Year. 2001
Make. bercedes-benz
Model. c320
Miles on the car. 80,000
Geographic location = Federal Way, near Seattle

hello. currently i am living in federal way, washington state.

couple days ago, we had horrible storm in washington.

my car was working fine, however, on friday night,

my alarm was going on but i couldnt hear it. im guessing the alarm

was running for couple hours or so. when i heard it and went outside of

my house to check, the alarm went off by itself i did not do anything.

next day, which is saturday i had to move my car, but then i couldnt

unlock my doors. so i took out the analogue key from the key, then

unlocked the car and opened the door. when i opened the door i noticed

that there was no power, and i tried to start the car, but then i couldnt

turn my key. i thought that my battery died because of the alarm. since i

have jump cable w/ me all the time, i had my girlfriend's mom's van so i

could get some power. when i connected her battery to mine. my car

had power, i could listen to radio, could turn on the headlight, etc

i could do everything except starting the car. i could turn the key, but

i couldnt start the car. it goes "tic" when i try to start the car, but it does

not start, and nothing happens.. i do not know what to do with it. can

anybody please help me? currently im out of school for 2 weeks.. so i hope

that i will be able to fix it soon. thank you.




*ps i have more problems with my car. i had my engine oil changed.

my uncle changed it for me, but he didnt know how much he had to put

so i guess he put too much. my car had red light coming on saying

"reduce engine oil" or something like that.. then my A/C stopped working

and "EC" light came on. whenever i turned on A/C it felt like outside air

was coming in. also my car started making tapping sound. when i started

the car. it makes tapping sound for 5 minutes or so, then it stops. it was

driving me crazy, but now i got used to it. and my heater.. funny thing

about my heater is that.. my heater works fine.. but not all my heaters

work.. some of them work fine, and some of them dont work at all..

so when i turn on defroster, driver's side is clear, but passenger's side is

extremely foggy. since it didnt really distract me from driving i didnt go to

dealer or mechanic. but i guess before my school starts, i need to fix

everything. do u know whats wrong with my car? if you do.. please help

thank you.

but im guessing starting my car is the most important thing right now..

otherwise.. i had to call towing truck.. but i dont feel like calling towing truck

Call 1-800-FOR-MERC. Mercedes provides free roadside assistance, for the life of the car. They will send someone out to help you, for free. Even my 1979 450SL is eligible for free roadside assistance!

If you need a battery, they will replace it for free if you buy the battery from them.

__________________
'01 SLK320, '79 450SL & '01 C320 -- What? 3 Mercedes? I am DEFINITELY crazy!!!

these 203 series C-class like to have a new battery every four years, how old is your battery?

your A/C problem sounds like a simple pressure issue, and the EC light coming on is a failsafe mode designed in.

the car will warn you when too much oil is in the engine - get it down to the right level pronto.

Actually seems like your car is in pretty good shape, the A/C needs to be chked by a trained Mercedes tech.

o thank you so much.. by the way.. battery i changed it last year

and my girlfriend's dad works for electricity company so he checked

my battery but he thinks that i got ripped off cuz it looks like they opened

it up and stuff.. so should i call the merc dealer?(1-800-FOR-MERC)

my car was in excellent shape.. im afraid to hear that i ruined my car..

because it was my first vehicle. after i ruined my vehicle, i learned

how to take care of my car.. i am very disappointed at myself.

o also.. how do i check how much oil do i need? my uncle was looking for

some kind of metal stick or w/e that u check how much u have for usual

japanese cars, etc. and how much do i need to put for C320? and what kind?

The tapping noise you are hearing.....if it is coming from the dash it is a broken air direction flap inside the dashboard mine ticks like crazy and sometimes shuts off. I also get the half defrosted windshield. The dealer quoted me $800 to fix it so I am waiting till income tax time and with the mild winter we are having I am not in a rush.

Your uncle was looking for a dipstick. These cars don't have one. You check the oil by using the car's computer and information display. The process is explained in the owner's manual.

If there is ONE car where it's necessary to read the owner's manual thoroughly, this is it.

__________________
'01 SLK320, '79 450SL & '01 C320 -- What? 3 Mercedes? I am DEFINITELY crazy!!!

oh.. darn.. 800 bucks lol im a high school kid.. and i dont even have a job..

crap.. im gonna call mercedes right now.. so i can at least start my car..

so im gueesing we have exactly same thing.. jeez... do u know what

caused this?

maybe i should sell this car, and buy new one.. darn.. if i sell it should i

fix everything and sell it or should i sell it w/o fixing it?

so yea.. i didnt know i was suppose to jump for couple minutes lol my cousin told me that i need to leave it connected for 10~15 minutes lol i thought i could do it right away lol!! maybe i should do that when my friend comes over lol

No clue, I just know that is quite pricey to fix seeing the part is only $12. I was going to do it myself but when i looked into it, you have to remove the dash and various parts of the aircon system. So I decided to leave it to the dealer

bromaness-
the no-start symptoms you're describing sounds like a simple discharged battery.
so what, if your radio and lights function?...they operate at a much lower power
need, whereas cranking requires hundreds of amps.

you need to 1) check the acid level and be sure that it is topped off (distilled
water, 2) you need to get it to a trickle charger and leave it on for several hours
or overnight 3) take a specific gravity reading using a hygrometer to verify health.

yes, you can jump start the system but the car's charging system was never
designed to replenish the battery which has undergone deep discharge. only
can be done using a trickle charger. i'm sure one of your neighbors has one.
heck, you can pick up a motorcycle hygrometer for less than $10 (or borrow
that item, too).

trickle charge costs hardly anything...or free. if you take the battery to
service station, they may do this for $10. do not do fast charge. slow,
trickle charge using less than 10 amps. this is kinder and more healthy.

yeah, that was some storm last week. i had over 10,000 gallons of water
come through the house and it flowed out the back door like a river. destroyed
the new floor and carpeting we put in during the summer. hope you're dry
and power restored.

__________________
-- raymond~
47º 34'N 122º 18'W

i guess my battery just drained lol but.. is there any easier way to charge

my battery? can i just get jumped from another car and recharge it? lol