Our car, 1998 E320 sedan, has always been a bit bizarre, with the alarm going off at the weirdest times, etc. and some switches not working. ‎As they say, this is so weird that you could not make this up. So a week ago we left the front windows down an inch overnight and then neither would move after repeated attempts with the console switches over next few days, nothing on power seats worked and mirrors not work but the car ran and drove, etc. The key FOB would lock and unlock doors but would not raise or lower the windows as it normally would. I checked fuses and all OK. So I take both door panels off and directly power the window motors to raise them. I had disconnected the battery to work close to the door air bags. Now the car still starts and idles fine, now the key FOB will raise and lower all windows, but will not lock car or unlock the trunk (with the frozen/corroded key tumblers and with our tools boxes), the door key which does turn to lock and unlock the driver’s door but does not operate the lock system, the front windows will not operate with the switches, now the rear windows will not operate with the switches, the seats will not move and the left and right blinkers no blink (really – blinkers operated by the computer?) but the 4 way flashers still work and the blinker-parking circuit OK with the headlight switch. Anyone have any suggestions? How do I reset everything (computer I assume) to factory specs, etc. and how do I manually operate the vacuum system to unlock the trunk? Please help.

 

Sounds like you have an issue with the interior CAN network. I've also read that it could be the PSE pump (the one that locks and unlocks everything. if it goes bad, It can mess up the CAN network as well.

another thing, with the headlights and turn signals - you might have a failing front SAM. To reset everything, leave the battery unplugged for a while.

 

Thanks, had to leave it behind for a 250 mile trip (tools and spare tire, etc. locked in trunk) but will remove battery cable next when we return. Upon reconnecting the battery, do I need to do anything special to reset. I have read about turning the steering wheel. Is that important or useful? Anything else? We have the original owners manual and will read that as well. Now I wish I had known about the battery reset procedure, you can imagine my consternation after reassembling the door panels and pushing/holding the unlock button on the key FOB and the windows went down a bit. Was certainly relieved when the FOB's lock button put them back up. Will keep you posted. Appreciate the help.

 

Not sure 1998 has ESP that require steering resetting, but you will need
-radio code
-window calibration
-sunroof calibration.
Last 2 can be done while driving, so it can be done in just seconds.
Exercise all mechanical locks at least once a year. If they are really frozen and multiple key try will not work - get a cleaner like WD40 with a straw, spray inside, wait few minutes, try the key again few times while wiping it with a napkin and keep repeating till full success.
At the end wipe all WD40 from the locks and leave it dry, or put graphite.
Trunk can be always emergency open by blowing into the tube disconnected from PSE.
Let us know if PSE was dry when you inspect it?

 

I'll be the gadfly and approach this from a different direction: I think you need to consider the possibility
that that there may water intrusion, be it from AC drain, clogged door/roof drain, open roof/window.
the myriad of symptoms seem to indicate highly vulnerable locations such as console or under the
rear seat where the critical pump, electrics are located.

opening the trunk manually can be done using your metal bladed key in the lock. another way would
be to puff air into the hose leading to the truck lock (labeled on the PSE port "hack" or
something close). only take a few pounds. baby snot aspirator bulb would work...maybe turkey
baster.

side note: when you say you 'checked fuses' that isn't the best description as it doesn't indicate
which fuse you checked.

if your car did fall victim to water intrusion, then your continuing to energize the electrics repeatedly
might do more harm than good. I would suggest you disconnect battery right off and begin a
thorough inspection for water intrusion (water marks, moisture, foam wetness, continuity checks
of relays and fuses under the rear seat etc).

here are a couple of links
https://www.benzworld.org/forums/w21...hing-rain.html
http://oi45.tinypic.com/24vt8yh.jpg
search this forum under 'water intrusion' and see how the described symptoms match your situation

 

Big thanks for your thoughts and help to both kajtek1 and raymond g-. As mentioned, had to leave the E320 behind the other day but going to visit it this week. Can answer some of your questions though.Yes, we know the radio code, have used it once before after leaving the lights on and needing a jump. Good to hear nothing else required immediately, IE no steering reset for the W210’s to reset.You give good advice to exercise mechanical keys regularly. I did do that but when the trunk lock actually stopped working we did not get the fix in before we needed it. Car spends most time in Vermont and yes, salt is used up here. Will see if the WD40 works, or will do further disassembly.Did try blowing and sucking on the ‘hack’ yellow tube, but was not successful. Was secondarily worried about moisture in the system (IE inside the yellow tube). Good to know pressure ‘locks’ and vacuum ‘unlocks’ now. Bringing my brake bleed hand vacuum pump and some pressure sources and will be careful not to go over a few psi.Did check all the fuses. Every fuse under the hood was removed inspected for blown element and looked for any corrosion or possible bad connections and checked for voltage on both sides (both terminals, IE in and out) of the fuse. All OK. Under the back seat all was dry with no evidence of water ever. All the fuses were checked for voltage on both sides (both terminals, IE in and out) of the fuse, all OK.I did look at the fuses in dash by driver’s door, but they were for lights and only pulled a couple to inspect.The PSE was in its foam house/enclosure, no evidence or water. Also under the seat, under the black backed (topped) dry sound insulation is a white Bosch battery, with the breather hose connected, all dry.The parts behind the front door panels, when we had them off last week, were dry and showed no evidence of corrosion. Had not thought about the sunroof letting moisture on the center console. That is a new avenue to think about for us. Funny thing, we got car from my in-laws who bought it new so we know it was never a flood victim, and since we have had it, approx. 7 years, the door unlock button on dash and the trunk open button on console never worked -- until last week, IE after the windows stopped working. Then they did work while nothing else did. Of course we have progressed to the point where nothing is working now, not even blinkers. Appreciate your help, will get back to it in a few days and will keep you posted. Regards Bill.

 

Electrically - I might suggest you take a few minutes and some reasonably easy stuff to check "back to basics" - like check/unbolt/clean the chassis ground connection at the battery..

 

More on the water intrusion. I had a non-functioning CLK55 that ended up being water intrusion on the passenger side footwell. down there you'll find where all your interior CAN wires connect as well as about 100 other important connections beneath the passenger carpet. It would be wise to remove the front seats and pull up the interior carpets until you can access all of the wiring and make sure nothing is corroded. On the CLK55, there was a green powder on everything from the corrosion and numerous important wires just broken apart at the connector. Fixing all of those completely dissolved my issues with that car.

 

Success: Thanks for the thoughts and help. When we returned to the E320, we disconnected the battery, turned the parking lights on to ensure any residual energy would dissipate, left the battery disconnected for 3-4 hours. When we reconnected the battery, we started the engine and let it idle a few minutes. Upon the first test of the key FOB, it worked like it was supposed to. All good. In addition, upon checking the rest, everything worked like it was supposed to, the blinkers- yes, seats, windows, and even the two switches that had never worked since we had the car, the door lock/unlock button on dash and the trunk open button on console. We had to enter the code on the radio and to our surprise, the seat memory still remembered my position at least (will have to verify the other ones later) Did get the trunk open by puffing the yellow hose under back seat. Used a bicycle pump and held the hose connector to the bicycle pump connection with my hand to avoid over pressure. WD40 was not enough to get the trunk key working. Disassembled most of lock mechanism to work on it, separated it to the latch mechanism, the key cylinder in its plastic housing and the top where the wires and vacuum/pressure module was. Could not get the key lock cylinder out of the housing but could get to the back of the cylinder and after removal of the cir-clip and 2 plastic parts, could see the concentric cylinders of the lock mechanism that would not turn. There was evidence of corrosion. Success occurred after some light tapping on the back metal extension on the lock cylinder near the cir-clip to free up either the stuck tumblers or the stuck cylindrical pieces. The good news is everything works now. Our next problem is the gear shift mechanism. The manual gear selection, for downshifting for hill speed control, no longer works and the P, R, N, and D selection is getting stiffer. Any suggestions for getting to the mechanism would be useful.

 

i suggest you head over to YouTube and scan for shifter area disassembly tips. Benzworld's 210 forum also has
threads as does MBWorld on water intrusion into this area so use the SEARCH feature. another tip is to look for
threads related to neutral safety switch...which usually has disassembly info and pics