Minimalist M

What is the EC button on the climate control of the 2001 CLK? Should the green light on the button be on when the heat is used? I remember the salesman telling me something about using it when I turn on the heat and turning it off with the AC or something like that. It's supposed to be an economy compressor mode and when the light is on, the compressor is off, right?

E55AMG99

All it does is shut of the AC comp. Even in heat mode when there is no need for AC, the light will not illuminate by itself. The ONLY time I use it is during a race

mmgrad

EC is economy mode... when the light is on (amber), it is in economy mode... if the light goes off, it is essentially turning on the AC.

I practically always leave it in EC mode because it rarely gets hot enough to require the AC. If I want heat, I just turn up the temp while it is EC mode (EC light on), and it works fine.

Leaving EC off (AC on) consumes too much fuel and its too dam cold.

FrankW

basically it's a fancier way of saying "AC OFF"

riannausa

Ok my EC button always turns on by itself when i turn on the key and doesnt wanna go off not unless i turn the key off and on again. Whats the problem there???

MarcusF

Start the car, but do not touch the gas. Let it idle in park. Turn on the AC. Press and hold the "REST" button on the climate control. After approximately 5 seconds, the display on the climate control will change. After the display changes, you can let go of the REST button. What have just done is put the AC in diagnostics mode. On the climate control display, you will see 1 on the left, and another number on the right. Write down both numbers. Press the AUTO button on the left side. That will cause the number on the left in the display to change to 2, with a different number on the right. Write down both numbers again. Continue to do this until you have numbers 1 through 8 (on the left) and the corresponding numbers on the right side of the display written down. You can press the REST button again after you have written the numbers down. Pressing the REST button again will take the AC out of diagnostics mode. Post the numbers you wrote down here, and I’ll take a stab at telling you why the AC isn’t working.

riannausa

1 91
2 105
3 83
4 86
5 71
6 183
7 5
8 106

i treid to override the ec button it worked but now both my auto buttons are on constantly. i NEED HELP!!!

and maybe you can help me with the other problem i have bout my alarm? when i press the panic button the lights just blink but i dont hear anything.???

Thank you

MarcusF

Everything looks normal except number 07. Thats the barometric pressure of the Freon. Mine reads double that number. My guess is that you're low on freon. When you have someone charge the system, ask them to add dye. That way if there is a leak in the system they'll be able to spot it. If there isn't a leak, the AC will probably work fine after the charge. If there is a slow leak, the AC will work fine until the freon gets low again in a few days (or weeks). By adding dye, they'll be able to spot where the freon is leaking from "if" you have to bring it back.

Dewrie1906

My AC Diagnostic number are:

1 76
2 77
3 72
4 72
5 92
6 126
7 0
8 75

Can someone please tell me what this means.

MarcusF

#7 means there is zero freon pressure. Like the system is empty.

rediahad

so i haven't used my ac compressor since i got the radiator and condenser replaced last jan so about a year and a half, so i put freon in today and my compressor was smoking badly, i havenb't experienced this before i just want to see if anyone else has, the clutch still engaged i think it might have just needed oil and i burned it out what do you think

Frank Shaw Jr.

Hey MarcusF i followed the procedure but when i enter diagnostic mode I only get
1 102
and pressing the left (nor the right) auto button doesnt change it to 2.

02 benz clk430 cabriolet-AC doesnt blow cold at all.

Thanks MarcusF

MarcusF

Odd, I've never heard that one. Usually if the AC goes into diagnostic mode, scrolling through is the easy part.

1 is the in-car temperature. Unfortunately, without the other codes I'm not much use at helping to diagnose the problem.

SuperChargerE55

Is there anyway to do this on cars without the digital climate control panel? Dont got that I got the old fancy old shcool scrool buttons hehe..
But got same problem I havent used COLD since well August last year, living in Sweden is to damn cold but now summer came like always out of no where throwing 26 degrees in our faces from cold to warm,,
FINALY ...

But I get no cold air, drove like 15 min still just hot air, but I am unsure how to get the COOOLD air just? Do I leave the EC Button ON or OFF if I realy want cold air?...

Lol sorry for stupid quistion just have never used, had the car since August last year so never had change.. I am affraid is leaking freon not 100% sure but I remember some wet spots on the ground when bought the car after parking home I see it left fron just under the same place the windows washer water container is placed...

Guess I take it to the dealer or?

A1EK

Im in Europe and have the simple dial climate control which seems to be a littel more robust then the digital version. For me when I got the car I pressed the EC botton ( AC off) over the winter and found by the summer the gas had leaked and I needed to re-charge the AC. I found out from Mercedes that you SHOULD NOT leave the EC Button on ( AC off ) for long periods and its recomended to just keep the AC ON all year. This way the AC is lubricating the internal pipes and prevents the seals from drying out and gas leaking.
I re-charged the AC myself with the correct gas and used a leak sealer and have not had any probelms for 2 years now. I dont have an internal thermometer so bought a small one to measure the internal temperature which goes down to 8 degrees C.

So I would recommend leaving the EC botton off ( AC ON) as per Mercedes, it gives you dry cool air in the summer and dry air through the winter which keeps your windows clear. I disagree with comments that it uses more fuel, as I have tested my MPH and see no differenence off or on.

SuperChargerE55

Like always you save the day:-) Thanks man...

I dont really feel the cold from mine and am pretty sure I got a leak!
How can I test that?
Possible to guide me how to refill what to buy? I never touched the AC before so im totaly newbee this..
I just remember when I bought the car there was water on the garage floor left front side but never paid attension since was august last year and Sweden and august hmm pretty damn cold up north..
I also had the EC on all winter,, perhaps I am facing same problem, dried out or something..
Can I see it with my naked eye or do I need special tools for this..
What fluid/gas do I need for this?

Hope is not to much ask ask hehe..

A1EK

CLK 350 Coupe

Thanks for the compliment !
Like you my AC was not staying cold each year and after paying £50 each year to get the gas recharged and each time bein told that there was no leakes when they tested it, I thought I would try using a leak stop and its worked for me ever since.
I bought a kit on ebay, it came with the leak stop, R134A gas recharge and pipe adapator with gauge. The instructions were simple to follow and basically invloved first startin the engine with AC ON of course (Thats EC light OFF remember) then you connect the Leak Stop can first to the supplied adaptor which then connects to the LOW pressure side of the AC system. This is on the right of the engine and its not possibel to mix this up with the HIGH pressure side as the connector is different in size. Once connected you gentley shake the can until you feel its all been sucked into the AC system whcih takes about 30 secs. I think you then connect the AC gas recharge and view the gauge on the provdided pipe adaptor so that you check to see the correct amount of new gas has been replaced into the AC system shown by the green portion, and thats it.

I read all sorts of comments about doing it myself and not doing it myself, but after I had done it I couldnt see what the big fuss was about as it took me about 10 mins in total and cost me less then it would have done at the garage. Plus once you have the pipe adapotor you can cheaply by refills for less then £10 so you can then top up when you feel you need to, however I did mine 3 years ago and still find its plenty cold.


I've had a quick look on ebay for the brand of AC recharge that I used and at the time when I bought it I got a recharge and leak stop as a kit so have a look .
This link shows the pipe adaptor I have and how it works so you get the idea. Good Luck

SuperChargerE55

A1EK

Your the man of the day realy..

I just miss the link: "show the pipe adaptor" my friend
then im all set..

Awesome cant wait

A1EK

Ooops sorry, the link below is a different car but you get the idea, also the re-charge bottle has the pipe pre-attached, you can use this type but I bought the adaptor myself so I could buy more re-fill if needed, ironically I havn't had too ! The video shows how to re-charge the gas, its the same idea for the leak stop you put in first .


This is another video with the adaptor I have:



http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/R134A-CAR-...item56357ab9e0

SuperChargerE55

So perfekt thanks mate.

SuperChargerE55

There just 1 thing and I might ask stupid but on the EU models like yours and mine the EC button what and why is there?

Im old bimmer owner yea yea I know hehehe... Love my mb more trust me guys I swear to MB...
But I never figoured out how the climate works, how do I get just COLD AIR?
We called it Air-condition when its cooled like we have but I see people here also called it ac for the heater aswell I think is why I mix things up,,
and should the EC be ON light red to get cold air or?
And do I then just turn down the knobs all the way down as far as they can come or? COLD...?

A1EK

I've had BMW too and love the e 31 model . The EC bottom stands for economy and when it's on with red light the car is supposedly in economy mode when the EC button is off the car is in climate control mode and will use air con to regulate the temperature. IF you leave your dials so that the white part is in the middle it will be cold on hot days and warm in winter. In summer you can also put dials to blue ,Max cold if you prefer. If you put the air flow so it only blasts out to your face and not to window or floor its plenty cold !

SuperChargerE55

Thanks man
now I get it,,, thats why now it all make sence ha... So cool....
I never knew it worked like that,,, by the way the E31 v8 love it...

No wonder mine is so screwed up hahaha...

By the way the most funny of all,, I wrote to you guys here durring work
and you posted the above with e-bay and all so when I came out to drive home I notice
a flyer at my window, well at all the cars parked. A company offering free climate test..
So I ordered time for monday, will go and look standby and watch and see if is screwed up as I suspect I fix it myself and order the ebay parts..
But today testing now I know how to do,, lol...

Thanks alot for helping out a noob like myself..

N.B picking up H&R springs today 40/30 cant wait realy

By clk_350_coupe at 2011-09-09

A1EK

Your car looks really clean and well looked after, I like the black window surrounds intead of the normal Chrome, unusual.

SuperChargerE55

Thanks man yours to, I love the all black on your car and the grill.
Dont like those grills big star in center lol..
And yes my car has been taken well care of in time, got 3 owners total im the nr 3
and actually imported from the uk but left side driver..
When I bought it I found a 1 pound in the floor..
Keeping it for good luck