[ds968]

I parked the car in the garage an hour ago, left it in gear, and five minutes ago as I was watching TV I heard it turn over for 2 or 3 seconds and rushed to the garage to find it moved forward about 6 ft , smashed a few things in front of it

( no damage to the body ) but I shudder at the thought of what the engine might have suffered... and what in the world could cause this to happen ??



What should I do ? What do I look for ? I hesitate to start it - should I ?

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[ds968]

btw, whatever was smoking stopped after about 10 seconds - I can't see where it came from, all looks ok, no wires melted but smells like an electrical fire smoke -

something got fried, but what ? and a one hour delay short circuit that caused the ignition to self start ?? WTF ?!







Just checked all the VDO instrument lights, lights, radio, etc ; all work fine, no fault codes anywhere, but I'm not starting the engine - can't take any chances.

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[sasilverbullet]

Dude! That is SOOO weird! I don't have a clue though...

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[Greimann]

Suffice to say Dano that if you smelled electrical smoke, something fried, even if a first inspection didn't reveal it. Something shorted that engaged the starter. Your engine is fine, don't worry about that.



Disconnect the battery, if you haven't already, and tow it to the shop.

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[ds968]

battery disconnected, spent some time on the phone with Bob going on a virtual tour trough the engine compartment trying to look for traces of melted wire coating or similar signs, nothing visible from the top, but tomorrow I'll lift it to see if the wires at the starter itself may show a sign..



Either way, it'll get towed to the shop but it'd be great ( and much less expensive ) to point the mechanic to the culprit rather than having him spend 5 hours of investigative work...



But to echo silverbullet's post: it IS soooo weird ! Friggin german ghosts ! Gremlins ! No warning signs the entire day I drove the car, peace an quiet parked for an hour.. and out of nowhere : BAM ! It starts..and takes off in 4th gear !!!



And, no the keys were not in the ignition...



Having a beer now. ( Chimay ale - not cheap, but compared to how much I spent on cars this week..and more to come yet <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/mad.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> it seems like a bargain <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> )

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[Greimann]

[quote name='ds968' date='Jun 10 2005, 07:20 PM']Having a beer now.  ( Chimay ale ..

[right][post="5706"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]

Yum...! Blue, red or white label??



A common way to jump a starter is to short the soleniod wire to a hot wire. Considering that both wires run side by side down the tunnel to the starter, it is plausible that if that loom was crushed, then they could short to eachother. It is a very strange thing to happen just sitting there.

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[Greimann]

This also points out another strange anomaly in the design of the car - no clutch pedal start inhibitor switch. By design, it can be started in gear. Personally I like the lack of mothering in that function, but so many other vehicles have an inhibitor, that you pretty much expect it in a high tech car.... <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/unsure.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[ds968]

White label . Though, all of them are great and of course the blue has the greatest "kick" - 9 % alcohol, but I bought a case of the Cinq Cents so I'll just have to live with a lousy 8% for now.. only two bottles left <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[rustech]

[quote name='Greimann' date='Jun 10 2005, 07:48 PM']This also points out another strange anomaly in the design of the car - no clutch pedal start inhibitor switch.  By design, it can be started in gear. Personally I like the lack of mothering in that function, but so many other vehicles have an inhibitor, that you pretty much expect it in a high tech car....  <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/unsure.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

[right][post="5708"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]



But in this case, would the inhibitor switch have helped? Wouldn't it only stop the power at the ignition "start" position. A wire short, or solenoid short, still would have had the same effect, correct?

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[Harvey]

Ds968,



I was already paranoid...but with this gremlin story, I'm thinking that I may need to chain my 968 to a tree or something! You had the opposite problem of me...mine wouldn't start...and your's starts on its own. Good Heavens! I'd better go find some wood and knock on it.



Harvey

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[ds968]

one thing for sure - I'm never leaving it in gear..ever again.. I was really lucky that the point of impact was the front license plate colliding with my plastic recycleables cans which were smashed but clearly provided a cushion causing only the plate to bend a little. beyond the cans was a concrete block ! Yikes.



And imagine if you're behind another car !

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[ds968]

lifted the car as much as my basic jack allowed which was barely enough to peek under it and take a look at the wires around the starter, but really could not see everything well enough to identify a specific segment or part that was scorched.



so a short in the solenoid causing the starter to turn and then frying itself ( all that smoke had to come from somewhere ! ) seems the 99% likely candidate. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/unsure.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



If that's the case, it should not be a major expense ; Paragon and Pelican have the starters for $ 215 ( $ 75 core charge ) , and I'll call Sunset Monday to see what their price might be. The de-install / re-install should be painless, so I might escape without having to rob a bank to pay for this...



$ 450 for the rear wheel bearing replacement and $ 1,000 for the MBZ's brakes this week should have been more than enough, but nooooo ! This is annoying even when you have a job, it feels even more expensive when you don't.

A hell, you can't take it with you, right ? Money was meant to be spent. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/tongue.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



<img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/mad.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[Greimann]

Sunset has reman starters for ~$96 with a $33 core. Need I say more? If they say they don't have a unit in stock because they don't have a core returned yet to rebuild..... that would be me <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/rolleyes.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> I'll get my core back in ASAP, I swear!



Also, these guys have good prices too, but check with them before ordering to see if they have stock. http://autoexpress.safeshopper.com/2095/cat2095.htm?773

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[ds968]

[quote name='Greimann' date='Jun 11 2005, 06:49 PM']Sunset has reman starters for ~$96 with a $33 core. Need I say more? If they say they  don't have a unit in stock because they don't have a core returned yet to rebuild..... that would be me  <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/rolleyes.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />  I'll get my core back in ASAP, I swear!



Also, these guys have good prices too, but check with them before ordering to see if they have stock. http://autoexpress.safeshopper.com/2095/cat2095.htm?773

[right][post="5740"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]



Great price ! Cool. Bought most of my things from them in the past, not sure why I was even looking at the other sources..



They must get so many rotten cores <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/tongue.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> in all the time, I'm sure they'll find a rebuilt somewhere..

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[apex]

Wow - ds - my condolences. Your story reminds me of this: I returned from PA to VA with a client - we each had our own cars - his was a late 80's SL Merc - very very nice car. He got home to Richmond, parked in front of his garage, and one hour later the engine caught fire and burned up his nice roadster. The cause was never determined.



I chalk up incidents like this to the Cosmic Joker hard at work - amusement at our expense. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/mad.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[ds968]

I thought that old post ( may be it was on 968.net ? ) where the lights of the car were flashing like crazy without any apparent cause to trigger such was the strangest thing I have seen....until I heard my car start by itself, and lunge forward, thus joining the famous company of Christine, K.I.T. and Herbie the Love Bug... and that creepy truck following Dennis Weaver ? Granted, all things considered I am thrilled it did not decide to follow in the footsteps of that SL and turn into a Car-B-Que, so it could have been worse. Also, could've had a cat or dog sleeping in front of the wheel .



I'm thankful it's only a fried solenoid/starter, but all the smoke was some scary s*** !

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[Greimann]

[quote name='ds968' date='Jun 12 2005, 06:36 PM']...... and that creepy truck following Dennis Weaver ? ....

[right][post="5780"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]





As an aside, or perhaps a back on topic <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> Whenever you get a reman starter from Sunset, they also include a new nose bushing that is pretty much mandatory to install to preserve the warranty of the starter. It is also a really good idea too because this is a wear item that needs to be replaced every now and then.



You can remove the busing by reaching into the hole with a 1/2" twist drill and hitting it a couple of turns on the drill. No need to really "drill" it out because as soon as you start turning the bit, the old bushing just fragments and falls out in pieces. Vacuum out the pieces, clean the hole and insert the new busing. To do the insertion, I used a long bolt with a nut threaded on part way as a shoulder. Just look at the picture. You use this to insert and gently tap the bushing flush with the face of the hole.

   

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[ds968]

All fixed ( replaced the starter ), took it for a ride , it's been parked for several hours now and so far so good... hoping it won't decide to self-start again at some point in the near foreseeable future, and that it was just a bad solenoid that caused the fiasco.



bonus: I did not have to redo all the stereo settings, even though the battery has been disconnected for more than 36 hrs.. it must have a power reserve built in or something ?! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/blink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/huh.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[ds968]

plus, many thanks to Dave G. and Flash for "spoon feeding" me through the process..

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[dlearl476]

Maybe contact these guys and see if these have a Bosch equivalent. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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