[Marten Eriksson]

I'm living in Japan for a couple of years and just bought an SL500 here. The first two days of driving were smooth and just as expected but on the third day of driving the car wouldn't start. It cranks and sometimes catches but the engine dies almost immediately.
The problem started on Sunday morning after the car had been driven on Saturday afternoon without any issue. The battery is not in perfect shape, but I've taken it out and recharged and still no help to the situation.
I'm supposed to tow it to the dealer next week for diagnosis and a cost estimate for the repair.
Could it be just the battery which is causing all the problems?

 

[RKH]

Don't know how thing are in Japan and how much Dealers are charging but I can assume all MB Dealers Charge $$$.
So if it is my car I would first test the battery. You don't want to spend the money for towing to Dealer just to find out it was the battery. Battery needs to be tested with special tester under load, not just a volt meter. Most places that sell batteries should be able to do that.
If your battery is not in "perfect shape" as you said, may be just replace it as the electronics in our car are very sensitive to weak batteries.

By the way, DO NOT jump start the car without reading the owner's manual. It could damage the various VERY EXPENSIVE electronic controllers.

 

[crash2478]

You may have a bad ignition switch.

 

[eric242340]

Looks like a crankshaft position sensor problem.

 

[Marten Eriksson]

Thank you for your replies. It seems that there could be numerous problems. Since the problem started suddenly (overnight) I think something may be broken even though the battery could well be an issue in itself. Turns out I may be able to tow the car for free as part of my insurance policy so I might just do that to get it diagnosed.

 

[elbeik]

I'm with Ray on this one; start with the easy parts.

Once a battery starts acting out, it needs replacement.

Does the battery light flash out on your dashboard?

 

[Marten Eriksson]

A quick update on the situation. The dealer finished their diagnosis today (the car was towed there yesterday) and gave their estimate for the repair cost. The reason for the car was not starting was simple - a blown fuse. However, this was not the root cause. The root cause for the blown fuse (as understood by my in my broken japanese) was the wiring harness for the side mirror which shares the same fuse.
I understand that fixing the harness will remedy this situation, however at the same time it sounds a little bit overkill, especially considering the quoted price for the repair - regardless of if it is under warranty or not (still unclear on this situation).
I should have checked the fusebox better, but with limited tools available here and this being a new car to me (as in three weeks), I didn't realize that the fuse for the side mirrors was shared with the fuel pump.

 

[Marten Eriksson]

The problem is now fixed. Finally, we reached an agreement that we will not replace the mirrors, instead we just removed the possibility to adjust them. This prevents the short and keeps the fuse intact. The car is now functioning as possible. We did not replace the battery or anything else besides the blown fuses. Since the objective is to take the car from Japan after my assignement ends, this was the most reasonable thing to do at the moment. I will then work on the mirrors at a later point when I have more time and tools on my hand.