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slk 230k r170 turn the key nothing happens

8K views 6 replies 7 participants last post by  dglad 
#1 ·
year 2000 slk 230k R170

several times over the past couple of months on turning the key nothing at all happened all lights came on but did not turn over,,( usually in the morning) battery showed full on its indicator, tricle charged the battery and it was fine.
when it happened the 3rd time I bought a heavier duty battery and it was ok until tonight when we had the same issue.
wife kept turning the key and rocked car slightly and it just started before I got there( this did not work the other times)
Any thoughts??
Could it be a sticking starter motor ?
Gear selector?
Grateful for any help

Thank you
 
#4 ·
I'm thinking your starter moter is getting stuck while it tries to engage/disengage with the flywheel. Symptoms of this could include:
  • Dash lights appear fine.
  • Engine does not turn over with key in start position.
  • Dash lights may dim slightly with key in start position.
  • May hear click when moving key to start position.
  • If manual transmission, rocking car in gear may temporarily fix.
  • Manually turning engine slightly by hand (or wrench) may temporarily fix.
 
#5 ·
these cars require decent batteries to fire them up. how many CCA (cold cranking amps) is the battery? it should be on the sticker somewhere.

also if possible check the battery voltage when car is off, and while trying to crank/start.

a failed starter is pretty rare in these cars (but is possible). when you put the key in the igntion it does turn freely? and no weird errors on the dash or messages such as "START ERROR" (indicating imboilizer)?

try also starting from N, instead of P and also try starting with your foot on the brake to see if that works...

id say the likely issue is in order
1) weak battery / dirty terminals / or battery with not sufficiant CCA
2) possible imboilizer issue. try with spare car key and check battery in car key
3) check fuses in engine bay
4) gear selector switch. try in N
5) maybe brake switch

still hesitant to say if its starter as if its failed it will still make noise (like a clicking noise) but not turn over. if its making no noise its not getting voltage...
 
#6 ·
The fact that it started after trickle charging and again after new battery. makes me wonder if you don't have a parasitic drain. In other words, the computer system(s) on the car does not go in sleep mode and thus draining the battery just sufficient for the car not to start (< 12V).
 
#7 ·
This could be the 'No Start No Crank' issue that the SLK R170 is known to suffer from. Step by step guide on how to fix a common problem with the K40 Relay unit in a R170 series Mercedes Benz SLK 230 can be found on 'YouTube' at . Hope this will help. Dglad.
 
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