Hey all, i bought a used e320 about a year ago. 248k miles on the body/electronics, engine and transmission were rebuilt (there was a lawsuit involved with a bad oil change incident, i won't get into it!).
A little back story before i get into the no crank- no start issue:
Electrical problems:
First thing i noticed with this car was that the turn signals werent working. The seller told me it was a switch that needed to be replaced, and at the time i trusted him, but i don't anymore. However, I found that pressing the key a bit to the right while in ignition caused the signals to work. In fact, I could jiggle the key a bit and they'd work for some time. However, overtime this temporary trick stopped working. Now the signals very very rarely get any response. Additionally, my radio stopped turning on. The AC only works if the signals are working. Additionally the car seats do not adjust properly via their buttons, and are very glitchy (backwards goes forwards etc). Head rest buttons do not work.
Poor Condition Key FOB:
The fob is missing the lock button cover (circuit and switch exposed) and its condition has been getting worse and worse. This hasnt caused issues with key recognition, but instead has correlated (i think) with more issues starting, getting turn signals to work, and locking car. Unlock button and trunk open buttons have never worked.
So, now that i've explained the car issues a bit, here's an description of the crank/start issue and what i've had to do to make it work.
Current/major problem is the key fob is recognized, turns in ignition, but car wont start at all. Nothing happens when I turn the key, maybe a faint click but that’s it. this issue has progressively gotten worse over the last year. At first it would start pretty reliably, then it would take a few tries, and often i would push/jiggle the key to the right side of the ignition while turning over to get starts more consistently. Now, I get abs/bas errors every time it starts (before it was occasionally) and when i try to start again it takes countless times. I want to clarify, I have a poor condition fob. The only thing that's helped in times of starting is to open my fob up, spray electrical cleaner, and then reconnect. Since this car has had this issue, cleaning the fob always improves starts. In fact, cleaning the fob use to improve the functioning of the turn signals and AC as well, as i described above. However, even with cleaning the key as helping, the no crank no start problem is so much worse now that it's concerning.
I know theres a lot of info here, but my question is, what is the best cost effective way to approach sorting out this problem? Should a new key be priority? Should i try to replace the starter relay first, or is there anything i should inspect in specific?
A little back story before i get into the no crank- no start issue:
Electrical problems:
First thing i noticed with this car was that the turn signals werent working. The seller told me it was a switch that needed to be replaced, and at the time i trusted him, but i don't anymore. However, I found that pressing the key a bit to the right while in ignition caused the signals to work. In fact, I could jiggle the key a bit and they'd work for some time. However, overtime this temporary trick stopped working. Now the signals very very rarely get any response. Additionally, my radio stopped turning on. The AC only works if the signals are working. Additionally the car seats do not adjust properly via their buttons, and are very glitchy (backwards goes forwards etc). Head rest buttons do not work.
Poor Condition Key FOB:
The fob is missing the lock button cover (circuit and switch exposed) and its condition has been getting worse and worse. This hasnt caused issues with key recognition, but instead has correlated (i think) with more issues starting, getting turn signals to work, and locking car. Unlock button and trunk open buttons have never worked.
So, now that i've explained the car issues a bit, here's an description of the crank/start issue and what i've had to do to make it work.
Current/major problem is the key fob is recognized, turns in ignition, but car wont start at all. Nothing happens when I turn the key, maybe a faint click but that’s it. this issue has progressively gotten worse over the last year. At first it would start pretty reliably, then it would take a few tries, and often i would push/jiggle the key to the right side of the ignition while turning over to get starts more consistently. Now, I get abs/bas errors every time it starts (before it was occasionally) and when i try to start again it takes countless times. I want to clarify, I have a poor condition fob. The only thing that's helped in times of starting is to open my fob up, spray electrical cleaner, and then reconnect. Since this car has had this issue, cleaning the fob always improves starts. In fact, cleaning the fob use to improve the functioning of the turn signals and AC as well, as i described above. However, even with cleaning the key as helping, the no crank no start problem is so much worse now that it's concerning.
I know theres a lot of info here, but my question is, what is the best cost effective way to approach sorting out this problem? Should a new key be priority? Should i try to replace the starter relay first, or is there anything i should inspect in specific?
