Driver side electric head rest not working
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Hers - 2003 C320. His - 2004 330i zhp 6 speed.
Driver side electric head rest not working
This is one of a few remaining bugs to work out in an 03 320 that I purchased recently. Driver side head rest will not go up or down when the door switch is pressed, so it is stuck in one position with no way to adjust it. Passenger side works fine. I tried re-initializing by holding the switch but it does not respond. I hear faint clicking when pressing the switch coming from the front area by the dashboard (not from the head rest area). All other power seat functions work just fine.
I was browsing the EPC-net system and found this statement attached, but not sure how to look that up. I am wondering if it just says to re-initialize (which I tried already) or something else. In case you can't see the picture it says: "Please see DTB P-B-91.16/94b (or later) regarding Electric Head Restraint Height Adjuster not functioning."
Is there an easy way to troubleshoot this problem? Bad switch? Bad motor? etc... I got an advice to clean the switch contacts but I have no idea how to get to the switch? Is there a DIY for this?
I was browsing the EPC-net system and found this statement attached, but not sure how to look that up. I am wondering if it just says to re-initialize (which I tried already) or something else. In case you can't see the picture it says: "Please see DTB P-B-91.16/94b (or later) regarding Electric Head Restraint Height Adjuster not functioning."
Is there an easy way to troubleshoot this problem? Bad switch? Bad motor? etc... I got an advice to clean the switch contacts but I have no idea how to get to the switch? Is there a DIY for this?
Last edited by vert; Jan 28, 2011 at 11:14 AM.
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From: centennial, CO
2003 c240
Take the door panel out and see if you can get the switch from there. But if your hearing clicking when you press the switch then it may not be the switch. There might be a bad relay. I faintly recollect reading a thread where someone had a bad relay that was located in the dash. Try searching "stuck seat" or something of that sort, and you might be able to find that thread.
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Hers - 2003 C320. His - 2004 330i zhp 6 speed.
Take the door panel out and see if you can get the switch from there. But if your hearing clicking when you press the switch then it may not be the switch. There might be a bad relay. I faintly recollect reading a thread where someone had a bad relay that was located in the dash. Try searching "stuck seat" or something of that sort, and you might be able to find that thread.
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Hers - 2003 C320. His - 2004 330i zhp 6 speed.
I was playing with the switch today and all of a sudden the headrest started to move up and down. Then few minutes later it would not move again, then move a little bit at a time, and now it is back to dead. Should i suspect the switch now and try to clean the contacts? And if so, is there a DIY on how to get the door panel off to get to the switch?
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CLK320
If your power seat control is without memory, you can find information in the "search"of this site, or perhaps in benzworls.org site. If you have the seats with memory, as far as I know, there is no help there. I just removed the memory seat control switch of my '99 208, that has a switch similar to the one in the 203 you have. You have to remove the door panel to reach and remove the switch. The switch is very easy to be open, just three screws and a few catches. There you find five individual switches, one for each motor of seat, back seat and head rest. So far I could not find a way to open these individual switches, to be able to really clean the contact points. I only sprayed contact cleaner through some open spaces, and moved the switch 50 or 60 times to clean the contact. These individual switches are soldered to a printed circuit that you can plug on the proper plug and test it before reassembling . I did this a few days ago and so far all switches are working very well. If somebody who reads this post knows how to open the individual switches, please let me know.
Paulo Kropsch
Rio de Janeiro-Brazil
Paulo Kropsch
Rio de Janeiro-Brazil
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From: North San diego
C320 2002
I was playing with the switch today and all of a sudden the headrest started to move up and down. Then few minutes later it would not move again, then move a little bit at a time, and now it is back to dead. Should i suspect the switch now and try to clean the contacts? And if so, is there a DIY on how to get the door panel off to get to the switch?
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From: Southern Cal
a C32 AMG & S-Works Tarmac
I was playing with the switch today and all of a sudden the headrest started to move up and down. Then few minutes later it would not move again, then move a little bit at a time, and now it is back to dead. Should i suspect the switch now and try to clean the contacts? And if so, is there a DIY on how to get the door panel off to get to the switch?
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Hers - 2003 C320. His - 2004 330i zhp 6 speed.
Mine was doing something similar after a passenger of mine put the seat back too far and crushed an umbrella I had behind the seat. I ended up taking the back off of the seat itself and played around with the connectors and headrest motor. It turned out to be a loose connection in the seat back. It takes about 10 minutes to do the job.
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From: centennial, CO
2003 c240
If yours work sometimes and intermittently, it sounds like a bad switch. Removing the door panel is pretty easy. Theres a diy on here somewhere, you just have to search for it. It might be under "door panel removal" or "changing speakers."
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From: Southern Cal
a C32 AMG & S-Works Tarmac
All you need is a phillips head screw driver to remove the 2-4 screws at the bottom of the back panel. Do not pull the panel toward you, slide it down. There are 2 hooks at the top that break easily.
Last edited by ScottW911; Feb 1, 2011 at 05:26 PM.
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Hers - 2003 C320. His - 2004 330i zhp 6 speed.
I found the DIY for the door panel and it looks a bit more involved that taking the seat back off. It looks like the problem can be a switch OR the stuff inside the seat, since ScottW911 had a similar issue and he fixed it by working on the seat. I'll try that first as it's easier and then move up to the switch.
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Hers - 2003 C320. His - 2004 330i zhp 6 speed.
10 year update... Took the rear panel off (two torx screws on the bottom then pull the panel down) and found that the headrest would work if I wigled the wire close to where it goes into the headrest motor up top. Seems like the problem is in the area where the wire connects to the motor. The connector has two pieces - one on the wire and one that is held into the motherboard looking part with just two pins. That's the connection that seems loose and it actually came out from that motherboard looking piece, which I don't think should happen. I don't see an easy way to fix it so just adjusted the headrest to where it should be. Would be nice to find a permanent fix but obviously it's not a major problem since I left it alone for a decade 
