Richard / E320

Something about my 2001 W210... no matter how well I take care of her, there's always some sort of new issue with it. Yesterday, while coming home from having the vehicle smog tested for registration renewal, I noticed that when I use either the left or right-hand turn signal, the clock and gear selector flicker. I had the gauge cluster pixel repair done last July (I can't say if the problem started when I got the gauge cluster back, or if it's a more recent development that I didn't notice) and all the pixels are there, with excellent brightness and clarity. No missing pixels. But no question that there is a flicker when using the turn signals, whether the motor is running or not. Battery voltage reads 14.3v with the motor running, 12.7v with it not.I checked and re-tighted both battery cables, and both cables and battery posts are completely clean and corrosion free.

I emailed the repair facility on eBay that did the gauge cluster repair, and he stated:

"voltage regulation problem. Mercedes are notorious for bad voltage regulation. There may be a blinker relay you could try to change. You can also check your battery terminals. Clean and tighten."

Is the W210 really 'notorious for bad voltage regulation'? Vehicle has approximately 10,650 miles on it.

Additional information: Per my local Mercedes dealers' recommendation, I had disconnected the battery cables and had it on a charger / battery tender that charges at .4-.7 volts if the battery is at capacity when starting the charging process. But that led to a major problem when I went to have the smog done because it wiped out the long-term computer memory and the State of California assumes the worst, that it was done intentionally to wipe out any emissions-related error codes. Took a few tries but I drove 160 miles in one day, which didn't solve the drive-cycle problem, so I then did the driving process recommended by Mercedes and it worked. (I was able to use the Autel Autolink AL319 code reader / scanner before going over to the smog shop a third time, as it will verify if the 'CAT' mode is active after a drive-cycle. And it tells you not by error codes, but an actual on screen report / check-list. Very cool and simple to understand.) No error codes or issues, and the vehicle passed the smog test process.

Anyone familiar with this type of issue and what I could check?

Thank-you

(On this forum, can we post iPhone videos?

Pathum003

Okay I really don't have an answer but I'm astonished. His the hell do you have less than 12k miles on a w210????

raymond g-

i know because I have similar driving habits and more than one car. i bought
my 1999 E320 in 2003 with 50k on the odo. 13 years later the mileage reading
is a few clicks above 68k. just can't get myself to sell it. I drive it 'one last
time' and my memory is refreshed what a nice car it is, and much more cabin
room than my truck

Jan AMG

Hi Richard, what a nice W210 you have! Beautiful color combo.

I bought a mint 2000 E55 from Japan and I love driving the car.. haven't found better, even the 2015 E63 can't match the W210 character.

But yeah, there is always something. So now I'm living in somewhere in between .. this ambivalent feeling where you love the car but somehow you are constantly checking what could go wrong. On the other hand, I have just returned from a 2,000mile long trip and it has been flawless - brought me home graciously and in style.

To answer your question, I'm not aware of the W210 having problems with voltage regulation.

And yes, you can post videos, if you upload them to Youtube first :-)