so what do you do when you put amp meter between neg cable and battery and have a amp draw of 0.23 and remove every fuse and still have the draw no change.96 e320 battery dies within a day

 

Hy, pull out in front fuse box fuse #56 and look if it is still draining over night

Grts
Alain

 

Is that the power seat module?

My drain, 2 separate times now, was the modules under the front seats

 

Mine does the same thing while driving cuts off on comes back on. Battery is new Bosch both batteries are new and MB spec, but it still dies over night unless I remove the radio fuse 🤔

 

Klaus - and everyone else. I am new to MB, but pretty decent mechanic. Found my first MB, 2003 E320 with 60K miles, one owner ( god rest her soul) last February. Love the vehicle so far, but I think I need to brush up on my electrical engineering skills...Geez! Started having battery drain issues in January, took about 24 hrs, bought both new batteries( they were at least 6 yrs old) problem degraded, but I tried the standard "Pulling fuses while watching current, which revealed nothing, started chasing the idea of Diode pack drain, then Audio Gateway....did not take the seat module thing seriously. Sure enough, this weekend isolated to the passenger seat module( by the way no one one sits there). Pulled the fuse, good to go for now. Will perform the fix to connect the power lead to the switch lead, when its not 100 degrees out. Thanks to everyone on this forum!

 

Can you post some pictures of the fix? It may be helpful to others.

 

I don't know if any of you have seen one of these meters, but I use one to set the gaps on proximity probes in machines. It's expensive, but worth it.
The remote display has a magnet on it for extra assistance
It's also great for checking lighting circuits like trailer wiring. You put the meter at the bulb end and carry the display wherever you want, sit in the car and watch the display when you apply the brakes or whatever you are testing

https://www.myflukestore.com/product/fluke-233-remote-display-multimeter

 

Ok so did this fix your battery drain issue? I just replaced rear Sam and it's still draining battery

 

I had an issue with the battery. The radio system or header - was continuously looking to update the navigation system. It would not turn off and the battery drained. I got a new battery installed and took it to the dealer. They told me it was running great, after a major 300K tune-up. Then the sales rep went to get it out of the garage for me, and it wouldn't start. They wouldn't give me the car back, which I respect. No word yet. I'm afraid.

 

Dealer pulled #6 and no more issues.

 

Is that the passenger seat fuse that's located on the side of the driver dash?

 

Rear SAM (trunk).

 

I was told the Audio Gateway was the problem for the drain. Though the last message I saw on the Command center was regarding navigation and 'load disc' or something. I am thinking of putting the fuses back, so I can have music, and then just yank them out when I am done driving. Any thoughts?

 

This is the one. Mine blew out. Once replaced, everything worked normally.

 

They should have pulled fault codes using MB diagnostics to identify problem. No codes (hard to believe) if dealer diagnosed properly should have installed minimum MOST configuration (COMAND and AGW only) then loop in single modules until defective MOST device is located using MOST (fiber optic) bridge.

 

this is all very interesting. i have had a 1.6A draw for a while. the dealer "fixed" it by replacing driver's side seat control module. that did not fix it. it's not audio gateway as i have replaced the audio system entirely. i have pulled all of the fuses in the driver's side and all in the back. it's time to pull the ones in the passenger footwell and in the engine compartment. i do not relish this. i'll let you know what i find. one question: are the seat control modules not fused? why pull the modules if there're fuses?
thanks!

 

i put down the current draw to 18 mA. it turns out it was the pump that runs the tailgate. it was not getting the right signal from the closing device and continually was trying to close (i think.) the way i found this was not from pulling plugs but was looking for heat signatures from stuff. i found this. it's the relay below the pump for closing the tailgate. i adjusted the tailgate hook. it went away. draw after 8 minutes is less than 30mA. i think that this is a really good method. after i did it, i found that his guy scotty something has also done it.

 

Battery Issues and Discussions w/o final resolution. E-320, W 211, 2003. 10/30/2022 by BN
1. Had same problems and continue to have it. However, current draw is gone but the battery sign and other malfunction r not available come on and car usually have low voltage to start drops to 10. I must have spent over 100 worthless hours but this is what I recommend.
2. Charge the battery. Remove the Both modules completely from under the driver and the passenger side over night or couple of days. Then see is the battery has drained? If not, watch the above video, it works. Make sure you have the seat adjusted prior to removing the Modules. If continue, then
3. Start pulling plugs and if it is recommended pull the cd and radio fuses out may be at the same time in above 2 or later.
4. BCM in Trunk, Battery Controlee Module cane be an issues and some people have disconnected, cleaned and put it back. The problem was gone. I can't confirm it. Sometime just the Harness cleaning will do. When placing harness back, make sure all pins are correctly placed. Please check all wires from harness etc., to make sure none are cracked.
5. Now there is a relay called K 57or something above Auxiliary battery you may want to check. I have not done it.
6. There are other relays like Blower motor and may be similar. I have not done it.
7. Let me admit, I don't have much know how on cars, I just like old cars and think that it will have them perfectly running. I had Mercedes in last 50 years. I ADMIT I NEVER HAD SUCH ISSUES WITH ANY MERCEDES. I enjoy when I drive it. But at the end of the day, I think it is worthless car if it has these issues which can be fixed and people like me are going one after the other on you tube video's and threads discussing these issues which may be partly fixed but you are never comfortable driving it because the car may not start after you have stopped somewhere. I pray and hope that I do not buy any other Mercedes as they make it very complicated to fix minor issues. For all others including Diesel Mercedes, if you get the Battery or similar sign and the car does not stop without the jump, there is a very simple fix as under the hood there is some ___ old forgot the name Circuit Board ___ where wires are connected. Clean it and sode (or similar word) it. You may find it on the web also. My son is not here he fixed it for under $10.00
8. Please date it and number your discussion, if possible, edit thread and give the solution if it worked for you. If anyone find the solution, please email me houstonbn12@gmail.com. Thank you for reading the Thread.

 

All the saved functions will reset once battery is disconnected. All you have to do to your windows is hold the button for extra 5 seconds after it fully goes down or up. This will reset the automatic windows with one click. Try it a few times till it work. Same goes with the sunroof.

 

Hey,

Just my thoughts and process here, as I have been having the same problem, and may just add info for anyone else.
E-500 w211 03

Found car dead after a couple of days doing nothing. Odd, as driven every other day,
Charged with trickle charger, but was dead again in 36hrs
Wasn't holding more than 12.2v
Assumed old battery so replaced with brand new.

Same thing happened again with new battery x2 after full charge, dead after 36hrs or so. (down to sub 10v or so each time)
Spent hours on here reading about parasitic drain (thank you everyone)

So... Set multimeter up in series to battery set to 10amp, slid boot catch over, locked car by fob and awaited 'sleep mode' (15mins)
Draw settled in sleep mode at 0.07a spiking to 0.011 every 20 seconds.
0.07 doesn't seem enough to be draining the battery in 36hrs!

Removed fuses 1-7 in boot to check regardless, to cover usual suspects.
Removed fuse 8 (alarm) and (of course) it fires the alarm and everything wakes up again.

Currently just have the car trickle charging back up again and then will work out what to do next.

It makes no sense that sitting at 0.07a would be enough to kill a new battery. It seems others are saying that .02- 0.03 is about right, and even the spec sheets for the car say resting amps to be 0.02 - 0.08, so the car is technically in range here.

Perhaps the issue is me, in that I left the car 'unlocked' each time overnight, which is when the amp draw drained battery. Seems odd this would happen though.

More tests imminent.

 

By any chance, do you have keyless go, or whatever that feature was called back in 2003?

Sister's 2012 ML 350 used to drain the battery, old and new in a night or 2 at most. When she locked it with a double-click, the car went to sleep and everything was OK. If she forgot to lock it, the car was dead in the morning. In her case, she removed the start push-button and uses the key for the start. The battery has been trouble free for 4 + years and counting. Asked her if she wanted to be fixed, and she declined.

You definitely have a drain. If nothing is obvious with the measurements, you can start by bisection of the fuses: remove a set of them, check in the morning. If it is OK put them back, and remove some others from the leftover set. If it drains, only put half of the removed ones, and repeat until 1 left. Brute force but bullet proof.

Good luck. We will be here waiting for your updates.