Ok guys here’s a strange question. Three weeks ago our ‘94 C220 (100,000 Km) refused to start. It turned over just fine… just wouldn’t fire up. Next day it was fine. No “Check Engine” light. Two weeks ago same problem.

Flatbedded it to the MB Dealer. Wouldn’t start when it was unloaded so the techs pushed it into the service bay –whereupon it would start!

They hooked it up to their diagnostic equip. and couldn’t find anything wrong. So… I loaned it to the service advisor for a week to see if he had any problems.

A week later he phoned saying they were stumped. Car ran just fine… although he mentioned the heater/AC fan seemed to be “surging”. Probably “blower regulator”.

Last Friday “Check Engine” light came on - but the car seemed to run Ok. I took it to the MB Dealer on Monday for a code download and clear.

They performed the following tests:
541011 - Short test
271210 - Delayed upshift system
801290 – Pneumatic test – Manifold vacuum assist

The service advisor said “No shorts detected”, “No vacuum leaks detected” and that it needed an “Upshift delay cable”. He presented me with a repair estimate of $524.50 (+ tax) and a bill for $185.73 for diagnostics. He wouldn’t say what the OBDII code was and didn’t clear the memory.

On the way home I stopped into the local “Independent” garage (who does all of the maintenance on my Jeep) to see what they had to say. They hooked up their generic “SnapOn” scanner, obtained an error code P1700 (unknown fault), cleared the memory and sent me on my way 10 minutes later – NO CHARGE!

A search of this site for “P1700” shows a thread “Mysterious Check Engin/Climate Control conection”

Seeing as my Heater/AC fan is surging and I have a P1700 code is it possible they are connected – even though the dealer says “No vacuum leaks detected”?

What should I do to verify?

Would this P1700 problem be related to why the car would intermittently refuse to start?

Are these repair and diagnostic costs reasonable?