Car now at Merc dealer for fixing, but out of interest; a good friend was bowling along on the motorway at night in his (2000 or 2001 I think) C320 Estate when it suffered total electrical failure. Headlights, instrumentation, radio, engine - the lot - without warning save for a helpful "STOP!" caption in the instrument cluster. I would normally say "Earth" for something like this, but unless the instrument cluster has a backup battery, this appears unlikely to be the cause.
Ideas?
Nothing apparently relevant in the CBCB.
As I say, the car's at a Merc dealer who couldn't fix it immediately, but it's got me interested.
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I would normally say earth too SjB, but i bet the dealer will say "ECU gone sir.Thats £1439.27 for a new one"
Sudden total battery failure brought about by a charging prob?
Got me interested too.
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If I may, I'll quote the first post in the MB Club forum. It will interest the members, I'm sure, and someone may have an answer.
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If it's a 320 it must be a W203.
From HJ's own "Car-by-Car Breakdown" I see:
"Worldwide Recall: On vehicles with six and eight-cylinder petrol engines built between June 2001 and November 2004 the voltage regulator in the alternator is being checked and if necessary replaced. On E-Class and CLS-Class models made from January 2002 to January 2005, new battery control unit software is to enhance the on-board power supply."
Perhaps that's relevant.
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Thanks RJ; I missed that with the string of text I searched (CTRL-F in IE6) the CBCB with. Have passed it on to friend with the problem.
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Just learned that the car was built in.... June 2001!
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SjB
A failure of the ignition circuit or similar [tripping of the over-voltage relay?] might fit the reported symptoms.
The instruments would have had a feedback from a free-wheeling alternator for a short period which may have been enough to have powered the "stop" signal.
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Some feedback:
Fault not yet found but ruled out is the recall mentioned above; the car turns out to have been registered in June '01 and built a few months earlier. Mercedes UK records show no recalls to be outstanding against the vehicle.
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Several possibilities spring to mind to cause a total electrical failure.Detached/fractured main battery lead (under floor),fault in electronic ignition switch or failure of front SAM controller (part of front fusebox)one of the main components of the can-bus network.
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Thanks, e&ad. Will report back what is found but this will likely be in a week or so as my friend is now out of the country withi his car still at the dealer. Your first suggestion is akin to what I suggested in my original post but what puzzles me is that there was still power from somewhere to invoke the STOP! caption.
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Problem solved; alternator failure.
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Thanks for reporting back. Plenty of people viewed your original message in the MB Club forum, but no-one actually responded. They will be interested in the outcome, I'm sure.
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Problem solved; alternator failure.
>>
I hope this is correct.
I had a car with a duff alternator and I did not experience a sudden total failure. I was driving at night on unlit roads.
I easily noticed the lights getting dimmer as the battery power ran out. The lights dimming happened every time.
Perhaps he was on lit roads and did not experience his lights dimming.
On each fully charged battery I did 50 mile legs.
I did four such 50 mile trips before swopping the alternator.
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To be exact; a faulty alternator was the cause of the problems that followed but the battery had also failed, I guess as a result of overcharging. Both were replaced - with wallet over £800 lighter - and all appears to be fine.
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That's a lot of money for an alternator and a battery,even on a mercedes,fitting time couldn't be much or were there a lot of diagnostics involved?
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That's a lot of money for an alternator and a battery,even on a mercedes,fitting time couldn't be much or were there a lot of diagnostics involved?
I have no idea.
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They probably charged over £100 for the MB-branded battery and the alternator would be £400-500 as a recon (brand new I think they are £800-900). Add at least an hours labour at £100/hour and VAT and, hey presto, £800.
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Overcharging is clearly not confined to the electrical system when applied to an MB product.
659.
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If you can charge 900 quid for an alternator I'd have thought you could include a working voltage regulator. Just one more thing that assures that no matter how much money I have (one day), I'll never buy a prestige German car.
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The way to live with a prestige German car is to buy the parts yourself (possibly from Euro or GSF if they are significantly cheaper than MB) and get a competent independent specialist to fit them. Cultivate a good relationship with the guys at the parts counter in the main dealership and you can get discounts of up to 15%.
MB parts prices aren't quite as outrageous as people think; it's the dealer labour rates that spoil your day (chuck in their incompetence and a whole month may be spoiled).
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If you can charge 900 quid for an alternator I'd have thought you could include a working voltage regulator. Just one more thing that assures that no matter how much money I have (one day), I'll never buy a prestige German car.
When most people buy a 'new' alternator its actually a reconditioned one. Brand new alternators are expensive for most makes of car. Moreover, modern alternators are becoming more complex so they cost more. About 2 years ago I had to buy a recon alternator for a Passat. We couldn't find an aftermarket item at the time so had to buy recon from the VW dealer - it was, from memory, £356+VAT.
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Hi All,
Thanks for the interest in my car. With regard to the lack of warning signs (ie dimming lights) I suspect that may be a result of the car having Xenon lights which I think are either on or off and will not function if the voltage drops. I might be wrong but its all I could think of. I also had the satnav on, heated seats on, stereo on high and was travelling 'with pace!' perhaps it was just too much on a unit that was on its way out anyway.
Anyway, the car is being replaced this weekend by a new V6 E320CDi, lets hope that proves to be trouble free.
PS The guesses on the breakdown of the bill from MB were spot on.
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