Well, as some of you know my 300E was not starting, I tried to fix it but no go so I brought it to a local shop (one of the only ones around here that would actually work on my car). Today they called me and told me I needed a Ignition Control Module and said it would be about $1800 for the Module, a new coil and labor. First off, what is the Ignition Control Module and what does it do? Also does this seem like a fair price? They told me I could buy my own parts and they would install them, would this be more cost effective and does Partsshop carry high ticket items like this? Thanks for your help, it is much appreciated.

pezzy,

Many electronic parts are available refurbished. Do you get the Star magazine? There are adds for such parts in there. It's also possible that Steve Brotherton rebuilds them or has a source for rebuilt ones. The parts shop may have a connection as well.

The ICM is basically a module that senses the crankshaft trigger, engine vacuuam and the coolant sensor, and maybe something additional to those signals. From this information it triggers the coil at the correct advance position providing a properly timed spark. If you will, it is a computerized distributor providing calculated centrifugal and vacuum advance.

What were the systems? Was the car running at all, or was it just down on power?

Have a great day,

Good evening, Adam --

Without having diagnosed your car personally, my guess is that this shop is fishing and your money is the bait. With the understanding that we have no information other than what is in your message, what is the likelihood of both the ignition control module and the coil failing _at_the_same_time? And -- I would say that it is unlikely that your ignition control module is bad, but, of course, it could be -- but I would definitely take it to someone like Donnie or one of the other pros on this site before spending $1800 (or, roughly 1/3 the current price of your car) on a part that is about the size of your hand.

I have purchased parts from a very large MB wholesale dealership for years and my parts guy there says that this module is (incorrectly) diagnosed so much, that they will not even sell the part to a DIYer or a shop besides their own. This should tell you something.

However, if a shop definitely determines that the module is faulty, go to someone like http://www.atlanta-stuttgart.com/ and purchase a used one (for probably $200 at most) and tell 'em I sent you and they owe me one.

If you want to see what they want $1800 for, open your hood, look at the pancake-thickness box on the driver's inner fender near the front with the fat wires connected. The coil is in front of it and further toward the radiator . . .

Richard Easley
Waco, Texas
http://hsb.baylor.edu/html/easley/home.htm

Plus when you were trying to get the car running again, didn't you just purchase a new coil from the dealer? Seems I remember you writing the you did.

Tommorrow I am going to the shop to talk to them about it. I also talked to them tonight and they said that the $1800 was way off cause it was for a different engine. They said that a brand new ICU for my car will cost around $600, and that they would not replace the coil since it is new anyways. That box with the crankshaft position pickup and a couple of other plugs is the ICU? They were telling me it would be about 6 hrs of labor to replace that, but is that thing pretty easy to get off there?

Unless there is some massive confusion here, I believe that six hours would leave about 5 1/2 hours, or maybe 5 3/4 hours for lunch.

None of this is adding up.

I suggest that you find another shop for a second opinion,

I just got back from the shop and they have straigtened out a few things. The said it would only be 1 hour labor to replace the module (I guess the lady I talked too was kinda confused about everything). They also said that if that does not fix my car then they would take the parts off and I would not pay for the parts or labor so I am going to call around and try to find a used or rebuilt one that I can return if it is defective or does not fix my problem. It still is going to be kinda pricey though depending on how much the unit costs, If I bought my own part I would only be paying the shop somewhere around $150 for the towing, diagnostics and labor. Does anyone happen to know the part #? I think it starts with 000 or 008 but I cant really remember, partsshop does offer some used and rebuilt units for anywhere from $300-1200. Thanks for all your help.

Well I bought a used ignition control module for $150. The mechanic who is working on my car told me that bad coils fry the ignition control module and apparently my old coil was bad (I found an authorized bosch service center to test it). Total cost for the parts, labor, diagnostics and towing is going to be around $300 which really isnt that bad considering a brand new module would cost somewhere around $1100. Thanks for all your help.

1985 380sl
 

Is there a way to test the ICM on my 1985 380SL?