First off, Unfortunately my car is out of warranty. =-( poop. I don't know if these two issues are related or what, but I think I have an exhaust leak, right in the from of the car, probably where the headers meet the H/X? pipe. I would start my car, and I would hear a weird rattle from the engine, I could smell exhaust, and I could see it coming from the hood. The car would shake as well, like a fairly passive vibrating, I noticed it did it more when the car would be full on gas, like when I just filled it up.

Any who, I was out and about with the girlfriend the other day, it was about 85 degrees out. Car worked fine all day until about 3 hours of being out, we were leaving the local mall, when I went to start my car. It would crank forever, but it wouldn't actually start. I tried to start the SOB about 6 times, and then gave up. We walked to a local store to pass some time. I figured it was overheated or something. We came back about 20 minutes later and it started fine, except, the CEL was on. I tried the car the next day( this morning) and it worked fine, without any CEL on. Any Idea? I figured the exhuast leak might be throwing off the O2 sensors which could screw up the pump and the start...?

 

Go grab a six pack of your favorite beverage, a bag of chips and a good salsa, do a search on Relay Control Module and enjoy the read !!!

 

Sounds like another notch on the Bedpost of the Relay Control Module.

 

Thank You Guys.

 

How many miles on the car and have you changed the spark plugs? They are good for 100k miles. Start there. It is the cheapest. A set of good ones should be around $130. Read your codes and you should get one related to the crank position sensor or some postion sensor. I'm at work and can not look the code up.

 

Ahhhhhh, he said he wasn't gettin a CEL ! (Check Engine Light) Therefore no codes ! The crankshaft sensor is also a possibility which when you do a search will find the thread "Mystery No Start" the CPS is covered along with the RCM !

 

... We came back about 20 minutes later and it started fine, except, the CEL was on. I tried the car the next day( this morning) and it worked fine, without any CEL on. Any Idea? I figured the exhuast leak might be throwing off the O2 sensors which could screw up the pump and the start...?

Ahhhhhh, the CEL was on once, and a code would be stored.

See;https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...=mystery+start

 

Good catch...missed that !

 

My car has I think 48000 Miles on it. Anybody know how much a Relay Control Module will cost me out of warranty?

 

you guys are amazing kid has no warranty and worried about diagnostic charges and other labor charges and with you help he saved 60-100 bucks wasting time finding the defective part which is common but the mechanic might not know or would like to make some money on. thats one of the great benefits of this community.

not sure of the price but check here

http://www.moparpartsamerica.com/spl...?siteid=214583

 

Around 175 bucks from Mercedes Benz

 

Sorry to be annoying, but would it just be the slk320 for the same year RCM? Also is this something easy to install yourself or would you recommend taking it in to the shop? Im not too savvy with the crossfire and installation..

 

You should look at the grounding wire for the car... the one under the car has a very bad habit of corroding quickly.

It is a $20 fix for a new shielded grounding wire...

If it corroded off, it would completely crap your car out...

Just a thought.

 

What you see coming from the hood could just be steam from rain that got onto the radiator, this gets warm when the radiator heats up and turns to steam. It could be a hose leak, lift the hood and see if it is visible, look for exhaust leaks as well.
I think that some people have found that the solder on some RCM's cracks and they have re-soldered it themselves, do a search on this issue.
There is more than one grounding wire, follow the wires from the battery for the main ones and look at the shop manual for any that are connected to the RCM area. There are others but they are for specific components and should be of no importance for your problems. The main ones come from the battery and are easy to see.

 

Could I pay someone to make a pictured tutorial? I know where the box is that hold the RCM, but I dont know which cluster is it. I wanna take a look at mine to see if its something that can be soldered, but dont wanna do anymore damage to the car due to working on something that isnt the RCM, or get electricuted. lol

 

Someone already has.....unfortunetly I've been unable to find the pictures to help you out. I'll keep looking !

Check these out
https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...odule+Pictures

 

I would start by pulling any codes stored in the ECU. That might give hint. I would then clear the codes and see what if anything comes back. This is probably the most cost-effective way of doing things as opposed to just throwing parts on the car.

 

Agree 100% do not start throwing parts at the car as this will just cost alot of money and frustration. If you want to save money, go to Autozone and have them pull the stored codes. It is free! Let us know what they are and we can help you fix this if you like. Also you should go to a muffler shop and have them look at your exhust for possible leaks. I might even be a problem with the EGR, but get it looked at or try to find the leak yourself. If you are lucky, the start problem will be the crank shaft posistion sensor which is easy and cheap to replace.

 

You are so right, just go to Autozone they found my CPS problem so easy and free! the mgr even helped me find a part thru another store to get me back on the road. Oreillys had it cheapest. and in stock. Think it was around 85 bucks.

 

Sounds Good Guys. Thank you for the great advice.