Dash Gauges and Lights Out, Everything Else Works
03-21-2024, 05:30 PM
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2009 E350 (current), 1998 C230, 1998 C280 Sport, 1984 190E, 1984 190D
Dash Gauges and Lights Out, Everything Else Works
I went out to the car a week ago and took off with my wife on a fairly long drive. It was daylight so I didn't notice immediately, but before long I noticed that the dash lights in the gauge cluster were out and none of the gauges were working. We were late so I decided to push on. I left the car on when we got where we were going just in case. But then we stopped to get something to eat and restarted it, same problem. We drove home with a dark dash console without incident. The radio and command center area on that side of the dash was working and everything else was working. The car ran fine.
I spent two hours checking all the fuses in the engine compartment, passenger compartment, and both trunk locations (2009 E350 4matic) the next day. Everything was fine. But it was still having the problem. I let the car sit for a week and used my truck. I tried the car again after a week and the dash is fine, but the check engine light was on. Then I looked at the odometer and it's less than 300 miles shy of 150,000 miles and a I remembered something similar many years before on another Mercedes I had. I've had 5 of various models going back 30 years and have driven them more than half a million miles. I remember at least two other time having strange issues like this just before major mileage milestones - but only if I hadn't been having my car serviced by the dealer at the factory recommended intervals.
I searched some forums here and noticed some people reporting similar issues, then it went away, just like what happened to me. There was no reference to the check engine light. I plan to reset it and check for codes when I have time to see what it says. But now I'm wondering it it's not the "software update" theory, and it's a deliberate scare algorithm to get owners into the dealership to do maintenance.
Anyone else notice this random gremlin very close to a major service interval?
I spent two hours checking all the fuses in the engine compartment, passenger compartment, and both trunk locations (2009 E350 4matic) the next day. Everything was fine. But it was still having the problem. I let the car sit for a week and used my truck. I tried the car again after a week and the dash is fine, but the check engine light was on. Then I looked at the odometer and it's less than 300 miles shy of 150,000 miles and a I remembered something similar many years before on another Mercedes I had. I've had 5 of various models going back 30 years and have driven them more than half a million miles. I remember at least two other time having strange issues like this just before major mileage milestones - but only if I hadn't been having my car serviced by the dealer at the factory recommended intervals.
I searched some forums here and noticed some people reporting similar issues, then it went away, just like what happened to me. There was no reference to the check engine light. I plan to reset it and check for codes when I have time to see what it says. But now I'm wondering it it's not the "software update" theory, and it's a deliberate scare algorithm to get owners into the dealership to do maintenance.
Anyone else notice this random gremlin very close to a major service interval?
03-21-2024, 08:07 PM
#2
Out Of Control!!
if your dash lights dont come on with first ignition spot I would say, and if you are sure about fuses then you have a faulty ignition switch----find someone with MB DAS to confirm and or pull the cluster and have you and girlfriend test cluster voltage
This is a great example to bill loads of labor hours on hard to find electrical gremlins
This is a great example to bill loads of labor hours on hard to find electrical gremlins
Last edited by Plutoe; 03-21-2024 at 08:09 PM.
03-22-2024, 10:50 AM
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2009 E350 (current), 1998 C230, 1998 C280 Sport, 1984 190E, 1984 190D
I have the start button on my shifter, the electronic ignition. So I can do it manually or with the electronic feature. Same issue with both. So it's not the ignition.
Clearly it's a software issue. And as I said, it has resolved and it is working. But I'm concerned that it may be an intentional software "feature" that uses an algorithm to introduce an issue around the time of a major service if MBUSA can see there hasn't been one for a while. I have noticed this on my other MBs over the years - issues that self resolve.
As I noted above, there are others that have reported this problem. They attribute the resolution to a remote software update that went bad, and was fixed automatically by a subsequent update a day or two later. It just seems too coincidental that it happened just before I reached 150,000 miles.
Clearly it's a software issue. And as I said, it has resolved and it is working. But I'm concerned that it may be an intentional software "feature" that uses an algorithm to introduce an issue around the time of a major service if MBUSA can see there hasn't been one for a while. I have noticed this on my other MBs over the years - issues that self resolve.
As I noted above, there are others that have reported this problem. They attribute the resolution to a remote software update that went bad, and was fixed automatically by a subsequent update a day or two later. It just seems too coincidental that it happened just before I reached 150,000 miles.
