kwcross

Hi there -
I have a 1996 E320 with the digital climate control system (I am in the US). Last night, the climate control system began acting strange. After setting my desired temperature, the temp selected started going down, on its own, all the way to "LO". Also, the recirculate light was flashing. I tried shutting the car off, restarting it, but that did not fix the issue.

Is there a way to simply reset the climate control console? - or any other ideas on what is causing the problem?

Thank you in advance for your assistance. All the best,

Ken

RichardM98

First part sounds normal. If the car was turned off when it was hot out and the CCU was set for auto, then when starting the car at a later time when it's cooler the CCU will adjust by reducing the fan speed. It's part of the 'automatic' system.

No built-in reset that I know of but you can pull the unit from the dash and disconnect the power if you have the 'radio keys' needed. You can also disconnect the battery but be sure to have your radio code (if needed) and procedure to resync windows and sunroof.

kwcross

Thanks so much for the response. This might have something to do with it, but it seems that the two temperature displays decrease at different rates. I just tried to set both of them at 72, but the drivers side lowered itself to LO, while the passenger side lowered to 60 something.

RichardM98

If you press both the UP and DOWN arrows at the same time the temp should set to 72. If not, you may have a problem with the unit.

kwcross

Thanks; I did try that, but alas, they just start adjusting themselves like crazy. I think that you are right, something must be wrong with it.

Any other ideas?

Ken

RichardM98

Maybe a flakey temperature sensor?

These CAN bus cars use a microcontroller which is like dedicated PC to control most electronics in the car. Disconnecting the battery is a way of 'resetting' the computer. It usually doesn't help but trying it doesn't cost much. If you do, wait about 15min before reconnecting.

kwcross

Thanks so much for the tip; I will give that try and report back. Best,
Ken

kwcross

Hi Folks -
I took a video of the climate control mystery. Can you watch it and let me know your thoughts? Thank you so much!

http://youtu.be/S7vFtl3ryYs

dsmith

Spooky. What's it do on EC?

kwcross

No, ECON is not one, and yes, it is spooky for sure.

Ken

RichardM98

I think he means what happens when you press the EC button.

Try running the built-in diagnostics and post the values and any error messages.

http://www.eclassbenz.com/node/27