Electrical problems?

[rseerden]

Hello, first time poster here, I have due to the death of my father sort of inherated his 2000 c230 Kompressor sport pkg.. The car is in excellent shape and has 54k miles. I have driven it from time to time in the past and have always thought what a solid car this is. The car has been in my posession for about two months now and I have probably put about 1000 miles on her. This morning since it was going to be sunny here in Seattle, finally! I thought I would drive to work in it. Well, I turned the key to start it and it starts but I notice that almost all ths dash warning lights are on and the auto trans is stuck in Park. I also notice that when I turn on the parking lights most of the warning lights go out with the exception of the EPS/ABS and the CEL, the trans still will not budge out of Park? Oh and when the headlights turned on the tach moves like it should. What crazy gremlin do I have? Any tips on what to do for this first time Mercedes owner. BTW I measured accross the battery with a volt meter and I get 12.3v off and 13.8v on.

[Pagz]

Hi,welcome to the club!,very sory to here of your loss.
you have obtained a great 202
sounds like faulty wiring etc,not sure about the headlights switch effecting the tacho,my wiring diagrams show no relation at all,maybe theres water present somwhere...im sure someone on the forum will be able to help.
also wouldnt it be 12.3 on and 13.8 off?

[coolin]

Welcome to W202.

Too bad it's not under better circumstances. It sounds like transmission work is on the way. Someone should be able to direct you to a good shop on the west coast.

[jlomon]

I don't know about your CEL, so you'd definitely want to have your codes pulled for that. However, the ABS light can often be indicative of an alternator that is overcharging. Your reading of 13.8v when running might be proof of that? I'm no electrical expert, but if you're overcharging that might cause damage somewhere, resulting in your electrical gremlin.

[mayagman]

I believe they remedied the biodegradable wiring harness in the 2000 models and possibly even earlier than that, perhaps someone here can clarify. Other than that, welcome to the club! Just a shame you're not here to brag about how nice it is instead of how it needs repair! Stick with it though, great car with low miles.

[benzfan]

Sounds a lot like overvoltage protection relay.

[c77]

Not sure how it would be over voltage if it is only showing 13.8V when running. Most vehicles should show around 14.5V when running and around 12.5V when off.

[benzfan]

Check the fuse on the OVP relay.

[rseerden]

Thanks for all the replies folks, well after the car sat in my garage for a week it seems that it is starting and enganging the transmission just fine. I did have a CEL light still on so after talking with a co-worker who has a connection with kind fellow at a local Mercedes dealer, I brought it in to have him get the code. Of course by this time I no longer was getting a CEL. He indicated that there was a nothing there to pinpoint to a specific problem but that it might indicate a comunication problem with the C.A.N system. Anyways, he gave me several pages of computer output from the test and told me to keep them as a reference. He cleared out the codes and asked me to come back if it happened again. The car is running great! I have always driven Japanese cars up until getting this 202 and I'm always surprised at the solidity and feel of this car when I drive it. So for now I will just enjoy the car and start setting a side some funds for future repairs. I'm thinking of getting a third party warranty, I have had great luck with Warranty Direct on my Van, they have covered all repairs promply so far. The cost of extending through them is about $2600.00 for another three years or up to 97k.