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I wanted to share my experience with others in case it might help someone in the future.
About a month ago I was feeling lazy and went thru an automated car wash in my 06 E320 CDI w211.
Everything was fine until I was driving out of it and the high power dryers were blowing around the hood/front wheel area and then I got a bunch of warning lights on my dash. BAS , ABS , SBC and then check engine light.
My speedometer was not showing any speed and I was in limp mode. The transmission stayed in second gear and luckily I was only a few miles from home.
I drove home and couldn’t understand what happened. Obviously something got wet , but where and why.
Since a typical code reader wouldn’t tell me specifics of something like this I ordered a i980carsoft.
After a few days it came in and at that point the speedometer started working and was no longer in limp mode , but still
Had all the warning lights , no cruise, traction control, anti-lock brakes, reduced power etc.
I cleared all the codes and one kept coming back left front wheel speed sensor. And if I monitored all of the wheel speed sensors that one just would not register anything at all.
So I was thinking ok , well I will order a new one and hopefully that clears it.
Ordered a new OEM and changed it out. Same thing. Not showing any response. I couldn’t see anywhere how water could of got some place in the wheel speed sensor or the connectors.
I then started looking around and noticed the fuse block under the hood (over has two locks one on each side and one side was not locked. I took it off and no obvious signs of water damage, but when I took out the ESP control module computer a few of the terminals were corroded on both the wiring harness side and the ESP computer side.
(I believe the high pressure dryers got the lid flapping since only one side was locked and blew water in it.)
I used electric cleaner , and tried to get the corrosion off. Reconnected ,but still no luck.
A new ESP control module is over a grand even discounted ,but there is a lot of used ones on Ebay. I took a picture so I had my part number and found that since mine was a late build ( May of 2006 ) that it had a different part number than most of the ones I found. However there were a few over in a Europe.
(There wasn’t much info online, but from what I did find you have to match the part numbers exactly for it to work.)
I ordered one with the exact same part number for about $90 shipped (way better than over $1100 discounted new!) I figured it was worth a shot. I was about to give up and take it to the dealer to figure it out.
I just got it in yesterday and holy crap it worked! No more lights everything is working properly again.
I imagine when it first got wet the whole thing quit working and that is why it put me into limp mode and no speedometer at all. And then it dried out, but the area for the driver front wheel speed sensor was permanently damaged.
Anyways, the moral of the story is please double check your fuse box under the hood and make sure it is properly locked. It’s on the driver side under a vanity cover.
If this would of happened while traveling or something I would have had to of got towed to a dealer and would of cost me thousands probably.
If you do not have this rubber cover over the SAM and ECU order one and install. A211 830 04 13 or A211 832 00 08 are the numbers on the bottom of the cover. There's one on eBay with part number 2118300713.
Thanks, I actually have that rubber cover though. I think if it wasn't the air pressure it would of been fine. I have been driving with the fuse panel halfway unlatched for quite some time unaware. Several times in the rain actually.
It would probably have to be in a major storm with high winds or going through the high power dryers in the car wash like I did for the air to move the lid around enough to let the water thru.
Did you get the red battery warning and/or "vehicle is in low-convenience mode due to insufficient battery level" on your dash during all of this?
I forgot to mention that even after fully charging the auxiliary and main battery, the voltage of the car does not go above 11.9V after ignition when in normal circumstances it should hover around 14V if the charging system is working correctly.
Did you get the red battery warning and/or "vehicle is in low-convenience mode due to insufficient battery level" on your dash during all of this?
I forgot to mention that even after fully charging the auxiliary and main battery, the voltage of the car does not go above 11.9V after ignition when in normal circumstances it should hover around 14V if the charging system is working correctly.
No, sorry didn't have that problem. However since that fuse box has a lot of of other things besides the ESP control module. It is likely just causing problems with something else affecting the charging system.
I would pull cover off and try to dry everything as soon as possible and check all the fuses and go from there.
Hate to revive an old post but I’ve got the exact same issue. Well maybe. All of my speed sensors are reading but now I get an intermittent ABS light after washing an E500 I just bought and a mechanic leaving the fuse cover loose. The module I found has 0 265 109 546 printed on the label. Does the module you replaced look similar?
If you do not have this rubber cover over the SAM and ECU order one and install. A211 830 04 13 or A211 832 00 08 are the numbers on the bottom of the cover. There's one on eBay with part number 2118300713.
Please get those leaves out of hood rails dwelling...you may have clogged the drain with smalls bits that will break off...heads up.
The car with the cover in the picture of course wasn't my car, but that's how I got water in the fuse box is by cleaning out those channels. I took my module off and separated the metal covers on it to expose the circuit board inside of it. After it was separated I used contact cleaner that was plastic safe to wash the board and then used an airgun to dry any remaining moisture, used the airgun on the connectors to blow the water out of them, put dielectric grease on the plugs and then plugged everything back in. The next morning and so far up to this point my warning lights have disappeared!
That is the same exact problem I am having. I ordered the left front speed sensor, and had a trusted mechanic install it, but the problem still persisted. He told me that I should probably just go to the dealer. I called the dealer, and they said that the diagnostic alone would be $200!! I started to feel victimized. I didn't do anything wrong! All I wanted was a car wash. You know something? They locked my keys in the car, then after the car being left on in neutral for an hour, I finally get back with the spare key thinking finally this fiasco is over. Then after all that, now My beautiful 2006 Black E500 is acting funny.
If this works I will owe you a great deal of Gratitude man. I will look on Ebay for the ECU. Should I try to change it myself? I have a base model E500 2006, I'm not sure of the part number. Please help.
I wanted to share my experience with others in case it might help someone in the future.
About a month ago I was feeling lazy and went thru an automated car wash in my 06 E320 CDI w211.
Everything was fine until I was driving out of it and the high power dryers were blowing around the hood/front wheel area and then I got a bunch of warning lights on my dash. BAS , ABS , SBC and then check engine light.
My speedometer was not showing any speed and I was in limp mode. The transmission stayed in second gear and luckily I was only a few miles from home.
I drove home and couldn’t understand what happened. Obviously something got wet , but where and why.
Since a typical code reader wouldn’t tell me specifics of something like this I ordered a i980carsoft.
After a few days it came in and at that point the speedometer started working and was no longer in limp mode , but still
Had all the warning lights , no cruise, traction control, anti-lock brakes, reduced power etc.
I cleared all the codes and one kept coming back left front wheel speed sensor. And if I monitored all of the wheel speed sensors that one just would not register anything at all.
So I was thinking ok , well I will order a new one and hopefully that clears it.
Ordered a new OEM and changed it out. Same thing. Not showing any response. I couldn’t see anywhere how water could of got some place in the wheel speed sensor or the connectors.
I then started looking around and noticed the fuse block under the hood (over has two locks one on each side and one side was not locked. I took it off and no obvious signs of water damage, but when I took out the ESP control module computer a few of the terminals were corroded on both the wiring harness side and the ESP computer side.
(I believe the high pressure dryers got the lid flapping since only one side was locked and blew water in it.)
I used electric cleaner , and tried to get the corrosion off. Reconnected ,but still no luck.
A new ESP control module is over a grand even discounted ,but there is a lot of used ones on Ebay. I took a picture so I had my part number and found that since mine was a late build ( May of 2006 ) that it had a different part number than most of the ones I found. However there were a few over in a Europe.
(There wasn’t much info online, but from what I did find you have to match the part numbers exactly for it to work.)
I ordered one with the exact same part number for about $90 shipped (way better than over $1100 discounted new!) I figured it was worth a shot. I was about to give up and take it to the dealer to figure it out.
I just got it in yesterday and holy crap it worked! No more lights everything is working properly again.
I imagine when it first got wet the whole thing quit working and that is why it put me into limp mode and no speedometer at all. And then it dried out, but the area for the driver front wheel speed sensor was permanently damaged.
Anyways, the moral of the story is please double check your fuse box under the hood and make sure it is properly locked. It’s on the driver side under a vanity cover.
If this would of happened while traveling or something I would have had to of got towed to a dealer and would of cost me thousands probably.
I'm not lazy and I use our local Sweetwater Drive Thru Car Wash almost every week. No problems at all. 2003, 55k.
03-15-2018, 11:25 AM
and I use our local Sweetwater Drive Thru Car Wash almost every week. No problems at all. 2003, 55k.
