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2002 S430 wont crank, wont do anything.

11K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  tusabes 
#1 ·
go to start the car and nothing. has been running perfect over last 6 months.

last month went to start it and nothing. "ESP" & "BAS" showed up. had to have the car towed to my mechanic, NOT mb certified. hooked it up to the computer and he said he reset it, vehicle started right up. 4 attempts later it does not start again. mechanic resets the computer again and it starts up.

he tells me to take it to the dealership to have the computer factory reset. take it to MB dealer and they say they can't just reset the computer but can replace the "ME" cpu but that wont 100% fix the issue, more of a starting point. price was quoted at $2200.

i've tried to find this part online and have not found anything.

any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.
 
#2 ·
Hi,

Welcome to the Forum.

Firstly, as I think you already realise MB are just guessing, yeah, OK it might be the ME, but it could be 1000 + other issues :wink

First thing, get the Battery "Drop Load Tested", and if it is even slightly suspect, fit a real decent brand new battery :wink

If that is not the cure, what you need to do is find someone in your area, (a good MB Indie), preferably recommended, with SDS (which is MB's Factory Diagnostic System).
Forget all the other cheap rubbish available, that claims it does MB, because they never go far enough in depth, some worse than others............. SDS is the kiddie :wink

There may be a forum member near you who will see this who has this kit and will be able to do this for you :wink

Get a full (i.e every system on the car) code read done.
If there is a ton of codes, get it cleared, get them to drive it until the fault re occurs, and then re read, to see what has come back :wink

Ask the Indie what he recommends needs replaced, and post the Codes and his advice here, then we can advise you further.

Don't fall into the trap of changing this and that in the hope that it cures it, that will get real expensive real quick :crying

HTH,

Cheers Dave
 
#5 · (Edited)
Hi,

I realise that Tusabes has suggested this as a "work around", but I'd really only consider this as the very very last option :wink

Disconnecting the Battery just horrifies me, not just on MB, but on many many 'modern' electronic cars............
You have to go round normalising everything like windows, sunroof etc etc every time :frown

Another very important thing is that all the adaptives in things like ME and TCU etc etc that will go back to base line settings each time ...........

Car will not drive correctly.

Get us the SDS codes first and we will try to help you fix it properly :wink

If ME really is bad, (I don't think so though), then your cheapest proper fix is either send ME to a specialist ECU repairer, or buy the set of Matching ME, Shifter, Key(s) and EIS ............... But we are getting ahead here, get some codes posted here first :wink

HTH,

Cheers Dave
 
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#8 ·
Hello, I'm pretty new to this forum, I also have the same problems with intermittent starting no crank no start I have a 2001 S430 V8 first thing in the morning I get in it fires right up after driving it for a while and the car is warm it does not want to start sometimes if I just hold the key on the starting position it will fire up that's random one thing I did notice when I look at my temperature gauge I will know if my car is going to start or not cuz if I put the key on the on position and I look at the temperature gauge if it moves up the car will fire up if it doesn't move then it won't start does anybody have any ideas on this is there two sensors I changed the temperature sensor but it did not change anything I have replaced the battery, starter and the starter relay any help would be well appreciated and thank you in advance

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
 
#9 · (Edited)
Welcome to the forum. As a new member, let me acquaint you with the W220 S-Class Encyclopedia, HERE

Scroll down to Post 12, Engine, and click on the link beside the title. Then look for "Car stalls when warm." You may find that you have a bad crankshaft position sensor, and it may pay to look at the way the crankshaft position sensor and camshaft position sensors interplay, in case there are symptoms you might have missed.

The crankshaft position sensors are inexpensive enough to replace yourself without further diagnosis IF you are good with tools and know your way around cars. However, because you have already replaced parts that did not fix the problem, and because you have described a symptom that might relate to your EIS (electronic ignition system), I suggest you have a certified Mercedes independent or a dealership (not you friendly mechanic around the corner) run STAR diagnostics and determine what the problem is. Otherwise, throwing parts at the problem will be very expensive.
 
#10 ·
Hmm
That's an interesting one . Usually a car that Starts fine when cold but will not start when warm has a bad crank position sensor - but in that situation the starter will still crank when warm , the car just won't fire up

You are saying the car won't even crank when warm ?

If the temp gauge normally moves when the car will fire up, and the gauge doesn't move when the car won't fire , sounds like a bad electrical connection . I would start with cleaning the main fuses under the pasenger floor
 
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