97 e300 check engine and other lights
 

While driving the ABS light, Brake wear lining light, the ETS light, and the antilock light come on, the speedo drops to zero. thea car will not shift out of the gears that it is in. I a short time the speedo comes back on ans the car will shift. The Check engine electronics light also comes on.
Any ideas?

Hi,
I do have a same problem with a 2000 C230 Kompressor. Unfortunately no one can give any help. I see that your result is similar.... Tomorrow I am going to bring it to a MB service (not a dealership). If I am going to gain some knowledge (surtely loosing some $) then I am going to let you know!
Paul

Have the battery and altenator checked for proper voltage. Occasionally mine will do that if I left the lights on, or too many short trips. Once the battery was replaced it went away.

Check the alternator. A lot of times the alternator will overcharge or not charge at all. The electronics are very sensitive to voltage spikes and low voltage situations. If you want to do the diagnosis yourself...hook up a voltage meter so that you will be able to read the voltage as you drive the vehicle. I use a voltmeter that records so that I can keep my eyes on the road. The problem is not uncommon at all.

I had the battery replaced a short time ago but the problem still is there. I got a reply from Mat who had the same problem and it turned out to be a shorted engine wire harness. I will have my mechanic check the voltage. I really do not have the tools to do any of the work so I will take all the sugestions and take the car in and have them all done at once. If we find out what the problem is I will post the resolution. I am amazed at how helpful everybody is.
Thank you

Have you been driving around watching your battery voltage as reported on your CCU as was suggested in your prior post?

I Really Don't Have The Equipment Or The Know How To Check The Voltage While Driving. I Have A Volt Meter But Would Not Have A Clue As To What To Do. I Am Taking The Suggestions To My Mechanic And Let Him Do The Testing.
Jim

What is the CCU and where is it

Jim

Hi,
As I promised to you yesterday, I am back with the solution. Since my car had the same problem, I brought it to a MB service. The reason is a faulty Speed Sensor on the rear axle. Due to the fault, the computer does not allow the gearbox to shift into higher gears. The labor, part and taxes (I live in California) are $376.00. Surely the best if you can find a MB shop (not necessarily a dealer) to take care of it. In case you don't have independent MB repair station bring it to a dealer's shop. Please note that the computer is going to read the problem correctly when the car is in the faulted (several warning lights are on) mode!! Good luck,
Paul

CCU is your climate control unit.

press and hold "rest" for 5 seconds to get into diagnostic mode. use left or right "auto" button to toggle to item number 22 or 24(?). Should be 13.1 or 13.3 volts.

press rest or turn engine off to exit.

Terry, Thank you. I will monitor while driving to see what it reads. I looked #24 a few minutes ago and it reads 13.1 but that is just sitting in the parking lot.

Jim

See my post #10: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/116557-95-e320-asr-abs-lights.html

Check the negative battery cable where it connects to the chassis under the rear passenger seat. It may look good at first glance, but remove the connecting nut and inspect underneath; you may be surprised at what you find.

I will check the battery connection this weekend. The car came from the Boston area and I have had some rust problems around the rear qtr panels. Maybe corrosion is more widespread.
Jim

One thing you want to check is if the erratic warning light behavior disappears with a fully charged battery. Put it on a trickle charger overnight and then drive to see if the issue is gone; if so, then you probably are in fact looking at a bad ground issue. My issue would go away when I charged the battery, then it would slowly return over a few hours of driving and I would occasionally have to jump start due to low battery.

Jim,

Just wondering if you have any updates?? Has the problem occurred again? My similar issue is back.