After trying to diagnose an intermittent no-start that turned into a full blown never start problem, the dealer came back with an ignition switch wire that had shorted.

I replaced the CPS. I verified 55 PSI fuel pressure at the fuel rail. I had spark while cranking the starter – but no start. There was a MAF sensor reading on the OBDII, but that would not keep it from starting. I was at my wits end.

I broke down and towed the ML to the local Mercedes dealer – Jackie Cooper Imports. I asked they run some diagnoses on the car to determine the issue. They quoted me $100 for a minimum diagnoses, and $180 for an “in-depth” diagnosis. They had it two days because they were busy, and I was not in a hurry. They gave me a call on the second day and stated they traced the no-start issue to a shorted ignition wire inside the steering column. Total cost to fix $594.14 for a wire. Actually it was the center wiring assembly inside the switch. I was told they dropped the steering column and replace the harness inside the switch. I also asked the booked hour rate for R&R the column to get an idea of that cost. It was 5.5 hours, up to 6.1 hours. Their shop rate is $98.95 per hour.

Anyway, just thought I would share since people seem to very seldom reply back with the actual fix. And if you haven’t already had this issue, there is something else to factor in to an intermittent no-start problem.

Thanks for the feed-back. Sorry to hear it was so costly.

__________________
MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
ASE Master Technician
Mercedes Benz Star Technician (2 times)
44 years foreign automotive repair
27 Years M.B. Shop foreman (dealer)
MB technical information Specialist (15 years)
190E 2.3 16V ITS SCCA race car (sold)
1986 190E 2.3 16V 2.5 (sold)
Retired Moderator

I wonder what the diagnostic flow chart for that one looked like.

__________________
Michael LaFleur

'05 E320 CDI - 86,000 miles
'86 300SDL - 360,000 miles
'85 300SD - 150,000 miles (sold)
'89 190D - 120,000 miles (sold)
'85 300SD - 317,000 miles (sold)
'98 ML320 - 270,000 miles (sold)
'75 300D - 170,000 miles (sold)
'83 Harley Davidson FLTC (Broken again) :-(
'61 Plymouth Valiant - 60k mikes
2004 Papillon (Oliver)
2005 Tzitzu (Griffon)
2009 Welsh Corgi (Buba)

Thanks for letting us know what the fix was