On my Mercedes Benz C180 (1997-model) the LCD panel for outside temperature, odometer and clock (bottom instruments) has started to disappear during rides. The only way to make them reappear is to stop and start the engine. About the same time this started happening, the engine started to have problems. The engine suddenly lose almost all power, and it gets a rough idle. Restarting the engine fixes the problem.

I suspect that these two problems are related, because they once occured at exactly the same time. The problem usually happen once every ride (10 km), but seems pretty random.

Just got back from the car shop, and they told me the engine computer reported that there had been a misfiring on cylinder #4. They did not find the cause of the problem, but suspected that is was an electrical fault. They told me the problem could be difficult to diagnose. I got the car back for the weekend to see if their fiddling had solved anything. The problem reappeared on my way home from the shop.

It is pretty cold up here in Norway at the moment (below 20 degrees celsius), but the car has worked fine at this temperature for the last 13 years.

Has anyone experienced similar problems? Any tips?

Thanks in advance! -Baard

I had a similar problem with the misfire code and it was either plugs or the connector under the coil. I changed both so I don't know which it was. The connector is a common failure point on these. (they all checked fine on my multimeter as far as I could tell). I will assume you did not go to a Mercedes mechanic or they would know this.

I don't think the dash problem is related. You might try searching. I could be wrong however.

__________________
1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

Seems like I've found a way to reproduce the dashboard problem. If I quickly reverse the car after driving forward, the display disappeared on the last two attempts. I guess there must be a bad connection somewhere.

Changed the HT leads and all spark plugs, and both problems are now gone. Changing the HT leads only did not solve the problem. Seems like the problem was caused by a broken spark plug. *Crossing fingers*