Mercedes E320 1997 stalling intermittently?

Question

Hi All

I have a 97 e320 that is driving me crazy at the moment. You can go to it in the morning ,sometimes it will start straight away and then cut out immediately, it then starts again and continues to run. drive it down the road for a short while ,then it will cut out on a regular basis. last week it stopped approx 15 times whilst driving to the local dealers 3 miles away.

The dealer put it on the diagnostic machine, but the ecu refused to talk to the machine, technician was baffled by this and also by the way it stops suddenly, like you have turned the key off, no misfiring, just sudden stop.

I've driven down town this morning, car was fine on the way down, on the way back it started to cut out, and then refused to start. What i have noticed this morning, once it finally refused to start, the red and green lights in the rear view mirror flash like crazy when you crank the engine over, could this be an immobiliser fault?
Any suggestions or help appreciated

Answer 1

this is most likely a multy - problem vehicle. 1. yes there is an immobilizer fault going on. red and green lamps flashing.
2. if it stops at total random and sometimes restarts suspect a crankshaft position sensor[this will set a soft code then disappear the next time it actually starts leaving no trace.
3. if your system will not communicate with dealers scan-tool i would suspect it still may on a limited basis from the obd 2 port using a generic scan tool with the generic world wide software. however i also suspect that either the ecu is failing or someone has accidentally tapped into the buss that sends info to and from the various control computers e.g.[anti-theft, body, transmission, climate, cruise etc]. has a aftermarket radio or amplifier or cell phone been installed recently? one last note Japanese and German computers rarely fail and almost never on there own [meaning that before a computer is replaced you must find and fix what killed it] i hope ive pointed you in the right direction good luck

Answer 2

could be immobiliser, or worn ignition. take it to a proppa garage. dont go to the dealers THEY DO NOT KNOW HOW TO FIX CARS, they only know how to replace parts.. and they onyl know wat is broken wen there pooter tells them. 9 out of ten times an enigne managment check will not fix your car or find its fault, its just a money spinner for the lame deales. you could ask them to fix a flat tyre and they would want to put it on the engine management machine. could also be that the car is idleing to low. if it has a mechnical mechanism you can adjust it under the bonnet.

Answer 3

The SmartKey makes use of infrared waves for verbal replace, so it won't paintings greater thn 15 ft away. yet on your case this is probably an previous distant transmitter that's donning out, or a foul receiver interior the door take care of.

Answer 4

air in the fuel system maybe or sparkplugs or maybe the ignition switch or faulty wiring or faulty fuel pumps

Answer 5

if you need to get rid of it I would love to take it off your hands.