jiggsyking

I have a 2004 E55. The question I have is: Has anyone had problems with their car starting at any time?
I used to have problems getting the car to start on the first crank sequence. But it would alway's start on the second right away. This was corrected twice with a computer reflash of some sort. "Apparently" caused by "wearing" of the supercharger.
The problem I have had as of late is: I somtimes take a short ferry ride of about three minutes, or 150 yards. About a month ago I went to start the car after reaching the other side and the car would not start. It cranked but wouldn't catch. I had to be pushed off the ferry. After about 30 crank's it started to catch, then died. After about 10 mins I finally got it started. Reved it and took off. Started without issue after that, but brought it to the dealer to find the problem. They changed the crankshaft sensor and said that it was the problem. Fine. Drove it for a couple of weeks since then. Got on the ferry again this evening, went to get off on the other side. Car wouldn't start. Had to be pushed off the ferry AGAIN. This time the car wasn't even stumbling to start, it was just cranking. Finally it began to stumble, I gased it and took off.
So my question would be is: Has anyone else had issues like this?
And secondly does anyone know if there is some sort of anti-theft sensor that might cause the car to not start if it feels movement with out the car running, I.E Like its being dragged onto a flatbed or somthing. The car was unlocked both times, the car was turned off but I didn't get out.
I have riden the ferry many times without incident. However all incidents occured on the ferry.

Sorry for the longwinded explanation. Thanks.

Scott in H-town

Have you a noticed a correlation between not starting and how much gas in the tank?

I had a problem with it not starting with a low tank. It was my fuel pump that had problems because the MB dealer originally didn't ground my SAT radio properly and it hurt the pump because they're located near each other.

blkamgsl55

My 2005 E500 acted like yours did. After the dealer changed the crank trigger and fuel tank senders and another failure to start they changed the fuel pump and that solved the problem.

jiggsyking

There has been no correlation between the failure to start and a lower level of fuel. When it did it yesterday the tank was 3/4 full. And it just did it again with more than a quarter tank. This time not on the ferry.

The only common thread is that the car had been driving for a while before it was turned off and failed to start shortly after it was turned off. Again with numerous cranks to get the car re-started. Would a bad fuel pump behave this way.

Scott in H-town

Could still be a bad fuel pump, but it sounds like possibly more than that.

stevebez

I would put that one down to the ferry ghost ...

Real wierd esp that its evertime on the ferry ... Sounds like something gets a try contact after been driven and then cools down - moisture getting in somewhere ?

Does not sound like software to me ... could be a sensor shorting somewhere.

jiggsyking

The bad fuel pump seem to be the leader at the moment. When the car does finally get started, it try's to idle and dies a few times before it will finally kick over. Very annoying considering MB has already had my car for a month this summer! What other faulty sensors could also be contributing to this problem? Thanks for all your help so far.

kip

Mine is a 2004 E55. Starts every time on first, even after standing for 3 weeks it started up at first turn. The alarm lock would cause the car not to start at all, not to stumble, its something else I think.

Yacht Master

Your E 55 should start 1 time every time. If it cranks more than 3 seconds without starting you have a problem. The dealer did take the right course of action by checking out the electrical, the crank sensor is the overwhelming choice for symptoms you describe. The comment about the supercharger wearing is crazy. If we assume that the electrical system is in order then it is time to check the fuel system. The dealer can check the fuel pump pressure and volume and determine its condition. (relay is OK).

The first thing I would do, is run the car down to reserve fuel level. Pull the fuel filter and open it to check for water and containments. Then drain the remaining fuel out of the tank and install new filter. The only thing I can think of is water in your tank. I am assuming that the ferry landing has some what of an incline, I believe that this down hill attitude allows water in the tank to be picked up by the fuel pump. Now the media in our fuel filters is quite resistant to passing water, if the pump picks up enough, the filter will clog on the water, causing a loss of pressure and volume.

sales@eurocharged.com

Could be the throttle positon sensor or fuel filter.

jiggsyking

Fuel filter would be a good thing to check no doubt. I would be happy if the problem were that easy to fix. Because it's a few times that I have this starting issue, only now it's been doing it more often and on level ground. They have done at least 4 fixes on this starting issue over the years, with the most recent fix being the crank sensor. Thank for the imput.

Jrocket

Usually an electrical problem is cut and dry,either it works or it doesnt.A fule problem will give you the stumble and also the on and off problems your having.

corgiman

I had the same problem - it was the fuel pressure regulator. This is an integral part of the in tank fuel filter. Easy fix.

jiggsyking

I'm going to bring it in next week. We'll see what they come up with. You can be sure I'll have a fat list of things for them to check. Thanks guys. Should get it back in time to put it away for the winter!