ML320 won't start
 

I stopped at my parents home for five minutes, tried to crank and all the dash lights went out. charged the battery and still no start. Had the battery checked and it came back as ok. It give a click and nothing. Any suggestions? it has 54k on it so tha warranty is up.

I would get a new battery or least have someone put in a battery to see if that works before you buy one.

The battery came back as 12.5 volts. all the lights work ok and it locks with the remote. I think I will try the starter.
Anyone know a good cheap place. Money is very tight at the moment.

Seriously do the battery test first, take it to a part store they can stick it on a battery tester. The lights coming on is not a sign the battery works.
m

The fact that the lights dim when you try to start the car is the best indication of a bad battery. Good luck, but before you go to the trouble of replacing a starter, make sure it's not the battery.

If you are going to throw parts at the problem, the battery is FAR cheaper than a starter.

If you are from the "old school" of car ownership, an anemic battery could still turn the starter (albeit, very slowly). This would make an easy case for the battery.

Cars since the mid-80's are a lot smarter. The engine management systems measure the output from the battery, and if it is insufficient to crank the starter, it will shunt the circuit to the starter solenoid, so you won't get anything but a "click"!

I have witnessed this in every car I've owned since '86, and 100% of the time, the battery was the culprit!

Thanks for all the help. I had the battery checked at NAPA and my ohm meter. It came back within reasonable readings. Took the starter off and tested by connecting battery charger to posts on starter and it did spin, so ruled out the starter. I got frustrated and called Mercedes on Call and they just replced the battery and it fired up. Tech told me that he gets at least 2 of these calls for roadside assist a day. My first guess was the battery, but when I got a good reading, I started to look elsewhere. Thank GOD for simple solutions. was begining to think I had locked the engine.
The Benz is back....
Thanks again this is a great forum.

I'm happy that's all it was. jeff