UncleSnakeE63

So, I bought the ISM from the dealer. The third party installed it. The dealer coded it. And the dealer gave the sign off that it was 100%. At this point I’m not sure who is liable for what. I may have messed up…

PeterUbers

When you come to a stop while the engine is still running and if you open the door, does it auto shift into park?

UncleSnakeE63

I don’t know. Still don’t have the car in my garage. Stand by. I will find out first thing in the AM. Thanks for your help man, I really appreciate it.

PeterUbers

have they checked the brake switch - need they to be working for the car to go into park

youve read through this I think

https://mbworld.org/forums/w212-amg/...into-park.html

UncleSnakeE63

Would that throw a code? The fact that there are no codes at all, and that previously they could not talk to the ISM, and now they can, leads me to think its something minor, but I am not a mechanic.

PeterUbers

not necessarily . No

if you jiggle the brake pedal down and get the park to work - maybe it's brake switch ... still doesn't rule out if this procedure doesn't work

if park occurs when door is open then trans is fine and circuit to put into park is good

two new shifter plates suggests it's not shifter plate - could it be gunk in the connectors? I would be using crc cleaner in these harness connectors as this is a common area coffee and drinks are spilled and they can permeate down to the floor and other harnesses around there - a while center console tear down and cleaning

UncleSnakeE63

Got some more info for you...So I had a 15 minute conversation with the tech whos working my car today. He said that upon cold start it will not go into reverse or drive, but if you let it idle for 15 or 20 minutes everything clears up. Upon start, its throwing all sorts of codes - Cannot communicate with shifter, CAN communication issue, low voltage issue. Once it idles and warms up, the codes go away and it drives like it normally would. With all of this, hes about positive its some electrical issue, and its probably what caused the ISM to go out to begin with. Now comes the long, tedious job of testing each hub of wires and each connection until we fine the culprit. He said its become personal with him, so hes determined to fix it. Im at my wits end, and my wife wants me to sell it. She is convinced that there is no way to fix it, which I told her is ridiculous. Have you, or anybody else here heard of anything like this? Its like once the battery gets enough juice from the alternator everything runs like its supposed to. Gotta be an issue with a CAN somewhere I think.

PeterUbers

it's heat, conduction, resistance; once this all warms up the conduction is above a threshold I suspect to conduct signals appropriately

happens at times

there is a bad ground, gum in a harness affecting conduction, or wire issue with resistance issues

i still think there is spilled cafe latte or machiato in the center consult on a wire loom/harness

your wife is smart and she's not emotionally invested in the cache of an e63 - she sees a money trap and wants you to a) cut your losses and b) personally and emotionally move on from this so there is calm in the house lol (kidding not kidding)

UncleSnakeE63

LOL! She’s not emotionally invested, she’s just emotional in general. What sucks is this car was her idea to begin with! Now I’m the one obsessed with it. I know we are on the home stretch here. It’s just maddening to have to keep waiting and having new issues pop up. Do you think maybe this electrical issue is what originally caused the ISM to crap out in the first place?

PeterUbers

I haven't a clue - did you actually need a new ISM in the first place?

UncleSnakeE63

Honestly…. And I dread to even think this, but I’m leaning to no at this point SMH…

UncleSnakeE63

Just got an update - the tech was finally able to locate the cause of the voltage dropping issues. There is a short coming from one specific CAN bus that he has isolated. He’s sure this is the cause of all the issues I’ve been having. Now all he has to do is isolate the specific wire and we’re in business. Also I’m starting to think this has been the cause of all my issues to begin with and the ISM wasn’t bad at all….which really sucks. But oh well. Nothing I can do about it now.

PeterUbers

Once it's fixed FORGET about this inconvenience and lost cash - money comes and goes - just enjoy the car and reset the love affair with the E63

UncleSnakeE63

Yeah I’m fine. It is what it is. I’m financially fine with paying it. I just want my beast back!

UncleSnakeE63

Shes finally fixed and running good again! I’m picking it up in the morning. Turns out you were right. I believe you said one of the connectors in the CAN bus was dirty or damaged or something. The tech cleaned everything up and all the codes went away and everything is back running tip top. Although, he did find another problem. I mentioned in another thread how there is always a loud fan running when I turn the car off? Well turns out that’s the oil cooling fan, and the dash is not displaying the oil temp. So as a fail safe it kicks the fan on high speed constantly. Not ready to really open that can of worms up yet honestly. I’ve searched here and seen numerous people with the same problem…

PeterUbers

congrats dude! Thank you for these updated they truly help so many people. Ugh about the oil temp sensor -- maybe next month you can deal with that. Sounds like you found a great tech - do you have your old ISM? Maybe eBay it

UncleSnakeE63

Yeah I figured it would be good to keep updating the thread because these seem like common issues unfortunately. Honestly I’m thinking about upgrading soon to a newer e63, or maybe a c class AMG with less miles. IDK. I’ve got the old ISM but they want me to return it to the dealer that I bought it from. Interesting that they let me just buy it with no questions asked. I was under the impression that it was one of their theft resistance parts and you had to jump thru hoops to be able to purchase them? They just let me walk in and buy it no problem.

UncleSnakeE63

I have a not so happy ending to all this. I went to pick my car up from the shop today and the tech tells me that it took 15 minutes for him to be able to put it into D after a cold start this morning. He hooked it up to his scanner and it couldn’t read the shifter module. I just paid my 1400 bucks and took the car home. He said he cannot do any more with what he’s got and I need to take it to the dealer. Again. I’ve driven it twice since it got it and it’s been perfect both times. Idk what to do at this point. I think I’m just gonna cut my losses and sell it for whatever I can get. Smh…

PeterUbers

Sorry to hear dude - how much have you spent on this issue and how much did you spend on the car?

UncleSnakeE63

Paid $18,000 for the car, have spent about $2000 so far to try and get it back on the road.

PeterUbers

what's it worth right now on trade

UncleSnakeE63

Private Party roughly $20,000
Trade In roughly $18,000
At least thats according to kbb.com
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PeterUbers

Warm it up real good ... then go trade this in for a 2014+ e63S

UncleSnakeE63

I'm SERIOUSLY considering trading it in for something more reliable with less miles. Only thing is that I love having an AMG in my garage. Such an amazing car to drive.

Oh, and how about I just went out to the garage to start it up to see if it went into gear as it should, and everything worked flawlessly. No issues whatsoever. I don't get it. The tech made it seem like every day when you start it for the first time, you had to wait 15-20 minutes for it to go into gear. Its weird, man. Before I started all this repair madness, IDK if you recall, but I was getting an "Auxiliary Battery Malfunction" warning, and when I would get into the car it showed a red warning that said "Vehicle not in P", before I started the engine. Both of those things are now fixed. But, now for some reason, I get a warning that there is a malfunction with my SRS Airbag system. I think its pretty obvious at this point that I still have some sort of electrical issue going on. Also, could the issue with the shifter be due to the Aux battery needing to be replaced? I used to roll around everyday with the ground wire unplugged on that battery just so it would go into gear.

PeterUbers

it's easy enough to replace the aux battery -- $80 on fcp euro ... you can always return it

its unlikely aux battery will fix a shifter that works when warmed up