woooo hoooo 3 bars :(

[robm 1]

Robm... You mention your issue was caused by the gear position sensor. This was going to be next on my list after chatting with the Mercedes advisor, he seamed to think that the issue was due to the car not always confirming what gear it was in, hence the car throwing 3 bars on the middle of the 401 in 6th. Car drove fine until it came time to switch gears and get off the highway. Did you notice the same type of symptom? I suppose I will call to find out the damage on the sensor in the morning.

my problem showed up on a long trip back from ottawa area. miserable damp winter weather. first started to act funny on a long downhill where it needed to downshift. I think it changed to manual mode. I stopped to check out and got the 3 bars. thought I was going to be left stranded but was able to get it home. brought to andrew in newmarket ON, he checked out the wiring and the clutch actuator first not replacing any parts. seemed to be ok but then the same issue. checked it again and got indication about the gear position sensor. replaced it and no issues for 10 months or so now. others have said it cannot be the gear position sensor - not sure about that. It is a pretty cheap part if I remember right.

[AHZELA 12]

called mercedes downtown this morning for the gear position sensor. They can only find shifter motor @ $420 The guy said he would call me back.. So I am hoping they can figure it out.

[AHZELA 12]

Angle sensor!

Thanx Robm... ordered this morning, $125.

Brent

Edit: Sorry i forgot about this link in another 3 bar post. FQ101 link: http://www.fq101.co.uk/how-to-guides/fortw...the-3-bars.html this is the gear/angle sensor. Probably would have figured it out once i put my eyes on the part.

Edited November 16, 2012 by AHZELA

[fordnut71 1]

my code has cleared itself out again. dont know y it came up on a nice clear day an stuck around again for a few more.

[AHZELA 12]

Angle Sensor!

Looks like this was the culprit. Changed it out Saturday morning, took about 30min and only required the removal of the left rear tire. While I was at it I took off the clutch actuator and had a peak at the release fork. No hole or irregular wear but I took the time to clean the fork as well as the rod with a battery terminal wire brush and added some grease to the end of the actuator rod.

Anyway its been 3 days and about 200km with no bars. This was a daily issue so, at this point I am quite confident this is fixed.

Thanx to Robm for the suggestion. I owe you a beer at least!

a link to the description of the angle sensor which is referred to as the "gear position sensor" here: http://www.fq101.co.uk/data-a-reference/59-sensors.html along with other important sensors if you havent seen it already.

Edited November 20, 2012 by AHZELA

[fordnut71 1]

do you still have the part number for this part?

[AHZELA 12]

Indeed I do. 0003254V009000000

[dmoonen 54]

Good find! Fingers crossed!

[dmoonen 54]

I've seen a bunch of chafing a bit more up stream too on other cars, in the ic scoop on the round price of the shift motor

[FlossyTheSmart 81]

Possibly a damaged SE drive?

[dmoonen 54]

Mhm drain the transmission fluid and take a magnet to it and see if theres any metallic bits. Rules out internal damage somewhat.

[dmoonen 54]

Well that's good news ish. Time to check other parts. If you have a star machine you should be able to read data from other components and test them.

[Francesco 71]

Dead or dying actuator, chafed actuator wires, corroded harness connector. Good luck!

[dmoonen 54]

We just checked it with the star, call codes we related to the gear position sensor and it did read out of the tolerance range. I'll be bringing down another sensor and wire tomorrow to further testing.

[AHZELA 12]

Maybe now the myth that the gear/angle sensor is only for diagnostics can be washed! Heres to being back on the road

[FlossyTheSmart 81]

D'oh! Hopefully that was actually the root cause, and it doesn't come back!

[dukemon 0]

Starting to see some of the same issues with my 2006 cabrio. Can't get it in gear sometimes and will sometimes fail to shift when I'm actually driving. Had to coast to a stop and restart my car probably 14 times coming back from Whitecourt the other day just to get my ability to shift and drive back again. Popped underneath to take a video that I'm going to try and upload to show what its doing. Oops can't do it from my Windows phone so will try the home pc later tonight. Aaaaaaaaaaargh 2 mb...I'll get er yet. Gotta figure out a way to downsize the video...first timers....

By Golly I think I got it (thanks Flossy :0). Videos should lead to YouTube. Checked all my wiring harnesses going to the clutch actuator (I'm assuming that's the part the boot is attached too?) and I can't seem to find any wear, but I will have a go at pulling the cover off the actuator to have a better look.

Edited July 26, 2014 by dukemon

[smart142 605]

That could be the clutch actuator. Take it off and see if its punched a hole through the clutch release bearing. Also check the wiring going to the actuator plug.Good luck.

[AHZELA 12]

Lol.. seems I spoke to soon. Sry Cadillacman.. hope you get this sorted soon.

[FlossyTheSmart 81]

Popped underneath to take a video that I'm going to try and upload to show what its doing. Oops can't do it from my Windows phone so will try the home pc later tonight. Aaaaaaaaaaargh 2 mb...I'll get er yet. Gotta figure out a way to downsize the video...first timers....

Can't upload the video straight to here. Throw it on Youtube or another video hosting service, then post the link here.

[dukemon 0]

But, did anybody with this sort-of problem find that they could still shift with the 3 bars showing ?

I had exactly that once. But the next time I tried to shift with the three bars it wouldn't allow me to.

Managed to insert my video's on my original post if those of you who are in the know wouldn't mind having a look. (5 posts up^)

Edited July 26, 2014 by dukemon

[dmoonen 54]

I have a spare clutch actuator in my trunk as we speak, if you want to scoop it I can swing by

[dukemon 0]

So I paid my 10 pounds and became a member of Evilution 2 days ago and it was a good purchase. I resolved all my issues with crappy, shakey, sometimes non-existent shifting.

Here are some pictures and a video showing what worked for me. If you compare this video to my first one you can see the difference. The video explains what I did from beginning

to end. Some of my terms are a little off...so be kind.

Picture....seems I can only upload one.

Edited August 4, 2014 by dukemon

[dmoonen 54]

From what you said it sounds like the clutch is slipping and threw the 3bars once it figured out something was wrong.

If it the clutch maybe throw a stock tune on it and reduce the power and see if it comes up again. More power+Age+Temerature=Perfect mixture for clutch problems.

Another ruling is speed sensor related but if you weren't moving at the time I cant see it throwing anything off without a code.

[dmoonen 54]

Could be, match the pressure on all tires and rule it out.