C55 Let Me Down Today
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 164
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C55 AMG
C55 Let Me Down Today
Summary:
A/C stops working on my way to a job site
Windows then get stuck
Pulled off to get a drink to cool off
Car won't start
Jumped the car
A/C works again
A/C dies again
outside temp gauge goes crazy
my windows are stuck up still
call MB roadside
MB roadside tells me I'm 10miles in excess of their range
Car won't start back up again
Jumped the car again
Limped 10 miles in extreme heat
Wait 1hr for MB roadside
Battery changed
Car starts but no a/c and nothing works
Roadside tells me alternator is dead
I go home
Car stuck in the garage
A/C stops working on my way to a job site
Windows then get stuck
Pulled off to get a drink to cool off
Car won't start
Jumped the car
A/C works again
A/C dies again
outside temp gauge goes crazy
my windows are stuck up still
call MB roadside
MB roadside tells me I'm 10miles in excess of their range
Car won't start back up again
Jumped the car again
Limped 10 miles in extreme heat
Wait 1hr for MB roadside
Battery changed
Car starts but no a/c and nothing works
Roadside tells me alternator is dead
I go home
Car stuck in the garage
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 316
Likes: 6
From: New York
Stg3 B5S4-C55 AMG
If it makes U feel better, my friends new Cayenne Turbo just died in the middle of the road a few months ago.
Not even 2 mos old.
Took Porsche Rdsd ***'t 2+ hrs to get to him.
Then after he gets his car back....fuel gauge dies.
........so it can happen even to the best.
Sorry.
Not even 2 mos old.
Took Porsche Rdsd ***'t 2+ hrs to get to him.
Then after he gets his car back....fuel gauge dies.
........so it can happen even to the best.
Sorry.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,000
Likes: 20
From: East Bay, Bay Area
2002 C32, 2012 S550
I had a similar problem one evening when my alternator went out too. Except I was driving at night and my headlights(bi-Xenon) were going out while I was on the freeway.
Fortunately, I was able to limp home. I think mine probably died out prematurely as I had a previous problem with my seat modules/Command draining my battery all the time, so it probably overworked my alternator and made it die prematurely.
Sorry to hear about your frustration. Been there, done that.
Fortunately, I was able to limp home. I think mine probably died out prematurely as I had a previous problem with my seat modules/Command draining my battery all the time, so it probably overworked my alternator and made it die prematurely.
Sorry to hear about your frustration. Been there, done that.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 164
Likes: 0
C55 AMG
You guys are not going to believe this- I went down to my neighbor who is an MB dealer to tell him about the problem and see if they had the alt in stock and I got some interesting news. My other neighbor who owns a c55 had just called him and was stranded with the same problem. What are the chances of this?! 
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,614
Likes: 2
From: sf
Merc power
I had a similar problem one evening when my alternator went out too. Except I was driving at night and my headlights(bi-Xenon) were going out while I was on the freeway.
Fortunately, I was able to limp home. I think mine probably died out prematurely as I had a previous problem with my seat modules/Command draining my battery all the time, so it probably overworked my alternator and made it die prematurely.
Sorry to hear about your frustration. Been there, done that.
Fortunately, I was able to limp home. I think mine probably died out prematurely as I had a previous problem with my seat modules/Command draining my battery all the time, so it probably overworked my alternator and made it die prematurely.
Sorry to hear about your frustration. Been there, done that.
I know the alt job cost around 1500 with parts.... my friend told me, when his 32 die on him.
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,000
Likes: 20
From: East Bay, Bay Area
2002 C32, 2012 S550
So it was a bad seat module that was causing my command system to not shut off. When you pulled out the key, even after it was supposed to shut down, you could hear a fan behind the command system still running.
I went to a Mercedes Specialist and they said I'd have to replace the whole command system. Then I told him what I read on this forum about the seat module. "Wow, I guess you need to replace the seat module. When I disconnect it, it turns the command off."
Needless to say, I only had to replace my passenger seat module and all was fine. I had ANOTHER mechanic do it though.
Only cost me about $120-150 including labor if I remember correctly.
And for the alternator about 6 months later, it was about $1200.
I went to a Mercedes Specialist and they said I'd have to replace the whole command system. Then I told him what I read on this forum about the seat module. "Wow, I guess you need to replace the seat module. When I disconnect it, it turns the command off."
Needless to say, I only had to replace my passenger seat module and all was fine. I had ANOTHER mechanic do it though.
Only cost me about $120-150 including labor if I remember correctly.
And for the alternator about 6 months later, it was about $1200.
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,784
Likes: 84
From: SCV SoCal
2002 CLK430
Alternators can be rebuilt for less than $100. R&R'g the alternator is tougher than the rebuild. Once the alternator is on the bench, the electrician swaps the brush, diode, rectifier, and a couple of bearings. My guy takes about an hour. Rebuilders can be found under "elecrical" in the auto section of the yellow pages.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,000
Likes: 20
From: East Bay, Bay Area
2002 C32, 2012 S550
Alternators can be rebuilt for less than $100. R&R'g the alternator is tougher than the rebuild. Once the alternator is on the bench, the electrician swaps the brush, diode, rectifier, and a couple of bearings. My guy takes about an hour. Rebuilders can be found under "elecrical" in the auto section of the yellow pages.
My mechanic was looking for rebuilt alternators for my car, but there weren't any available for my car at the time.
And specifically for the C32, and I think many variants of the AMG models, they use different specific alternators for different models and as such, there were no rebuilds available for the C32 at the time I needed mine.
Super Member
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 757
Likes: 0
'98 C43 AMG. Obsidian Blk w/2 tone slvr/blk interior
the auto-leveling headlights have sensors on the front and rear passenger side suspension linkage, they detect a difference in the car's pitch and adjust accordingly. maybe check these sensors, perhaps a fuse? or maybe the dealership pulled a dirty electrical job on your car... GL 
