bbrain

i took my car to a mechanic to fix the stepper motor and evaluate my suspension. when i called to check on the progress the next day he told me the battery was dead when he went to move it again in the morning. after he charged the battery he had to reload the climate control software via USB drive but the LCD on the gauge cluster was still not working, and the speedometer needle shimmys below the 0mph when you insert the key..
i have searched and found similar problems, but none exactly like this one..
any ideas would be greatly appreciated

thanks in advance

PS: i had no problems with battery, gauge cluster, or lighting issues prior to this

bbrain

the first picture is what it looks like..

second picture is what appears to be cigarette ash

third and fourth seem to show that he removed the gauge cluster for some reason..

i have some codes my buddy pulled today i will post in a few once i get them emailed to me

Glyn M Ruck

Get us those codes. This mechanic is a butcher!!!! I would kill him for that mess.
Have you driven the car to see what else does not work? I'm worried that this guy has blown a SAM - hope I'm wrong.

Good luck!

bbrain

i am not sure what all has to be written down.. but here they are the DTC's

P2135 check can communication with instrument cluster(A1)
P2300 check can communication
P2000 braking torque valve sent from the traction system via the CAN bus is implausible
B1076 Problem in CAN comm with upper control panel module (N72/1)
B1029 AAC not sending data
B1030 control module ICP not sending data
B1057 Component left trunk lamp (e18/5) has a short or open circuit
fyi my trunk light has been out for some time..
B1091 Fault in CAN comm with comfort AAC pushbutton module (N22/7)
B1096 fault in CAN with control unit upper control panel unit (N72/1)
B110D problem with CAN communication with control unit AAC
B15A8 left footwell actuator (m2/10) is stiff or blocked
this was the only single problem i took it in for
B1100 normalising not ok
B1854 fault with CAN communication with control unit ICM

i hope this can help you help me and anyone else who brings their car in to someone on a recommendation..

today i overheard at the dealer someone drove their car in.. the next day the tech went to turn the car on.. and it was dead, so they called the customer to say he needs a new transponder, key, and fuel pump because they all may have been shorted out when they recharged the battery... similar to what happened to me at another mechanic.. idk what to do..

ontmiss

He probably tried to start your car with 100Amp starter/battery charger. My friend had that case with Ford explorer and damage was $1600.

Glyn M Ruck

All those codes tell us is that the CANBUS is screwed up which is certainly why you are seeing blank screens etc. & you have HVAC adaption issues & a stiff actuator/stepper motor/arm/mechanism.

You really need to get this car onto a STAR DAS & get them to cancel this lot & re-adapt everything. I suspect that other things are not working properly on the car & that your mechanic shorted something while messing with the stepper motors and/or messed up when disconnecting/charging the battery.
Best case he might have left something unplugged. Stepper arm replacement is a pain.
All you can do yourself is check fuses & do an HVAC reset. https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...ght=easter+egg

For module, SAM etc evaluation you need a STAR DAS. The HVAC controller might be blown??

Sorry - This is not DIY

bbrain

so make an appointment at the dealer is the best route?

not to blame someone else, is there a way to show the mechanic he may have been the cause of the CAN problems.. the stepper motor problem was already there

i was about to order a new instrument cluster, should i put that on hold?

thanks for your help

Glyn M Ruck

I would take it to a dealer or someone else with a star that knows what they are doing. I doubt there is anything wrong with the cluster. The stepper motor & it's broken arm did not cause this.

You need to explain to the mechanic that something he did caused it & try & find out exactly what he did.

bbrain

:update:
on my way to the dealer, my car lost power and died.. started the car again and it cranked for a few extra seconds and died quickly thereafter.. towed it to the service center.
4 days later they have yet to duplicate the total death but have lost power with no codes..
seemingly unrelated to the original problem of the gauge cluster issue.. they said that simply is the cluster itself. can anyone advise? thanks again

Glyn M Ruck

Not enough info. Have they found the cause of the battery drain. e.g. seat modules? Sudden death can be anything from fuel starvation to an expired CPS. (crankshaft position sensor)

W203E35

Speaking of fuel starvation, you want to hear about a weird option that I enabled. There was an option in developer mode about fuel pump something (don't remember the exact wording and translation) and I enabled it . Couple of days after I enabled this with the fuel tank mod (gallons) I was low on fuel. Like usual (the idiot that I am) I kept driving. My car just died out of no where and luckily a tow truck guy was around the area and saved me (gas).

The ICM did say I have 1.2 gallons and 22 miles (roughly) and then shortly after my car died. I have a feeling this option is to save the fuel pump. Someone was telling me running your car on very low fuel is bad and running out of gas is even worse. I was told the gas cools the fuel pump to a certain extent. I have a feeling this option shuts the car down when it's at a gallon or below it to prevent damages (this is my speculation). I haven't disabled it and tried to run out of fuel to be sure but I have a feeling that's what it was.

I also found something very interesting, you can also set your automatic lights to switch on based on temperature

MW_ATL

Karo, that is very interesting and probably what they are doing.

We've burned up a couple fuel pumps on cars at work (Crown Vic's ) by running them out of gas. They definitely use the fuel to cool the fuel pumps. I know we are talking apples and oranges, but just thought I'd mention it.

On topic - yeah, I'd have a real issue with that butcher job from the mechanic. But I would also guess if he is that big of a butcher, he won't own up to causing the problems. Good luck with it!

bbrain

i will give them a call again in the morning, they still have not been able to fully replicate the problem, though the first morning the dealer had the car it would not start and just kept on cranking.. but after that one instance it was fine.. no battery issues either..

come to think of it, i may have never asked them to check the seat modules in all the confusion with the tow and everything..

hrmm. . i will ask them about that option too

and that butcher will be hearing from me after this is all settled.. i am tired of driving my '99 civic around

bbrain

still at shop. read them everything we discussed here.. dealer still has no idea why it stalled out and would not start up.. they said they could start with the crank position sensor or fuel pump.. but they can be expensive guesses. =/

is there any way it could be a fuel level gauge?

bbrain

sigh.. dealer can still not find a problem with all the info we have given them..

maybe they need to troll our boards ? heh

bbrain

fyi update.
after 3 weeks, they could not find out what was wrong with my car, according to my sa only work they did was removing the crank position sensor and cleaning it.. and were not able to replicate the problem.

since i have an instrument cluster at home, i swapped it out, and the lcd works perfectly now.. is there a way to transfer mine over so the mileage is correct?

i hope the stalling does not occur anymore

Glyn M Ruck

I understand this is possible with a STAR DAS in developer mode. You might ask Karo if he has found out how to do this with his STAR.