Mercedes A class 160 not starting

GAZ237

pink_princess wrote: »

From reading the link you posted, and getting sil to check the service book it does not say code 049.

Am I right in thinking that that means we have more chance of the scrap starter motor solving this?

Ideal scenario would be to fix this as cheaply as possible and get a few more months from it to allow her to save a bit.

To be honest you are just taking a gamble. My advice is to get the car read on diagnostics.
Probably around £50. And it should tell you the problem.

To fit a 2nd hand starter with labour is going to cost £400+ and its a shot in the dark. Could just be throwing that money away.

I would rather pay £50 first. Theres plenty of people on ebay who can pick your car up and deliver it to the nearest garage with the right equipment for around £50. So that's £100 to be sure its the starter.

SLITHER99

My field of (near) expertise

Do you by any chance have a second key? I have two keys for my A190.

First key is the only key which will trigger the central locking. If I use this key to drive with, all sorts of fun happens. I get the F on the dash for the autobox, no choice but to stop and pull over; I occasionally get the dash playing games with dash lights flashing; or even just the dash crashing altogether with the clocks going to zero and the readouts blanking. Most of the time, this key will plain fail to even turn the engine over.

The second key does flat zero to the central locking, despite fitting a new battery, cleaning the transponder contacts (I'm an electronics engineer by trade), no dice! However, the car drives perfectly when started with this key.

To add to the insult, my last test of this phenomenon was rather extraordinary. If I open the bonnet and start with the first key, the engine visibly struggles. It hunts, misfires and sounds terrible. If I start the car mere seconds later with key 2, it pounds into life with authority and purrs like a kitten...er... rather 17 year old moggy.

Hence, I have both on my keyring at all times! I have to!

If your key fell apart, it may be worth taking it apart and ensuring nothing is damaged or loose. If you have a second key, try starting the car with this one!

Another thing to try, look in the driver's side footwell and lift the battery cover. Disconnect the battery and leave it overnight. Amazingly, that solved a really tedious problem I was having with the gearbox making correct selections.

However, the only real solution is to get codes read. If the key is damaged and failing to disable the immobilizer, then this will show as a fault.

Be warned, all (4-5) key smiths I contacted to get a replacement key coded up turned me away. The only place is a Mercedes main dealer who will relieve you of £279. I decided to not bother and only do it if I really really needed to.

ECU/MAF: I have had this repaired. The symptoms are the car will run just fine for 10 minutes, but after this will start to choke up like the engine has no compression until it stops altogether. The car should restart after being left to cool for 30 minutes - an hour. On the lead up to this (the MAF slowly dies over time), you will get some other symptoms, such as misfiring, hunting on the rev counter, etc. However, as your car plain does not start, it is unlikely to be the MAF!

If it does turn out to be the MAF, simply extract your unit (very very easy!) and send it to ECUTesting.com for repair. They're the ONLY people to send it to! Do not buy another off ebay (you cannot code another car's ECU/MAF monolith to yours at all for any money), Mercedes will charge you £1200 for a new one and I've heard too many horror stories of BBA Reman. ECU Testing charged me £350 odd to repair mine. It's been perfect now for 2 years!

SLITHER99

FWIW... I've had my A class now for 7 years (was my missus' before that). My 2001 Ford Mondeo Mk 3 cost me several times over what the A class cost us to keep it on the road! I scrapped my Mondeo at 90k, my A190 is still chugging along at 170k needing only suspension bits here and there, servicing, some common issues resolved (which it seems no car these days is without).

They say it's the worst car you can buy and I'd agree there are some quirks you need to get used to, but mine is still rocking along.

aileth

As someone that had a 51 plate A class and had the starter motor go, £400 is cheap. No local garages would touch ours with a barge pole so we had to go through Merc and get it done for £600. Labour was two-thirds of the bill thanks to the engine drop.

We then decided to sell it a month later as the alternator went and that would require a tonne more ££££. We got £500 for it.

Cut your losses and get rid. Nothing but a huge money pit.