According to RAVE the cable doen not run through the dreaded connectors, I have also cut them out and soldered them together a couple of years ago. But I´ll have a look at the cable running along the from the BECM in the footwell... Just weird that I didn´t move or touch anything and suddenly it works again...as if bridging the wire had some effect on the electronics....

What was also suprising was that it fired up instantly after sitting 2,5 months (before it always needed some seconds to fire up...)
And that, since it had gone ot the bumpstops in the time it was sitting, it went back up to ride height in less than a minute of the engine running...guess the tank was still full....?
Always full of surprises this car.....

This car is really a test of faith in whatever....

Last subject was the change of the VC which I hadn´t done yet, then all lights started pulsating (Had that a couple of times, tightening of battery cables fixed that) and then suddenly it did not crank anymore.
That straw broke my camels´ back and I de-registered it, had enough.
Got an EV as a daily driver which is really great, especially with the soaring petrol prices (LPG als went up, but only 20%).

Now I am not giving up on Rangie, so I am back at it.
Ignition went on, Battery is good, when I put the key in Pos. III I only heard clicks from relays but no crank.
Changed the starter for a spare one (good practice since I had to order a 5/16 " allen thingy to put on my 1/2 " wrench.)
Same problem. Bridging the Starter Motor relay worked, so starter, solenoid and cable from fuse box to starter was OK. Relay was also OK. But no Signal from BECM to engage the Relay. Thought it might be the fuse box. But connection from BECM to fusebox was good but no ground signal to engage the relay.
Went to the ignition switch, checked all positions, also OK.
Found that the wire from the ignition switch (white/red) to the BECM did not have continuity. Bridged that with a cable and TADDAAAA, the starter cracked !

So far so good, wondered how that cable, which runs behind the dashboard should have been damaged but now comes the tricky bit:

I removed the brdiging cable and wanted to run a new cable. But the car now starts again without the bridging. As if nothing happened. How the hell can THAT be ???

I am stunned. Any ideas ??

Even when the TC is in neutral I cannot turn the front output. Both rear wheels on the ground. It does not turn independent of the rear one, it is as if they were connected. So it must be seized.

Ok, reading though everything again and understanding the diagram (and I think both Richard and Thorst are right in a way) I believe the way to test it is to put the transfercase into the "towing neutral". I did not do this, I put it in P+handbrake. Otherwise turning the front output as I did cannot possibly turn as front and rear are mechanically locked by the output from the TC to the centre diff. If the gear at number 9 of the diagram does not move, the other three cannot either, right?
I will try the same again with the Fuse in to put the TC in neutral. That should make all components inside the TC before the centre diff moveable...

They way I did it was two left wheels off the ground (otherwise no chance to move the propshaft), Gearbox in P and handbrake on. Then turn on the front output of the TC.
Does that qualify ?!?

OK, so took the propshaft out again (with the new tool, but that is only really useful on two of the four nuts), tried turning the nut on the transfer case output as described in the proper test method and there is no way I can move it. So I guess a replacement viscous coupling. Since I am getting a bit wayr which probelms the car will throw at me next I guess I will go for a used one fron the UK, as here in Germany you can only get used transfer cases....let´s see....
This car is like a tough Zen master......!

What about changing htm from left to right ? That´s the trick I learned from you but havent´t done myself yet. Worth a try, maybe the original sensor will reach the million miles then :-D

OK, I'll Check again on the Transfer Output Just to be Sure, have ti Take Out the proshaft anyway, now with a better tool....

OK, so I chekced again. Jacked up one front wheel (Gear in P) and there is now way I can get it to turn in any way.
When I pull away with the steering full in one direction I do not get skipping wheels but a clunk noise front the front left (CV Joint?) and sometimes the TC kicking in, but that may be because it is not dry anywhere here...
What it does have is quite some free play so that at the circumference it´s about 10 cm (4 Inchens). Is taht normal ? Comes form the diff, right ?
So is the worst case scenario worn diff + broken CV joint + seized VC....?!?
I feel like Don Quichote with this car....

Thanks, I will do another test on the Weekend and then see...
New VC seem to be very expensive, does ist make Sense to go for a used Transfer Case ? They are a around 300-400 Euros here in Germany...
Seized VC: means front and back axle are locked or also left/right ?

For the VC Test: dies the Gearbox have to be in neutral (N) or the Transfer Case in neutral (Insert fuse as when towing) ??

I tried it with gear in neutral and handbrake off but still there was no way to turn the wheel. And I am quite big and strong....maybe I didn´t try the "very slowly".....Is there another way to check the VC ? Actually I just wanted to change the UJs....!

I found and ordered a tool from amazon UK and have found UJ in heavy duty from GKN "Har Spicer" for 50€ each or Britpart Heavy duty for 40€.
But before I order them I would like to know if the VC is seized....

The propshaft socket tool looks good, will try to get one here in Germany, not quite so easy.
Will try to get some heavy duty joints and some new nuts and bolts, also the tool looks good.

But if I jack up only one front wheel there is no way I can get it to turn....It´ll have quite some free play from the diff but turning it...no.
Does that mean anything ?

If that is true then I have made myself A LOT of unnecessary work....! I´ll check.

But at the front end I can remove the bolts, they come from the rear and the nuts are on the front end where the diff is....

RAVE says "NOTE: Fit bolts with heads toward transfer box and away from differential" I found that weird because there is no way to remove bolts on the rear end anyway and there is no way you can mount them from the front on the front end.....
But RAVE also says "NOTE: Raise 1 front road wheel and rotate propeller shaft as necessary to gain access to all fixings." - but I have to raise both wheels of one side to do that....

Removing the diff side ist easy but the transfer case side takes sooo much longer...I do it with two spanners (one 9/16 and one 14mm, that combination seems to work best) but space is so confined behind the crossmember it is a pain to remove the bolts.
And why on earth are the bolts (on the rear of the front shaft) fitted so they cannot be removed ? The heads don´t get better everytime you work on them and if they are worn there is no way of replacing them....that is really a mystery to me. Or has some previous owner fitted them the wrong way after rebuliding the transfer case...?? That I really cannot understand from an engineering/mechanic point of view....^^
I really hate to say this but working on my other cars (both Mercedes W124, so roughly same age) is sooo much easier, there seems to be a different engineering logic behind them...
The RR is really laborious to work on, it´s like the final enemy in a videogame :-D. But still I can´t get away from it :-)
Hope I am not offending anyone....

The yokes seemd fine, everything went in smoothly.
Just remembered I did change both ends and they now both failed. Japco for € 12 each, you reap what you sow......damn.
Is there a better way to remove the front propellor shaft except the tedious milimeter by milimeter with two spanners technique ? remove crossmember ?

Hi,
had some vibrations in the drivetrain, traced it down to the front universal joint having to be replaced (btw. who in hell designed the rear flange of the front propeller shaft to be behind the crossmember, making the task unbelievably, annoyingly long). Changed the universal joint, checked all others, they were fine.

Now, only some weeks later, again vibrations and the same (new) UV has play again, much more than the last time !! And the rear one of the front shaft too !!
How can that happen so fast ? Did I do something wrong ? Checked RAVE but they do not cover that change. They were filled with grease allright.

Only thing that comes to mind is that I was driving a lot in snow in these weeks, so a lot of ABS and traction control, does that bring unwanted, destoying vibrations into the drive train that kill the UVs? Or just shitty quality UVs ? But they should last longer than some weeks....!

I keep the Nanocom plugged in all the time since I blew up my old one connecting it the wrong way too many times. But I also have an extension cable on it now so I could unplug it at the connection, not having to crawl into the footwell every time. Maybe that extension cable is also not quite up to par....

Thanks for the advice about posting pictures !

Hi,
I plugged in my Nanocom a couple of weeks ago and while diagnosing the becm I heard a series of fast relay clicks from the odometer and from unter the right seat, for a few seconds But nothing else. One click is normal when starting and ending the diagnose with the becm, but this was a lot more.
Then one morning my usually german display said "Market not set" and was back to english. Also the becm settings were resetted. Changed that back to german with the nano and has stayed like that since.
What could that mean....?? Power loss at the becm ? Ground ? But doesn´t the becm save its settings when there is no power...??
greetings,
Max.
Link Photo
(Just posted the Photo to try out the new Picture hosting method via ImgBB - is it also possible to see the pic directly in the post or as thumbnail?)