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you guys are awesome...............thanks for the info and the pictures........i wiggled the connection and it works, now i will pull the motor and solder the board connections and end this problem that probably would have cost me$500-$600.00 at the dealer for both sides.
My MB is 2002 E320 4Matic 66,000 miles........first owner.
First......a HUGE thanks to Sledge hammer for the pictures......only difference i found was, the drivers side gear housing didn't have a tension clip holding it, plastic was melted over the center shaft, i just melted it with the tip of the solder gun, the rest went as you guys stated. The first side took me about an 1hr-1 1/2 hrs.............i went very slow...cause i wasn't sure. the second head rest took me about 35 min..from first screw out to last screw back in.
The MB dealer told me about 3 hours labor to do both....$145.00 per hr for first 2 hours, then i think he said the third hour went to $175.00 per hr, plus about $142.00 +tax per motor. WOW what a savings......even though i had to buy a soldering kit for $16.00.
KUDOS to all everyone and all the help on this thread.......
next time I'm I'll be sure to come here first........
I have just done this on my car, this thread made it so much easier.
Before I resoldered both motor tags, I twisted them a little with some small long nose pliers so they are not just holding the pcb with the solder.
Great thread. I fixed the problem with the tie method. I sprayed electrical spray (CAIG Gold) to the connector and tied. 10 min. I think it's faster doing the job just removing the bottom torx. Let's see how long it would last. Thanks!
Last edited by aobnitas; Feb 23, 2012 at 10:47 AM.
Thanks guys for a great thread! God only know how much this saved me. I could hear the relay clicking when I worked the button so I figured it was the motor. I removed the head rest and then the motor. I was not able to get much to happen by moving the wires and the plug. I did get some moved ocationally. I then popped the plastic cover off that goes over the larger gear wheel so that I could remove the actual motor. I then resoldered where the plug attaches to the circuit board and everything then worked fine! I did this on a 2003 CLK320 that I just bought a couple of days ago.
From reading the above posts, and my similar experience with the headrest motor, the likely real problem is cold solder joints in either the connector or the motor and the circuit board. The cure is to remove the motor assembly and examine all the solder joints carefully and resolder any that have a cold solder joint (broken connection). On mine both 3 pin connectors had bad solder joints, and one of the motor connections to the circuit board had bad solder joints. Since resoldering, headrests are now like new.
I to tried some of the other solutions mentioned in previous posts and they would work for a while, then back to erratic operation.
to remove the motor assemblies, remove the headrest and seatback cover. Then tap the motor assembly with a mallet to move the assembly sideways. it will then drop out of the seat and you can disasemble the motor (pretty obvious) to get to the circuit board and touch up the solder joints.
First try moving the entire seat all the way forward. You should be able to adjust the head rest. Now, place the seat back where you want it and the headrest should work.
moving the seat all the way forward worked for me - it allowed the headrest button to actuate the motor up and down (no motor problem). Headrest button now works intermittently in all positions but always when I move the seat from rear position to all the way forward.
Didi you replace the motor yourself or get it done, the cable plug to the motor had the female plug bit (which is usually on the circuit board at the motor) come out when i pulled the plug to check it. So I need to take the head rest motor out and resolver it back on.So wondered if you did the motor removal and replacement yourself. ?
Has anybody got a copy of the pictures that sledgehammer loaded, I can't see them when I look at his post, would appreciate it
very much. My passenger seat is jammed tilted forward and the headrest is on the roof by the window at the moment, I have the seat back open etc, just need to figure out how to get the head rest out and carry on with the repair - Thanks
Has anybody got a copy of the pictures that sledgehammer loaded, I can't see them when I look at his post, would appreciate it
very much. My passenger seat is jammed tilted forward and the headrest is on the roof by the window at the moment, I have the seat back open etc, just need to figure out how to get the head rest out and carry on with the repair - Thanks
i thought there is a plastic release tab at the base of the head restraint post ... at the top of the front seats
update: i'm a dork. my truck has the release tab. the E320 is simply pulled off. thump it upwards to release, about 10# of force or so
Last edited by raymond g-; Nov 25, 2017 at 09:34 PM.
well my head rest won't go down now. all funtions of the seat work. even passager seat. (heat and movement) but just drivers side won't go down. fuse is good. i can even here it clicking inside the dash.
any opionins?
I had the same exact symptoms. The fix was to turn the key fob to the second position and then move the seat all the way to the rear position. Then the headrest was able to go up and down. This worked for both sides and they were both immovable before. The user manual directions say to move the seat all the way forward as a fix. That was/is incorrect.
First try moving the entire seat all the way forward. You should be able to adjust the head rest. Now, place the seat back where you want it and the headrest should work.
Hi, sorry I'm new at this as just now logged in and I reply to that person gave the way to move my MB's electric headrest which has got stuck; yes indeed I moved the seat all way forward and up with resault YES! Thank you!🙏🙏🙏
First try moving the entire seat all the way forward. You should be able to adjust the head rest. Now, place the seat back where you want it and the headrest should work.
Hi, my MB's (W210 1997 sedan) electric steering won't go up and down; does anybody has same problem?
First try moving the entire seat all the way forward. You should be able to adjust the head rest. Now, place the seat back where you want it and the headrest should work.
So I haven't been able to move the driver side headrest down in my MB E320 2000 for a while now going to be in the boat this post the first and all the threads the first thing I tried was moving the seat all the way forward moving the back of the seat up and then what do you know the headrest went down and then when I move the seat back when up a little bit but it went right back down when I push it down thank you guys you're amazing Best Car I have Ever Owned New or Used!
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head reas repair
I'll be sure to come here first........
