Hey all,

Just picked up a 03' C32 today, love it so far but have a few questions... The drivers seat and steering wheel no longer work, which I read could be a fuse (going to check it now), the second thing is occasionally the right headlight won't come on. Do you think this is a bad bulb or ballast? It works questionably.

My biggest concern is the key fob. It also works when the car has been driven, but if it sits you need to open the car with the metal key and turn it on to turn off the alarm. Starts up no problem, but could that be a sign of a bad battery in the car? I'm going to try to test the voltage tomorrow, what do you guys reckon is a good range for the battery with and without the car running. I'm also getting warnings for the tail lights, which I do believe after checking a few bulbs are out, going to change them tomorrow in hopes it fixes it and there isn't deeper lying electrical gremlins...

thanks all

Ok first, Does you car have the OEM hids, OEM halogen, or aftermark hids/halogen? Is your bulb not firing at all, or only once in a while? If your car has hids, When your bulb is working is it a pinkish color, or off color than the other hid? These are some questions that need to be answer before we can best help you. If your bulb looks normal and you have hids, Your ballast is failing or you have a wiring issue. Now if your car is not charging correctly (Low battery, or bad alternator) that could also cause the issue. Normal W203 with the engine off and accessories on should be around 12.2-12.6, With your car on, should be around 13.5-14.2v

Factory HID's, the bulb appears fine in color and output, has been working so far tonight.

Still getting warnings about the tail lights, hopefully it is just the burnt bulbs...

I'm just worried there's some bigger electrical problem I wasn't aware of at purchase.

some of these cars have electrical problems. bad wiring. might not actually be a bad bulb. i currently have a right tail light bulb out and a left license plate light out. they aren't always out though.

good running voltage is like 13.8-14.5. I'm usually in the 13.9-14.2 v range.

idk about the steering wheel motor....that might be a a fuse. there is a fuse diagram for the c32 somewhere on this forum if you search. regarding the seat....that could be a fuse or could also be wires unplugged under the seat. there are like 4 or 5 plugs down there underneath.

it is possible the fuse was pulled and/or the wires are unplugged because the car has a bad seat module that drains the power. these cars most common problems are the short-lived intercooler pumps and the faulty seat modules.

Your issues with the key fob unlock isn't due to the battery, or at least in my case it wasn't. I've just recently put in a brand new battery. As always sometimes it will work, and other times it will not. Usually I get away with walking over to the passenger door handle sensor if the driver side isn't working. Sometimes the mechanical key is the only choice though. I find it strange that after driving things get better. Key fob battery also wasn't the cause.

I agree with jurkel. The seat control module was probably draining the battery and the original owner just pulled the fuse. Both the driver seat and steering column is controlled by the seat control module.

Thanks for all of your replies guys, for an 03' the car will need some work as expected, hopefully I can get it into great running condition!

GT, have you figured out what was causing it? It's weird, it'll work no problem, leave the car sitting for 20 - 30 minutes and it's almost like it shuts off the ability to use the remote feature... turn the car on, let it idle or drive for a few and it works for a bit...

When I took it for a test drive, the seat worked fine. Luckily the way it died is still positioned on the way I sit. Also, the car had been sitting for a while and the remote still worked no problems, not like it's acting up now

So, I took it to a place today 45 minutes away to check out the fuses and what not, couldn't find anything. However, since i was driving it around all over I noticed my keyless entry was working without issues. I took a look at the current battery, had a sticker from 2008 on it decided to take a trip out to walmart and replace it. Now my drivers seat and steering wheel work, as well as my keyless entry hopefully will continue to work. Still an issue with the tail lights and right headlight but, from what I heard a generic bulb might trip the mercedes sensor due to it being a different value or something like that. A step closer to the right direction at least

just open the tail light plate and take a eraser and scrub off the corrosion on the bulb contacts on the tail light contact plate. Over time corrosion forms where the bulb meets the contact plate and can cause addition resistance which can trigger bulb error codes.

Thought I'd chime in here since I have an '03 C32 with similar issues. The steering wheel/driver's seat problem happened to me once. The fix ended up being simply reaching under the driver's seat, unplugging the module that controls these motors (it's the only easily accessible wire I remember there being under there), leaving it unplugged for a bit, and plugging it back in. This happened probably 6 months ago and the problem hasn't returned since.

As far as the headlight issue goes, I feel your pain. Occasionally my left headlight doesn't fire. There's no rhyme or reason as to when or why. Occasionally it's as simple as turning the headlights off and back on to fix. Sometimes it sticks like that for a day or so. I'm assuming the ballast needs to be replaced, but I'm just not getting around to looking into it. The right headlight on the other hand works fine, but the color temp is changing and it now kinda pinkish. I'm assuming it's the bulb, but once again, just not getting around to looking into it.

Oh boy that reminds me of bad memories with my c32. Boy that car is amazing and strong but that freakin front seat

However, you will really enjoy the C32 congrats bro!

yeah but now there's a pretty easy fix for it. There was my $20 relay fix, now there's a 5cent wire tap fix instead.

I own a 02 c32 amg and if I plug in my seats it drains the battery I heard you could just change the computer and it will be fine but I set mine up and I'm the only one who drives that car so I don't change it much.

Bad seat module.. You can replace the module itself with an updated part number to fix the issue, search the forum for more info on part numbers.. There is another fix which involves crimps, cost is about $5.. I did this 4 years ago and is still effective to this day.. Use that search feature, it will save you loads of time..