No power, no acceleration, no codes

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rebelyell

I love titters
I hope someone here can point me in the right direction. I really hate this thing.

Not too long ago a 2004 sprinter 2500 with a PITA mercedes 2.7L 5 banger was having a problem where it was losing coolant. Long story short, the machine shop that I sent the head to screwed up the head so we installed a brand new head from Chrysler.

After reassembly, it starts and runs okay. But it has NO POWER. If you floor the pedal it goes no where and in gear at around 2-3k RPM the motor starts shaking and making a horrible sound.

Rail pressure is perfect. I pulled the injectors, they all appear normal. None are covered in soot or covered with fuel. Compression on every cylinder is just near 400PSI. I pulled the top cover, timing is dead on.

Anyone know what in the hell could be this thing's issue? There are no codes at all.. No dash lights... Nothing... Please help...
 
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jmoller99

jmoller99

Own a DAD ODB2 Unit.
No power implies an issue with the Turbo boost. If you have an air leak in the turbo hosing/turbo resonator/intercooler - it won't throw any errors, but you will have no power. A bad intake temp sensor can also cause this problem.

Unless you have a Sprinter compatible ODBII reader (and not a generic ODBII reader - they can't see a lot of system information), its likely you will have trouble getting readings that you need to diagnose this issue.

Shaking and horrible sounds implies something was assembled incorrectly.

I like the 2.7 I5 engine in my 2002 Sprinter - its been reliable for me. FedEx has gotten 650K to 750K miles out of them with proper maintenance. Its also why I am very picky about who works on mine.
 
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rebelyell

I love titters
I have a snap-on scanner. I can do almost ANYTHING with it from read codes on the shifter computer to injector and tire size programming.

And from my experience with these things, boost leaks will put these things into limp mode. In fact, last week we had another sprinter with a leak in the charge air cooler which threw codes, and put the thing in limp mode. The leak was small and took half an hour to find with the smoke machine.

These things code for EVERYTHING. The most common being that stupid plug on the trans that leaks trans fluid into the connector and throws 8 or more codes in the process.

And I was hoping I screwed up the assembly, cause that would have made life 100x easier. So I did triple check everything and unfortunately that's not the case.
 
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talkinghorse43

Well-known member
If (except for coolant loss) the engine ran OK before disassembly/reassembly, then something was improperly done. Keep checking. Your symptoms suggest to me an injection timing issue.
 
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220629

Well-known member
this is a canned response.
Doktor A is Andy Bittenbinder. An excellent mechanic/designer who specializes in Sprinters. He is generously willing to share his vast knowledge to those in need.

A most important phone number to keep handy.
I have it saved to my cell phone and written in grease pencil under my hood.

"Call my Sprinter Hot Line 412-366-6165. Doktor A".

Have a pad of paper handy when you call him.

Be certain to leave your phone number with area code each and every time you leave him a voice message.
He lives in Pittsburgh PA area. That is the Eastern Time Zone.


rebelyell,
Should you talk to him you might refrain from using such endearing expressions as "***" and "***** *****". Doktor A is fond of Sprinters and worth keeping on your side by not aggravating him.

Not that you asked...

If you go back to your original post you have 24 hours to change some of your comments by clicking the "Edit" near the bottom of your post. Have fun. vic
 
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autostaretx

autostaretx

Erratic Member
I have a snap-on scanner. I can do almost ANYTHING with it from read codes on the shifter computer to injector and tire size programming.
Click to expand...
Peachy... when the Sprinter isn't developing power, what's the MAP?
IF it's below 20 psi (Absolute), then look for a boost leak or a non-functioning turbo actuator
(if you wiggle the turbo actuator by hand, try to *not* over-boost it)
And from my experience with these things, boost leaks will put these things into limp mode.
Click to expand...
Not guaranteed on that... during my recent "leaky resonator" month, i'd only get a CEL on a very few occasions, and never full Limp.
(Lack of Oompf, yes... but never stuck-in-2nd and 3k rpm limit)

--dick
 
surlyoldbill

surlyoldbill

Well-known member
I'm surprised that the Snap-On scanner can program the injectors on a Sprinter. Did Snap-On buy a license from Mercedes to access the special functions? I thought only the DRB-III and D.A.D. could access more than generic DTCs and functions (rebelyell may not be aware of this, and is sharing the Snap-On functions listed for other manufacturers, not realizing it will not communicate with the Sprinter...)

This issue would best be diagnosed with an actual boost pressure measurement. If determined that boost is low, then the search begins. I'm not sure about the OM647 EGRs, but to re-re-tell my story about the same thing on my OM612, the EGR may be to blame; low/no boost under load, no DTCs. EGR wasn't holding back boost pressure anymore, worn out. A temp block-off gasket will rule out or point to a leaky EGR.
 
MillionMileSprinter

MillionMileSprinter

Millionmilesprinter.com
Did you check the transmission fluid? Or how about the torque converter? IF (big if) the engine is running perfect, but the wheels aren't spinning, then you look at what connects them- the tranny. Just a suggestion.
 
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rebelyell

I love titters
I changed 2 injectors, so I know for a fact that the snap on scanner can reprogram injectors... The scanner can also switch EGR and Boost pressure actuators between normal, 5% and 95%. I played with those functions and it changed how the thing ran in the shop. But I'm honestly not sure how to use those tools for diagnostics...
 
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Turbo John

New member
Aqua Puttana said:
this is a canned response.
Doktor A is Andy Bittenbinder. An excellent mechanic/designer who specializes in Sprinters. He is generously willing to share his vast knowledge to those in need.

A most important phone number to keep handy.
I have it saved to my cell phone and written in grease pencil under my hood.

"Call my Sprinter Hot Line 412-366-6165. Doktor A".

Have a pad of paper handy when you call him.

Be certain to leave your phone number with area code each and every time you leave him a voice message.
He lives in Pittsburgh PA area. That is the Eastern Time Zone.


rebelyell,
Should you talk to him you might refrain from using such endearing expressions as "POS" and "kraut wagon". Doktor A is fond of Sprinters and worth keeping on your side by not aggravating him.

Not that you asked...

If you go back to your original post you have 24 hours to change some of your comments by clicking the "Edit" near the bottom of your post. Have fun. vic
Click to expand...
Dont call him Doctor either....LOL !
 
surlyoldbill

surlyoldbill

Well-known member
Good to hear about the Snap-On scanner. Perhaps a thread to discuss it's capability to work on a T1N Sprinter is needed. I'm sure they are thousands less $$$$ than the DRB-III.
 
2

220629

Well-known member
surlyoldbill said:
Good to hear about the Snap-On scanner. Perhaps a thread to discuss it's capability to work on a T1N Sprinter is needed. I'm sure they are thousands less $$$$ than the DRB-III.
Click to expand...
Good idea. Something named Snap-on = cheap??? Not likely by much.

A possible advantage that I see with the Snap-on scan tool is that many independent shops already have them and are familiar with them. The cost of upgrade to Sprinter capability may be relatively inexpensive. If you know the shop well enough you may be able to offer to pay for the upgrade for future consideration. The shop gets to have the Sprinter tool to use all the time and you get your hometown security blanket. I haven't researched costs at all. vic
 
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rebelyell

I love titters
surlyoldbill said:
Good to hear about the Snap-On scanner. Perhaps a thread to discuss it's capability to work on a T1N Sprinter is needed. I'm sure they are thousands less $$$$ than the DRB-III.
Click to expand...
My snap-on solus scanner will communicate with all sprinters of every year.
 
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rebelyell

I love titters
Aqua Puttana said:
Good idea. Something named Snap-on = cheap??? Not likely by much.

A possible advantage that I see with the Snap-on scan tool is that many independent shops already have them and are familiar with them. The cost of upgrade to Sprinter capability may be relatively inexpensive. If you know the shop well enough you may be able to offer to pay for the upgrade for future consideration. The shop gets to have the Sprinter tool to use all the time and you get your hometown security blanket. I haven't researched costs at all. vic
Click to expand...
Don't need to do any of that my friend... since its a dodge, there is no need to pay any money or have any upgrades done in order to communicate with the sprinters. It will communicate with a DODGE sprinter just like any other dodge...

Snap-on scanners have different packages you need to buy to communicate with types of vehicles based on where they are manufactured... They are - Domestic (American), Import (Jap, Korean, etc), European... And then there is a Global OBDII category that will communicate with any vehicle but with limited info...

Have a chat with your local snap-on dealer and he can tell you everything you need to know...
 
Throttlejockey

Throttlejockey

Member
Aqua Puttana said:
Good idea. Something named Snap-on = cheap??? Not likely by much.

A possible advantage that I see with the Snap-on scan tool is that many independent shops already have them and are familiar with them. The cost of upgrade to Sprinter capability may be relatively inexpensive. If you know the shop well enough you may be able to offer to pay for the upgrade for future consideration. The shop gets to have the Sprinter tool to use all the time and you get your hometown security blanket. I haven't researched costs at all. vic
Click to expand...
$3900 for that Snap-On scanner. Definitely not cheap.
 
surlyoldbill

surlyoldbill

Well-known member
rebelyell said:
Don't need to do any of that my friend... since its a dodge, there is no need to pay any money or have any upgrades done in order to communicate with the sprinters. It will communicate with a DODGE sprinter just like any other dodge...

Snap-on scanners have different packages you need to buy to communicate with types of vehicles based on where they are manufactured... They are - Domestic (American), Import (Jap, Korean, etc), European... And then there is a Global OBDII category that will communicate with any vehicle but with limited info...

Have a chat with your local snap-on dealer and he can tell you everything you need to know...
Click to expand...
That's good news for Sprinter users, who have not been able to use regular OBD-II scanners for very much other than generic code reading. I suppose all those posts were just people that didn't know what they were doing. Since the T1N and NCV3 are just Mercedes with Dodge grill and hubcaps, I wonder if people forgot to set the scanner to "Dodge" when they went to run diagnostics or other deep functions?
:dripsarcasm:
 
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