E-Class (W211) 2003-2009

Can't understand malfunction message:Battery Protection Conven.Functions Temporarily

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Old Nov 28, 2007 | 09:41 PM
  #1  
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Can't understand malfunction message:Battery Protection Conven.Functions Temporarily

My 2003 E320 shows a message: 1 malfunction.

Upon scrolling, it says" Battery Protection Conven. Functions Temporarily Unavailable."

I have no idea what that means and I'm not that much of a car idiot.
--
Also, if someone knows what Service D is, let me know. The car also says "Service D in 11640 miles" or something like that.
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Old Nov 28, 2007 | 09:54 PM
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1) The battery is low, has a bad cell, etc and/or is not getting charged properly.
2) There is a sticky up top that lets you figure out service info.
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Old Nov 28, 2007 | 11:46 PM
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it's conserving energy by turning off accessories to charge the battery... had it happen to me many times when i left my lights on all night

if it stays on then there is a problem with either the battery or the alternator

other wise it should return to normal after about a half hour of driving

hope this helps
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Old Nov 29, 2007 | 12:28 AM
  #4  
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In other words its diverting power to the necessary items in the car and killing the power to the "convenience" items that you don't need to have as you drive to the service center. Fix it or you'll get stuck. The car will tell the service guys whats bad.
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Old Nov 29, 2007 | 01:23 AM
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'05 E320 CDI, '07 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2007 Porsche GT3
Conven. Functions Temporarily Unavailable

"Convenience functions temporarily unavailable".

This means your car has low battery voltage and the computer has shut down nonessential stuff like seat and steering wheel heaters until the alternator has had a chance to recharge the battery.

This can happen if you're repeatedly driving very short distances and using major electricity consumers like seat heaters, steering wheel heaters, rear window defoggers in the winter. The fix is to take the car on a 10-15 mile highway trip with all major consumers shut off once per week or so. That's a good idea anyway to get the oil up to operating temperature for a few minutes and cook off the condensation that can accumulate in the crankcase when the oil temp never gets up to where it should be..

It can also forewarn of a dying battery.

"Service D" is a major interval service, involving such stuff as an oil change, brake inspection and other items. Sounds like yours is a long way off yet.
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Old Nov 29, 2007 | 09:40 AM
  #6  
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My Bluetec showed the red battery in the message center last night and again this morning. No message as described above, and 30 or 40 miles driven yesterday. Want to drive the Benz on a 300 mi trip tomorrow, but am somewhat hesitant. SA says it should be fine when I called to make an appt for Monday. At 12K and 15 months since delivery date, could that be a battery already? Would you drive it tomorrow, or take the truck?
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Old Nov 29, 2007 | 09:50 AM
  #7  
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Take it to get fixed before you go.
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Old Nov 29, 2007 | 09:56 AM
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Probably the wise thing to do. I'd feel pretty stupid standing on the side of a 2 lane road with jumper cables in hand.
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Old Nov 29, 2007 | 05:42 PM
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this happened to me a month ago the day after coming back from a D service (was told it was unrelated but i wonder...)

anyways, turned out to be a bad alternator... would not recommend taking a trip with that malfunction active...
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Old Nov 29, 2007 | 05:51 PM
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Re: Error message

My 05 E500 gave me that warning message several times in the 1st month after getting it's 1 year service. It was quite a dramatic scenario, the radio would stop, NAV screen would freeze, everything would then start working again and then the error message would then appear. The error message would sometimes clear while driving, other time it would clear with the next restart.

In my case, when I took it back, they allegedly re-flashed the BCM and the problem went away. I never got a straight answer as to what the service techs did to create the problem though....it had never happend prior to the service visit.

Give the age of your car, it could well be a dying battery; I would take it to the dealer or a good MB specialist if you are out of warranty asap.

Good luck.
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Old Nov 30, 2007 | 01:05 AM
  #11  
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It happens to me once when I was fixing up the garage (patching up drywalls / cleaning etc) the car wasn't been driven for over two weeks at all except starting it move it out and drive it back it after I finish my work.

I've done the same routine for about 4 or 5 days (just start it move it and bring her back in) and one day that same message pops up and what I did was hook up a battery charger to the main battery and top it up and since then everything is normal.

It could be a dying / weak battery but since it a sealed type and I will observe it a little longer and if it gets worse, its time for a new battery.

BTW, anyone knows what size is that battery and the average cost????
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Old Nov 30, 2007 | 05:29 PM
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God dam it!!! This just happend to my 04 e500, about 1 hr ago, right after I got home from the stealership. I had service E done, and now this light!! So are you telling me I have to go back now?, and should not drive it? I use this as my daily driver and am busy as hell. If this is the case I'm sending them the bill next time for taking up my time? 6 hrs for an oil change and to check the computer....
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Old Nov 30, 2007 | 07:27 PM
  #13  
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Originally Posted by nye500
God dam it!!! This just happend to my 04 e500, about 1 hr ago, right after I got home from the stealership. I had service E done, and now this light!! So are you telling me I have to go back now?, and should not drive it? I use this as my daily driver and am busy as hell. If this is the case I'm sending them the bill next time for taking up my time? 6 hrs for an oil change and to check the computer....
It could be they left the trunk opened (the interior turn off by itself after a while even the door is not closed) and drain the battery a bit and the computer detect the voltage drop below the certain point and trigger the message.

I would drive a bit longer and hook up a battery charger and top it up and see.

Mine doesn't give me that message now but only time will tell!
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Old Nov 30, 2007 | 10:05 PM
  #14  
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I just had this too after being gone for a week. After one day of driving it was gone. Glad this post clarified as I wasn't sure what exactly all the convenience functions were.
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Old Nov 30, 2007 | 10:18 PM
  #15  
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From: Toronto,Canada
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I guess we should pay some attention to our battery when its a few years old because my previous ML500 was running fine until one day the battery just die for no reason (had to tow it in and was told the battery was dead and no other defects found) everything was cover under warranty and at the time when this happen the truck is only 2 years old!!??!!
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Old Nov 30, 2007 | 10:19 PM
  #16  
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Originally Posted by noyu
It happens to me once when I was fixing up the garage (patching up drywalls / cleaning etc) the car wasn't been driven for over two weeks at all except starting it move it out and drive it back it after I finish my work.

I've done the same routine for about 4 or 5 days (just start it move it and bring her back in) and one day that same message pops up and what I did was hook up a battery charger to the main battery and top it up and since then everything is normal.

It could be a dying / weak battery but since it a sealed type and I will observe it a little longer and if it gets worse, its time for a new battery.

BTW, anyone knows what size is that battery and the average cost????
I paid about $80 my battery at autozone. Although I did not need it because my alterator was bad...
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Old Dec 1, 2007 | 12:34 AM
  #17  
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Originally Posted by NCE500
My 05 E500 gave me that warning message several times in the 1st month after getting it's 1 year service. It was quite a dramatic scenario, the radio would stop, NAV screen would freeze, everything would then start working again and then the error message would then appear. The error message would sometimes clear while driving, other time it would clear with the next restart.

In my case, when I took it back, they allegedly re-flashed the BCM and the problem went away. I never got a straight answer as to what the service techs did to create the problem though....it had never happend prior to the service visit.

Give the age of your car, it could well be a dying battery; I would take it to the dealer or a good MB specialist if you are out of warranty asap.

Good luck.
Ditto on my 05 E500 but they first changed the battery and then put in a new alternator when that didn't work. The alternator was the culprit.
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Old Dec 2, 2007 | 01:18 PM
  #18  
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Originally Posted by S93
My 2003 E320 shows a message: 1 malfunction.

Upon scrolling, it says" Battery Protection Conven. Functions Temporarily Unavailable."

I have no idea what that means and I'm not that much of a car idiot.
.
Good evening,
The most important question is:
Has your car been left unattended for a period of time? This is a regular problem that is usually caused by very short journeys that do not allow the car to charge the main battery, or the vehicle is left standing for two or more weeks.

Next cause will be the winter and the cold weather which tends to highlight a battery that might be on the way out.

Our own 211 is at the dealership with a 0.4 amp seepage which was draining the battery, this has now been diagnosed as a faulty SAM unit.

Regards
John from a very wet and windy Torquay
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Old Dec 2, 2007 | 01:37 PM
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This always happen to me when I play my music loud in my car (I have an amp and sub only) everything else is stock. But mine come back within just a few minutes of driving.
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Old Dec 2, 2007 | 02:26 PM
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Originally Posted by nye500
God dam it!!! This just happend to my 04 e500, about 1 hr ago, right after I got home from the stealership. I had service E done, and now this light!! So are you telling me I have to go back now?, and should not drive it? I use this as my daily driver and am busy as hell. If this is the case I'm sending them the bill next time for taking up my time? 6 hrs for an oil change and to check the computer....
They probably had the star diagnostics computer connected for quite some time without an external charger, perhaps other tasks consuming the battery. The convenience shutoff as such is no issue if there is a good explanation why that happens (car being unused for a long time, electrical consumers used heavily when car not running etc.).

How long way was it from the dealer? If it wasn't a short trip, the battery should have got charged. If the the warning came on after a reasonable drive, then it sounds suspicious.
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Old Jul 2, 2008 | 06:53 AM
  #21  
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Mercedes E500-04 Sport Sedan
Convenience functions temporarily unavailable

AND now the red picture of the red battery came on about a week ago...SO I took my E500 Sport Sedan 2004 in to the dealership.

I had first brought my car in Aug/07 for the convenience functions error and they told me that they didn't see the error message and couldn't diagnose what the problem was unless it came up and said they drove my car around for awhile.....
My issues were with and still are....
Radio, cd, cd changer wouldn't open or pop out cds, air cond, windows, butt warmers would shut off whenever I drove my car....Now I must mention that my car was sitting in the dealership for over 3 months prior up to Aug because they sent my rims/tires off to be fixed and 3 of them were stolen from UPS....they had to reorder new ones. This problem started then....SO now the red battery visitworkshop came on a week ago....my car is in the shop and this was provided to me as what needs to be repaired...

And they say the batteries are ok....

REPAIR
Labor Parts Total
Battery Light - Replace Battery Relay & Recheck $240.00 $94.60 $334.60 *Includes $165 Diagnostics
For Mechanical Fault with CD Replace CD Changer $240.00$431.52 $671.52
For Radio - Update with new Software $160.00 $160.00
For Rough Idle - Replace Spark Plugs & Wires $560.00 $717.18 $1,277.18
For A/c Truning Off - Replace Sensor & Recheck $160.00 $248.71 $408.71
$ - Total $1,360.00 $1,492.01 $2,852.01

Grand Total $ 2,852.01

So my questions for you and what to say to this dealership:

Am I still under warranty because I brought the convenience function error in Aug/07 my warranty exp 11/07

Do you think they could have found the problem when I first brought it in Aug?

Do you think that it could just be the battery relay?

Should I have them just fix the battery relay first and then proceed?

By my car sitting so long could this be why this error came up and caused these malfunctions?

Do you think the Radio, cd, cd changer wouldn't open or pop out cds, air cond, windows, butt warmers etc...are all related to one problem?

Are they tryin' to rip me OFF! HELL YEA I'm feelin'!....

My friends have given me some bulletins and I did show them to the service adviser but I don't think he did anything with them....

I need help here guys/ladies I've had major things go wrong with this car and it seems it never stops.....I need to know what to say to these guys to get my car fixed and not get taken to the cleaners!....

I am current on all services I have 72k on my baby....

Last edited by Whssprr; Jul 2, 2008 at 07:01 AM.
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Old Nov 18, 2009 | 03:34 PM
  #22  
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2003 E500 Sport
Talking Battery Protection indicator/Vibrant orange

I ran into the same problem! I replaced accessory battery, not the car battery.
Then 2 months later seat module on driver side caused my 2003 E500 sport main battery drain or caused a draw in the electrical system. As soon as the battery draw occured the alarm went off like crazy. The draw also caused the AGW(Audio Gate Way) to malfunction...I have appointment today with SACMBUSA, Sacramento, Ca. Mercedes Benz Dealer...So Goodluck...
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Old Nov 18, 2009 | 10:15 PM
  #23  
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From: Belle Mead, NJ
2003 E320
I got that same message on my 2003 E320 some time ago. On my car it would come up one day but then it would go away the next time I would turn the car on, only to show several weeks later once again. I read on one of the threads to check that the connections were not loose. It turned out that the connections on my main battery were loose; I tighten them up and have not had the problem again.

Don't get me wrong, there can be some many other problems that can cause this message to come up (as you read on the posts others have written) but in my case, just by tightening up the connections was the solution.
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Old Nov 19, 2009 | 12:20 PM
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2003 E500 Sport
Talking AGW(Audio Gate Way)

Re-furbished or New? Does anyone have access to a Used or Re-manufactured AGW? Software was up-graded & that didn't work...

Retail $1100.00 from Mercedes Benz Of Sacramento. By the way I purchased 2003 C230 Sport from them & they wouldn't give me a Goodwill repair on
my 2003 E500 Sport.

If anyone has AGW I need it ASAP.




Sent From Sacramento, CA.
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