Dies after 15 minutes
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 53
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From: Seattle
Dies after 15 minutes
This beautiful 2004 sapphire blue is my second Crossfire, I sold my beloved graphite 04 ONE OWNER with 175k on it last year due to age paranoia. The guy who bought it sends me a text practically every weekend about how great the car is running...
This car was a very early build, in August 03, and it is nothing less than bipolar. The Central locking pump was wet with rusted contacts , so I had it replaced at an independent Mercedes shop and they soldered new connections, now at least the drivers seat moves when asked. RCM solder looks good.
So, 3 times now out of 3 days in a row, it's died on my way home from work, always about 15 minutes after starting up. Twice I got it going, once it was AAA. The first time I was able to pull off over a low curb onto a sidewalk (point A) , wait and dink around for about five minutes (lock, unlock, turn wheel right and left, open close doors, then, bingo it starts up and I drive an hour home. I'm thinking CPS, mental note to order one..
...next day... You guessed it, about 15 minutes after start up on my way home from work it dies while I'm stopped in rush hour traffic. 4 lanes of cars honking at me, and a very nice lady cop at my window. ( I took a different route home). AAA took me to the same independent Mercedes shop where they put in a Bosch CPS. The AAA driver tells me it started up for him. "No significant codes" I was told by the shop. They treat me like a poor cousin. I drive off happy. All should be good, right?
Next day, I drive 80 minutes to work, park in the same spot as always, and take the back way home again. The car dies about 15 minutes later, and I pull over a low curb and find myself... at POINT A, The Bermuda triangle of Crossfires. I fiddle around for 5 minutes with the unlocking and locking etc and it starts, I drive an hour home.
So, what could be contributing?
70k, NA, autostick, stock I'm the... fifth owner. red flag there.
The spot I park at work is on a side hill, I park drivers side downhill. I park flat at home.
CAR FAX shows 2 rear enders, no air bag deployment, also a note "electrical system checked " in 2011,
I got my oil changed at Mobil 1, 2 weeks ago- and the bozos 1. drained my oil then told me they didn't have any Mobil 1 0-40 so put in 5-30 2. bent a clip on the engine shroud putting it back on after telling me they didn't have an air filter to fit the car 3. kept pumping windshield washer fluid into the reservoir even though it was running all over the floor (and filling up the belly pan under the engine). Someone must have put tap water in there and it froze, I figure it is split open it works fine. I have since replaced the air filters myself, that's when I found the bent clip.
The electricals are weird, - the window switches are installed backwards(up is down, down is up) the car apparently thinks the hatch is always open per the shop (maybe the switch at the locking mechanism), the interior overhead light does not come on when the doors open, the battery runs down in 2 days when parked unless the car is locked. New battery is fully charged, I went with the available Bosch from pep boys ( Those bozos left off the red plastic cap that protects the terminal. He found it for me in the garbage can. )
Time one when it died it was instantaneous with a shift from first as it shifted into second and I hit the gas- time two I was stopped in traffic, time 3 just driving about 25-30. ALL 15 MINUTES AFTER STARTING a cold engine. time one and three I drove an hour home after 5 minutes of fiddling, time two no start for 20 minutes (per the AAA guy). My previous CPS failures were after 30-40 minutes of driving, restarts after 30 minutes). Can we just make the CPS routine maintenance guys?
I just checked the ODB and it is clear, so time 3 is not on the OBD
Well, you guys are way better than Click and Clack, so any theories are welcome. The forum has been my lifeline many times!
Thanks
PS
Obviously I'm not a mechanic, but I can follow instructions.
How about, "never park traversing a hill with the drivers side downhill" , or
"Always change your own oil" (sorry, I'm no longer able to crawl under a car and get back out alive, that was my first Crossfire)
This car was a very early build, in August 03, and it is nothing less than bipolar. The Central locking pump was wet with rusted contacts , so I had it replaced at an independent Mercedes shop and they soldered new connections, now at least the drivers seat moves when asked. RCM solder looks good.
So, 3 times now out of 3 days in a row, it's died on my way home from work, always about 15 minutes after starting up. Twice I got it going, once it was AAA. The first time I was able to pull off over a low curb onto a sidewalk (point A) , wait and dink around for about five minutes (lock, unlock, turn wheel right and left, open close doors, then, bingo it starts up and I drive an hour home. I'm thinking CPS, mental note to order one..
...next day... You guessed it, about 15 minutes after start up on my way home from work it dies while I'm stopped in rush hour traffic. 4 lanes of cars honking at me, and a very nice lady cop at my window. ( I took a different route home). AAA took me to the same independent Mercedes shop where they put in a Bosch CPS. The AAA driver tells me it started up for him. "No significant codes" I was told by the shop. They treat me like a poor cousin. I drive off happy. All should be good, right?
Next day, I drive 80 minutes to work, park in the same spot as always, and take the back way home again. The car dies about 15 minutes later, and I pull over a low curb and find myself... at POINT A, The Bermuda triangle of Crossfires. I fiddle around for 5 minutes with the unlocking and locking etc and it starts, I drive an hour home.
So, what could be contributing?
70k, NA, autostick, stock I'm the... fifth owner. red flag there.
The spot I park at work is on a side hill, I park drivers side downhill. I park flat at home.
CAR FAX shows 2 rear enders, no air bag deployment, also a note "electrical system checked " in 2011,
I got my oil changed at Mobil 1, 2 weeks ago- and the bozos 1. drained my oil then told me they didn't have any Mobil 1 0-40 so put in 5-30 2. bent a clip on the engine shroud putting it back on after telling me they didn't have an air filter to fit the car 3. kept pumping windshield washer fluid into the reservoir even though it was running all over the floor (and filling up the belly pan under the engine). Someone must have put tap water in there and it froze, I figure it is split open it works fine. I have since replaced the air filters myself, that's when I found the bent clip.
The electricals are weird, - the window switches are installed backwards(up is down, down is up) the car apparently thinks the hatch is always open per the shop (maybe the switch at the locking mechanism), the interior overhead light does not come on when the doors open, the battery runs down in 2 days when parked unless the car is locked. New battery is fully charged, I went with the available Bosch from pep boys ( Those bozos left off the red plastic cap that protects the terminal. He found it for me in the garbage can. )
Time one when it died it was instantaneous with a shift from first as it shifted into second and I hit the gas- time two I was stopped in traffic, time 3 just driving about 25-30. ALL 15 MINUTES AFTER STARTING a cold engine. time one and three I drove an hour home after 5 minutes of fiddling, time two no start for 20 minutes (per the AAA guy). My previous CPS failures were after 30-40 minutes of driving, restarts after 30 minutes). Can we just make the CPS routine maintenance guys?
I just checked the ODB and it is clear, so time 3 is not on the OBD
Well, you guys are way better than Click and Clack, so any theories are welcome. The forum has been my lifeline many times!
Thanks
PS
Obviously I'm not a mechanic, but I can follow instructions.
How about, "never park traversing a hill with the drivers side downhill" , or
"Always change your own oil" (sorry, I'm no longer able to crawl under a car and get back out alive, that was my first Crossfire)
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From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Re: Dies after 15 minutes
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
From: Seattle
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Joined: Jan 2007
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From: Michigan
