# Hymer Sprintshift worry



## schneill (Nov 16, 2010)

OK Lads and Lassies, please give this one a try.
Hymer 680 Starline on Sprinter 416, LHD, Sprintshift, 2001 in the year. Showing 80,000 kilometres.
Parked-up for 10 days in early October on level ground so left the handbrake off, selected 1st gear before stopping engine. Went to move-off ten days later but trying to select "A" only gave me 1st gear manual. Not overly worried at this point since it continued to drive perfectly well using manual selection, although I was expecting the hopeful gentle tap towards me on the gear selector would have the desired affect and "A" would be displayed... No. And a hundred kilometres later the answer was still no. Discovery of the fault coincided with the "limp-mode" scenario, so I'm a little surprised that it allowed me to get as far as it did. We are on stop in the Algarve, taking the vehicle once a week down to the next roundabout and back in an effort to stop anything else going "down" through lack of use.
Summary:
Still have all our forward ratios in manual.
Still able to use reverse.
Limp-mode..... yes
Able to select "A".............. no
The hydraulic pump was changed in September 2010, roughly 6000 kilometres ago, but I don't suspect this component since the symptoms are different.
Just thought I'd throw this one into the pot in the hope that someone is familiar with this particular fault [and hopefully found a painless solution]
Normally, I'd have no objection to making an appointment with the local MB workshops and getting them to fix it, but my GP has refused a repeat prescription for the sedatives I needed to cope with the now familiar Mercedes Benz "Start Error" that has left me with recurring nightmares since March this year..........................

Have you dropped your key Sir ??


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## richardjames (Feb 1, 2006)

Have your brakelights fused? You will get limp mode if they have! You will only get three gears!!


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## Chausson (Oct 17, 2006)

HI I have read that it's a NO NO to leave the vehicle in gear as you get this problem, but I have also read that if you switch off then re start the engine it sort of re-sets the onboard computer. hope this is helpful and I watch for further info as I have a sprint shift on a 316 chassis.

RON


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## rayc (Jun 3, 2008)

I had a Renault Master with the Quickshift gear selection and had a similar fault where the geabox had gone to semi manual operation only, with all Auto functions disabled including 'A' being displayed.
The fault turned out to be a faulty glow plug. In Renault's wisdom this caused the engine ECU to instruct the gearbox control unit to fall back to manual operation only. Some faults give limp mode and some do not - the faulty glow plug did not.
It would appear that numerous faults which bring up an ECU fault code, or the MIL or the Glowplug warning lamp can have a similar effect. 
The first step should be an investigation of the fault codes via the OBD socket. It is very unlikely that it is the gearbox or its control computer themselves which is causing the fault.
Ray

PS. With the Quickshift gearbox it was recommended to leave it in first gear whilst parked by selecting it manually and turning the engine off.


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## schneill (Nov 16, 2010)

Hi Richard, yes, both brake-lights functioning. I went through that ritual September 2010 on the Austro-Hungarian border. I was on the telephone to the UK when stop-light switch malfunction was a suggested cause of limp-mode activation. Was this someone’s idea of a joke ??
I had the 1-2-3 gears you mention, just long enough to get into the services. That time it was the pump. I did state in today’s post, that I still have all my forward gears and reverse, but a refusal to select “A”

Thanks Ron, I also read that leaving “sprintshift” in gear for any length of time has cause owners no end of grief. But my discovery is only recent, after experiencing the malfunction. The problem surfaced on 14th October when leaving Portimao. We drove 100 kilometres that day, but virtually nothing since. I even disconnected the vehicle’s battery for 72 hours last week, hoping, as you put it, the onboard computer would reset.

Now then Ray, you have opened a brand new can of worms, and it just may turn out to be the can we’re looking for: In May this year, some trailer wiring got stripped and blew my side/tail lamp fuse. At exactly the same time, the glow-plug warning lamp lit-up AFTER STARTING the engine, and remained on for about 1 minute. It continues to do that right up to the present. No trouble starting. Then a few seconds later, glow-plug warning lamp comes on and stays on for about 60 seconds before going off. At that time, I admit to being terrified to return to my dealer since the shock of the Mercedes Benz “Start Error” was freshly etched on my soul.
With all the weird stuff I’ve read on forums in recent weeks, your experiences run almost parallel to mine, proving once more that the truth IS stranger than fiction.
Thank you for your responses. I shall post any developments “as and when”
Cheers, Neil


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