1996 e320 no crank!!

[Chemanic]

of course it's the wife's car,complaining of rough running,strange smell as she drives home. gets the car into the driveway notices some dashboard codes one being battery charge and the other esp or "e" something, not sure.stalls out and now it will not crank. new battery reads 12.58, fuel pump energizes all dash lights come up,no crank.crawl under car check power through neutral safety switch, gets power,pull out k40 relay solder joints appear ok.jump 12v to purple wire on driver's side as suggested in previous post on this topic and all i got was the fuel pump to energize.the tried and true method of banging on the starter failed as did the screwdriver across the starter terminals. i am opting that the starter is dead however since that seems to be the obvious,it's got to be something else. this brings me to the point

can someone describe the removal procedure for this particular starter, it looks awfull tight up there, with the starter on the bench i can start the isolation process
thanks

[stevebfl]

If I recall the control of the starter is in the cycle module (N65) which is part of the side of the electrical center. It of course must see either neutral or park and probably a security release. But direct power to the 50 term on the starter comes from a relay within this module. Do you have power on term 50 of the starter?

[Matt L]

My '96 E300 (diesel) happily cranks without authorization, but will not start (along with alternating red and green lamps on the interior mirror). I wouldn't be surprised if his acts the same way. Of course, I also wouldn't be terribly surprised if it didn't.

[Chemanic]

hey steve thanks for the reply, if terminal 50 is the big lug at the starter yes it is hot. it's late in the day now but as soon as i can find an assistant to hold the key in the start position i can tell you if the smaller terminal gets power.the n65, is it located on driver's side fuse console flat metal cover

[Chemanic]

well my friends i think the jury is in.terminal 50 12v solenoid gets power when key is in start position starting circuit appears to be functioning

can anyone walk me through the removal/replacement of the starter on a w210

thanks, i hope that wasn't too loud

[MB STARS]

Disconnect battery cable under rear seat,remove under bottom engine compartment panel disconnect cable and wire to starter motor unscrew bolt of starter,install in the reverse order.

[Chemanic]

thanks MBSTARS, did not see service panel, need to take a better look!
thanks

[Arthur Dalton]

Before pulling starter, I would check the engine ground strap.
You can have 12v positive at the starter solinoid terminal 50 with the key in the Start position , verifying starer voltage , but both the starter motor and the starter solinoid need a ground to complete the circuit..if no ground, you would have the exact complaint you are having.
An easy test for this is to put a jumper cable from the Battery neg to the engine block and retry the start procedure.
I only mention this b/c you say you jumpered the starter direct across the load side terminals of the solinoid, [ if I read you correctly]and that would spin the starter even without the solinoid. But it would not with a bad ground ...

[Chemanic]

thanks men, r/r the starter and the wife is back on the road.

[manny]

Originally Posted by Chemanic

the wife is back on the road.

Is she coming back ?