Hi.....

I have a 1996 E320 with 85,000 miles on it.......recently, it has been occassionally not starting well.........I would turn the ignition key and the engine would seem to begin to turn over, but then immediately stop with all the red dashboard lights coming on..........like almost how a dead battery reacts.........,but then I would just have to turn the ignition key back to the original position and restart..........it starts up a little rough, but will start up........this will only happen about once every 40 - 50 times I try starting the car.........or only about 5 times in the past 2 months...........

Does this sound like my starter is going bad???......or an ignition key system failing???.........any other suggestions???........thankyou, MAX!!!

 

First step is to ensure Service History is this up to date. i.e. have plugs. fuel filter etc been changed since new?

Next step is to read OBD memory with a scanner. Some local shops will do this for Free. 5 min job.

Come back with any codes showing + any additional information.

Assuming that after doing this you have nothing to add and no codes are showing I would hazard an informed, but basically wild guess, that it is the Crank Position Sensor CPS BUT issues of this type could be 101 things.

Think hard. When the problem occurs what else can you add. Cold weather? Engine warm? After long trip? Low fuel? etc etc

Stuart

 

Replace that battery. The computer tells the car to shut down when it detects low voltage. Older cars would run good if the battery was low and the car was jumped or coasted to a start. These cars will not. I made the mistake of not replacing the battery and ended up with over $1000 in repair bills because mechanics did not go directly to the problem.

 

thanks, it was not the battery.........my mechanic could not figure it out.........he did not have the right computer detectors.........back to square one.

 

You can order from the main land,on line at harbor freight tools for 39 dollars an obd2 scanner,they ship ups it is model #
94169-3VGA
OBD II CODE READER WITH CAN
read the codes and post them,or go to a different shop,a 1996 as noted above will display intermittent start and sometimes restart issues after getting warmed up by having a failing crankshaft position sensor,it can show up in the starting issues ,the misfire issues and sometimes is not accompanied by a check engine light,by the time you could take the time to test the function of the cps you could install a new one and eliminate the issue.
Has the mechanic checked battery voltage and alternator output?
ohlord

 

thankyou......I try that next......mahalo!!!.....Max!