pressure regulator .
Besides if your ECU was bad your car would be in limp mode and you wouldn't even be able to do a 0-60 run.
Easiest start for diagnosis is to borrow a known working ECU to swap in.
Maybe you can Paypal someone a refundable deposit to insure a return.
If anyone does lend him an ECU, make sure you mark your box w/ your name as well as breach-tape.
I got burned once....so speaking from experience here.
Good luck.
Sounds to me like clogged injectors or a faulty fuel pressure regulator .
Besides if your ECU was bad your car would be in limp mode and you wouldn't even be able to do a 0-60 run.
Easiest start for diagnosis is to borrow a known working ECU to swap in.
Maybe you can Paypal someone a refundable deposit to insure a return.
If anyone does lend him an ECU, make sure you mark your box w/ your name as well as breach-tape.
I got burned once....so speaking from experience here.
Good luck.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 400
Likes: 1
From: SD
00 e55
I doubt its you ECU. Even though the Motronic has an idle circuit your problem sounds like issues the other posters mentioned.
Sounds to me like clogged injectors or a faulty fuel pressure regulator .
Besides if your ECU was bad your car would be in limp mode and you wouldn't even be able to do a 0-60 run.
Easiest start for diagnosis is to borrow a known working ECU to swap in.
Maybe you can Paypal someone a refundable deposit to insure a return.
If anyone does lend him an ECU, make sure you mark your box w/ your name as well as breach-tape.
I got burned once....so speaking from experience here.
Good luck.
Sounds to me like clogged injectors or a faulty fuel pressure regulator .
Besides if your ECU was bad your car would be in limp mode and you wouldn't even be able to do a 0-60 run.
Easiest start for diagnosis is to borrow a known working ECU to swap in.
Maybe you can Paypal someone a refundable deposit to insure a return.
If anyone does lend him an ECU, make sure you mark your box w/ your name as well as breach-tape.
I got burned once....so speaking from experience here.
Good luck.
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Joined: May 2009
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C280, E55, CLK430, E550, Toureg
If the ECU is supposed to tune the engine to how you normally drive wouldnt leaning out the fuel for someone that drives very smoothly be normal? I'm a very smooth driver (except when a Mustang or Infiniti needs a lesson in what a Mercedes is) and my E55 has 22.8MPG over the last 3000 miles. My last 200+ mile trip it was up to 25.3mpg (trip) at best and was at 24.8MPG as I was backing it into the garage. I would think if you drive like this normally you cant expect to have the ECU be tuned for both high MPG type driving and high HP. Still even a "slow" E55 is a beast on the interstate, it has torque all over the range. It will be interesting if a new ECU has a software update that can make it be both but it seems to be that a learning ECU would work on a basis of past usage. So when you surprise it by pushing on the gas and that isnt something that is a normal occorance its not going to pour gas in because that isnt something you normally ask it to do. My thought on how they could program around this would be that the shift down button under the gas pedel could signal the ECU to ignore its learned behavier until the pedel is returned to a normal range.
Waiting to see how this turns out...
Thread Starter
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 400
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From: SD
00 e55
If the ECU is supposed to tune the engine to how you normally drive wouldnt leaning out the fuel for someone that drives very smoothly be normal? I'm a very smooth driver (except when a Mustang or Infiniti needs a lesson in what a Mercedes is) and my E55 has 22.8MPG over the last 3000 miles. My last 200+ mile trip it was up to 25.3mpg (trip) at best and was at 24.8MPG as I was backing it into the garage. I would think if you drive like this normally you cant expect to have the ECU be tuned for both high MPG type driving and high HP. Still even a "slow" E55 is a beast on the interstate, it has torque all over the range. It will be interesting if a new ECU has a software update that can make it be both but it seems to be that a learning ECU would work on a basis of past usage. So when you surprise it by pushing on the gas and that isnt something that is a normal occorance its not going to pour gas in because that isnt something you normally ask it to do. My thought on how they could program around this would be that the shift down button under the gas pedel could signal the ECU to ignore its learned behavier until the pedel is returned to a normal range.
Waiting to see how this turns out...
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 400
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From: SD
00 e55
ok i just decided to try the new ecu in the car
nothing happened just as expected the car didn't start so now i need to send both ecu's so they can copy vin information form my old unit unto new and I don't have another car to use so for now im stuck
nothing happened just as expected the car didn't start so now i need to send both ecu's so they can copy vin information form my old unit unto new and I don't have another car to use so for now im stuck
Thread Starter
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Joined: Oct 2008
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From: SD
00 e55
Thread Starter
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 400
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From: SD
00 e55
So Finely after a long long cold winter.
I have sent both old and the new ECU to get them reprogrammed...
Here is the kicker; we had rain last night, when I was taken my ECU out today I noticed a drop of water on the ground , turned the ECU around and half of it is covered in water droplets like really bad condensation..
This must be what semi-fried my ECU.... How the heck did the water get in?
Now I know why my car was running extra rough when it was raining .......
I have sent both old and the new ECU to get them reprogrammed...
Here is the kicker; we had rain last night, when I was taken my ECU out today I noticed a drop of water on the ground , turned the ECU around and half of it is covered in water droplets like really bad condensation..
This must be what semi-fried my ECU.... How the heck did the water get in?
Now I know why my car was running extra rough when it was raining .......
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 553
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From: Los Angeles
W210 E55
amgalex,
I seriously do not think your ECU is the problem. Mine requires a reset after about a week and if not, the power drops off over time. The ECU would either work or it wouldn't. They are too complex to be slightly "out of tune". Water would not cause a power loss, it would cause a full failure.
If your car has "full" power after reset, your problem is not mechanical. If it loses power sooner than a week, I would then look for a bad sensor somewhere. Check fuel pressure, check injectors. Check out "wearable" or reasonably failing items. Something that would cause the ECU to go off of its aggressive factory tune quickly. Something out of whack but not enough to throw a code.
I seriously do not think your ECU is the problem. Mine requires a reset after about a week and if not, the power drops off over time. The ECU would either work or it wouldn't. They are too complex to be slightly "out of tune". Water would not cause a power loss, it would cause a full failure.
If your car has "full" power after reset, your problem is not mechanical. If it loses power sooner than a week, I would then look for a bad sensor somewhere. Check fuel pressure, check injectors. Check out "wearable" or reasonably failing items. Something that would cause the ECU to go off of its aggressive factory tune quickly. Something out of whack but not enough to throw a code.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 400
Likes: 1
From: SD
00 e55
amgalex,
I seriously do not think your ECU is the problem. Mine requires a reset after about a week and if not, the power drops off over time. The ECU would either work or it wouldn't. They are too complex to be slightly "out of tune". Water would not cause a power loss, it would cause a full failure.
If your car has "full" power after reset, your problem is not mechanical. If it loses power sooner than a week, I would then look for a bad sensor somewhere. Check fuel pressure, check injectors. Check out "wearable" or reasonably failing items. Something that would cause the ECU to go off of its aggressive factory tune quickly. Something out of whack but not enough to throw a code.
I seriously do not think your ECU is the problem. Mine requires a reset after about a week and if not, the power drops off over time. The ECU would either work or it wouldn't. They are too complex to be slightly "out of tune". Water would not cause a power loss, it would cause a full failure.
If your car has "full" power after reset, your problem is not mechanical. If it loses power sooner than a week, I would then look for a bad sensor somewhere. Check fuel pressure, check injectors. Check out "wearable" or reasonably failing items. Something that would cause the ECU to go off of its aggressive factory tune quickly. Something out of whack but not enough to throw a code.
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 28
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C280, E55, CLK430, E550, Toureg
How often do you get your car above 5K rpm? I had a coil pack that needed replaced but would not throw a CE code unless it was being driven very aggressively. The code was a misfire code. The first time I reset the code thinking it could be a fluke, second time I replaced plugs and wires, third CE light and I replaced the coil. After the CE light came on the car had what seemed like 1/2 its normal power until it was restarted. Replacing the coil fixed the occasional lurching, occasional hard start and the rare CE light. This was all over a 18 month period.
I don't think the ECU is the problem, you've got something like I did that isn't far enough out of spec to throw a code but not just right either.
I don't think the ECU is the problem, you've got something like I did that isn't far enough out of spec to throw a code but not just right either.
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Joined: Dec 2008
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From: Bay Area, CA
2007 SL55 AMG
how about random misfire from cylinder 4,5,7, and 8? I'm getting it. Doesn't throw any codes, lights, etc. no power loss, its not the spark plugs, coil packs, nor wires. Already tried new MAF, maybe going to replace CPS next. Any ideas guys?
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 400
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From: SD
00 e55
I almost bet im not the only one with water on the ECU, Check your ECU after the rain....
