Transmission Locked out after battery change? help please

Borg54

Member
Hey All, I recently left my parking lights on while I went on vacation (brilliant). Anyway the battery went dead and ate itself upon my return. I successfully jumped the sprinter off a battery I had in my garage. I the old battery wouldn't charge so I got a proper replacement.

After the battery change I have a check engine light and a second light (photo attached) of the wheel with arrows BSB or something. The transmission is not letting me shift out of park.

2011-03-12_15-38-21_755.jpg


I have checked all the fuses (under seat and under steering column) with no luck. I might have missed one, but all looked good. Brake lights work.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
 

jdcaples

Not Suitable w/220v Gen
From the owners manual:

Tow.jpg

EVB.jpg

I would remove the battery, charge it slowly (2 amp) and fully and then re-install it.

If you really want it out of park, stick a pencil in this hole and actuate the switch within... then see if the lever will move.


This is what it looks like open.

Open.jpg

This is the cap

TheCap.jpg

This is what it looks like covered

Covered.jpg

Note that owners manual says if those lights are lit, the wheels might lock up on you unexpectedly. Don't drive it until you're confident it's safe to drive.

-Jon


PS: No, I don't like it either. Elevators are easy to sabbotage because there are so many safeties... Our Sprinters are fragile in that respect as well.
 
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Borg54

Member
yeah I think I need to just unlock the tranny and drive a short distance. I think it will then clear the code. The battery I brand new and fully charged so the lights should clear
 

wildwindsca

New member
so what was the outcome ? anyone?
i am thinking of buying a sprinter, but gremlins like a simple battery discharge then issues like this are getting me worried! :shifty:
 

BBlessing

61k happy miles
i think you should check to see if your alternator is charging. you may have danaged it when you ran it with a dead battery.

bb
 

jdcaples

Not Suitable w/220v Gen
i think you should check to see if your alternator is charging. you may have danaged it when you ran it with a dead battery.

bb

I thought that in line fuse - between the starter and the alternator, the one that lets water in and rusts the cables - was supposed to protect the alternator from all foreseeable damage.

Are you saying that draining the battery is yet another risk that the great Daimler Designers failed to consider?

How many Hail Mary Dr Zs are you going to have to say to get back in Daimler's good graces?

-Jon
 

Borg54

Member
He all - I have been traveling and wont get a chance to work on the van till sunday night. Where are the "inline" fuses as I only checked the ones under the driver seat and the ones under the steering column?

Ill post results as I get to work on the van.

j
 

jdcaples

Not Suitable w/220v Gen
He all - I have been traveling and wont get a chance to work on the van till sunday night. Where are the "inline" fuses as I only checked the ones under the driver seat and the ones under the steering column?

Ill post results as I get to work on the van.

j

There is a 300 amp fuse linking two sides of the cable that goes from the alternator to the starter.

You'd have to strip the cable of insulation to see this fuse.

I was being sarcastic about the protection it supposedly offers.

The fuse is circled in red.

-Jon
 

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flman

Triggerer in Chief!
so what was the outcome ? anyone?
i am thinking of buying a sprinter, but gremlins like a simple battery discharge then issues like this are getting me worried! :shifty:

It does not sound like such a bad thing in the electronic wonder our NCV3s are, a little inconvenience to protect a $10 to $20K drive train that is so dependent on correct voltage.

An ounce of prevention, beats a pound of cure.
 

jdcaples

Not Suitable w/220v Gen
It does not sound like such a bad thing in the electronic wonder our NCV3s are, a little inconvenience to protect a $10 to $20K drive train that is so dependent on correct voltage.

An ounce of prevention, beats a pound of cure.

I respectfully disagree.

A dead battery should be replaceable with zero functional impact.

A dead battery being replaced shouldn't cripple a vehicle by tripping one or more of the 786,512,256,128 possible combination of safety measures in my van; esp if it isn't going to tell me what's wrong on the instrument cluster or have the courtesy to not turn over at all if it really believes it's criminally negligent to get out on the road in the current state of the vehicle (like I'm drunk or something).

I'm sick of machines protecting me from myself.

-Jon
 

flman

Triggerer in Chief!
I respectfully disagree.

A dead battery should be replaceable with zero functional impact.

A dead battery being replaced shouldn't cripple a vehicle by tripping one or more of the 786,512,256,128 possible combination of safety measures in my van; esp if it isn't going to tell me what's wrong on the instrument cluster or have the courtesy to not turn over at all if it really believes it's criminally negligent to get out on the road in the current state of the vehicle (like I'm drunk or something).

I'm sick of machines protecting me from myself.

-Jon

So the sensing of low voltage serves no purpose? I have disconnected my 2010 from the battery with no ill effects. What is the point of this lock down then?
 

Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
The incompetent Mercedes electrical design engineer will not rest until he finally has installed enough sensors and safety circuits to be sure the vehicle can never move. That way it can never hurt itself. The invention of the transistor has destroyed the simple vehicles we used to have. The German education system needs to include a few KISS (keep it simple stupid) classes. I doubt if I would buy another Mercedes vehicle in fear that the same guy was in charge of the electrical design. Sprinter is a great driving van but the doubt I have of reaching my destination due to the electrical design ruins the ride.
 

flman

Triggerer in Chief!
Jon, Now I see your point, the blued out areas on page 5 of the manual suggest getting a tow truck in the event of low voltage :bash:

Maybe we all need a cockpit of gauges in order to monitor every parameter of our drive train, to prevent an imminent shut down, should one parameter become out of sync.
 

Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
They have the information in the computer. A simple description on a HMI screen that gives fault #, physical location of the fault and description of fault would suffice. A list of faults should be included with the vehicle.
The failure that I had was a loose clamp on the turbo inlet hose. The loose hose let air leak into the inlet on top of the engine instead of coming from behind the radiator. Someone must think the air 2' away is different air. The fault kept vehicle from running faster than 3 MPH so it had to be towed 40 miles to have the hose clamp tightened. BS! Had to rent truck to complete my delivery and then travel 5 hours each way to retrieve the van the next week. If they told me where to look, I could have fixed it in 5 minutes.
 
M

mercpaul

Guest
Vehicle has detected under voltage & has locked the cdi & etc modules . Clear the codes ? may have to go to dealer! Undervoltage causes check engine light etc to come on for safety issues.
 

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