mandyg121

Good morning - looking for some insight on some electrical issues I'm having with my 2000 E320. I am going to go into as much detail as possible and try to remember everything so I can describe this as

I bought the car from my mom with 96,000 miles on it. I was going through a divorce and re-establishing myself in a career where it wasn't not great for me to be riding around in the beat up Ford Focus I had at the time. While my mom had the car, it sat in her garage all winter (she bought a 4wd vehicle for our nasty Northeast PA winters) and I had it towed to a shop specializing in european cars. That mechanic got it "on the road" for me with a new battery and a few other things that I can't remember off hand because it was a few years ago. While it was in his hands, the original (MBenz) radio stopped working. I assumed maybe it had something to do with the new battery. Maybe it fried when he put the new battery in? I didn't know but I went to best buy and had them install a Kenwood aftermarket and was on my merry way. (Maybe that was my biggest mistake but I can't change that now.)

Pretty soon after, I began having the following issues:
Passenger window regulator continually needing replacement (about 3-4 times in a one year period). I eventually wound up giving up on that and just not using the window. My rear drivers side window then started to make a grinding sound and I avoided putting that window down as well.

Around the same time, the trunk button (on middle console, near shifter) stopped working but I was able to use the key fob and button on trunk to open. No biggie....I figured I'd just deal with it.


Then, the more frustrating (and still unresolved) issues began when I locked the car (using the fob) going in to work one day and came back out to all of the windows being down/open (including sunroof). The problem persisted throughout the day. Since I was on the road while at work and it was a cold day in December, I pulled the fuses so the windows would not go down while my car remained parked and unattended.

Next day, before I was able to get it into the shop: there was a VERY noticeable burning smell in car.

Took car to the shop with another vehicle lined up to drive for a while so they could really get to the bottom of this problem. They replaced battery, rear driver's side window motor, and rear passenger side window regulator (again). The car sat at the shop for a couple of months while they took some time to navigate and correct some wiring issues they discovered relating to the radio (thanks Best Buy) and by the time I was getting ready to pick it up, it needed a new alternator. They replaced the alternator.

Picked up the car and the following problems occured:

* Doors won't lock using button OR key fob (replaced key fob battery and still nothing)
* Interior lights will not turn on when doors open (even after pressing the interior light button to "turn on when doors open" which did not resolve the issue) Lights will turn on but only permanently and the feature where they will turn on when the doors open does not work.
* Sunroof wouldn't open
* High beams wouldn't turn on

Brought it back to shop but I needed my vehicle for business so couldn't really leave it there for long. He looked at the Central Locking Pump because of the locks not working, and the pump was completely fried. The foam cover on it black on the interior as if it was about to catch on fire. He suspects that at one point, a liquid may have been spilled in the back seat, causing this. That's neither here nor there, but now we know that my Central Locking Vacuum Pump needs to be replaced.
He disconnected it so I could continue driving the vehicle until I got a new one. (It's on order now)

And now my radio won't turn on and my battery drains completely if I don't start it over the weekend. I didn't start my car from Saturday morning this past weekend until Monday morning and it took an actual CHARGE to re-start it.

I think that's everything. I know these issues can be multiple things.
I LOVE my car even though it has caused me a great headache, believe it or not. I LOVE not having a car payment. It gets awesome gas mileage, runs AWESOME otherwise, and I'd prefer to see if I can get to the bottom of this rather than getting rid of it. There are 125k miles on the car and I'd prefer to run it for 1-2 more years if possible.

I have discovered a few different possibilities while researching on these forums but I'm curious if any of you have any insight on whether all of these issues could be related to the Central Locking Pump? I doubt it but was curious.
Also, I saw someone else had posted a while back on here that they had battery drain issues co-existing with windows/window switches being temperamental and the issue may have been battery relay in the trunk.

But what on earth would be causing all of these other assorted issues?
Could it possibly be one or two parts? If so, I'll order them, but don't even know where to begin.

ANY and all advice is appreciated! Thank you!!!

Plutoe

Thanks for the opus, however can you distill your woe's down to a simple a-z declining importance list!!

mandyg121

And if I posted a simple list, I'd be asked for more details.

RichardM98

Since your issues are primarily electrical have you checked the relevant fuses? And by check I mean continuity tester or volt meter.

It also sounds like something is draining the battery but the time frame is so long -- several years -- that it's hard to tell.

Also, there have been other posts (here or benzworld?) about finding all your windows down and sunroof open. I didn't read them so I don't know if a solution was found. You might do a little research on that.

jbe300d

I have a little bit of problems with my car. What I learned is that every time you disconnect battery you have to enter security code for your radio to operate - maybe that was your initial problem with radio. I would probably disconnect aftermarket radio and custom wiring if any to try to eliminate them as a source of the problem. Your PSE (vacuum pump) under the back seat is connected to everything - it could be the source of the problems. Check your front passenger area like the rocker area but inside the car (close to front post). You have to take the carpet off, molding from the rocker panel. You will see there like plastic channel with all the wiring coming from battery to passenger compartment and the engine bay area. Check wiring and connectors for burning/melting signs/flooding. In the engine bay on the passenger side close to the windshield there is a box, inside are pre programmed modules controlling your car, as well as more fuses to check. Check for signs of flooding (mine was wet with oil - I had the car rustproofed by pros, they were using pressure sprayer).

bbirdwell

I'm going to ask an ignorant question.


What were the Diagnostic Trouble Codes when you ran the Quick Test on the Diagnostic Assistance System?


Everything listed as a problem depends upon the CAN bus. It's just a distributed digital control system. If the link is broken, nothing happens because the messages don't get through.


First place I'd look is the X30 connector blocks as primary followed by the X35 connector blocks as secondary. Did your car ever get rain or snow into the interior?


FWIW, on the W210, one of the main CAN bus X30 connector blocks is located under the passenger side door sill (LHD).


Do a search for "CAN bus tutorial".


Find a Diagnostic Assistance System.


Good luck.

bbirdwell

Some more thoughts after sleeping on it overnight.


To find the power drain, insert a multimeter in the circuit between the battery positive lead and the battery cable. Leave the key off! You don't want to activate a high power system as most multi-meters are only fused for a max of 10 amps. Again, leave the key off. If the battery is draining as fast as you indicate, you should observe a power drain of multiple amps (you do have a 900 amp-hour battery, no?). Pull fuses one-by-one until the drain drops to effectively zero. You found the circuit with the short or active device.


If you have access to a Diagnostic Assistance System, you can test the CAN bus. The test should show "Unstable". Pull connectors one at a time to isolate portions of the distributed digital control system. At some point the test will show "Stable". You've now isolated the issue to one branch of the system and can focus your efforts on that area.


The document you want for tips is:
507 HO CAN B (ICC)10-28-02

bbirdwell

I was just made aware of this site so try here:

http://manual.startekinfo.com/manual/JSP/sitemap.jsp