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So I pulled fuse #67 in the trunk SAM module. Hopefully that is the correct one. At least now I can drive the car.
Can you tell me what the NEW part number is? If I were to buy one on EBAY I do not want to buy a used ( bad)one that may have the exact same problem, and burn out more speakers or cause a car fire!
If I were to go with an aftermarket amplifier what specs am I looking for?
I tried to pull the wire harness off the control module ( amplifier) and could not even figure out how to do that! Had some weird Purple latch on it (?)
Thank you
p.s. a MB dealer reconditioned amplifier/control module is $1500.00USD
2 of my speakers burnt out, I disconnected them (driver’s door and rear right passenger door) That’s all I did. No more noise. Check out videos on YouTube how to remove door panels. All other speakers are fine. no problem listening to radio.
This still is a luxury car , and it is still in great shape. It only has 47,000miles. Leaving speakers permanently disconnected is not something that I wish to do. Looks like, I will probably buy a used amplifier then go from there.
It is disappointing that people are having this problem and there is consistency..but MB does not want to address it.
This still is a luxury car , and it is still in great shape. It only has 47,000miles. Leaving speakers permanently disconnected is not something that I wish to do. Looks like, I will probably buy a used amplifier then go from there.
It is disappointing that people are having this problem and there is consistency..but MB does not want to address it.
Thank you
I bought a new subwoofer off ebay (Someone got it warrantied at the dealer and didn’t go through with it) and got a used Speaker (A2468200102) in January 2020 to resolve the problem and just found out the door speaker i bought was bad as well from the parts car lol. On the hunt for a new door speaker AGAIN.
I have exactly the same problem. 26k on the clock, only bought the car end of this summer (private buy). Taking it to local MB specialist on 6th Jan for them to take a look.
I have exactly the same problem. 26k on the clock, only bought the car end of this summer (private buy). SLK200 r172. Taking it to local MB specialist on 6th Jan for them to take a look.
Last edited by P Hilliker; 12-31-2020 at 04:08 PM.
Reason: Clarify car model
The amplifier is the problem, from what I understand. Amplifier part number changed later and only the 2014s seem to be the issue. Replacing speakers won't help, you must replace the amp. Either factory or aftermarket.
Dealing with this exact issue right now with my 2014 E350..so frustrating! amp shorted the sub woofer which then melted/burned 2 rear speakers (smoke coming out of my trunk and horrific burning smell after noises). Just out of warranty and MB offering 10% off of $3000 bill. My dealership and local authorized MBZ mechanic both have not heard of this and agree bizarre! Frustrated and would love feedback and how/why this can happen???
My car has the revised part number but I still had the same issue. Keep in mind MY16 212’s have the new command unit and part numbers of amps can differ.
I called parts and this was the part number they gave me. I’m too lazy to type it in so here’s a photo
Ive had my subwoofer installed for 1 year now, and no issues yet. Just installed a used door speaker and everything seems to be working. Found out the used speaker i bought originally also had the same issue. but yeah.
oh hilarious. Harman/BECKER ? heh. As you probably know Becker was Mercedes primary supplier for stereo and such stuff as far back as the 1970s or even before. I did not know they were now part of the Harman Kardon empire.
and omg, now I'm reading, Harman Industries sold out to Samsung in 2016 or 17. sigh. Harman includes a LOT of brands like JBL, Infinity, Bang and Olfson, Crown, Mark Levinson, etc etc.
Same and currently dealing with as my car sits at the dealership 2014 E350 amp shorted woofer and speakers...frustrating!
If within 90 days of warranty expiration and vehicle has been maintained by MB dealer call MB direct to offer goodwill repair/assistance. Mention original defective amp 2129005213 has since been replaced by current 2129006226 indicating modification.
So my saga continues. First, the rear passenger door speaker (the larger midrange one) started making popping, crackling, strange sounds. It then started burning (strong smell)...so I removed the door panel and discovered the center of the speaker cone was melting. I disconnected it.
Now the rear factory sub is making the same sounds.
It's been pretty hot here (100+F), and my car sits all day in the sun sometimes.
The radio was not in use during the noises/melting. It was on, but volume was at zero. I turned the unit off at the first sign of problems, but apparently the head unit doesn't need to be on, because the sounds and melting continued.
Another note, if I walk out to my locked car and press unlock on the key fob, the sounds and melting start before I even put the key into the ignition.
Does anyone have a similar experience or any advice? I currently have both speakers disconnected so I don't have to hear all of the crazy noise and smell the roasting plastic & rubber. Now I'm worried I'll slowly be melting them all because of defective materials.
I'm curious if MB will help me with this (2014 but out of warranty, 65K miles), since it is not a user issue and should not be happening to such a new car (and I almost always don't listen to anything, but if I am listening to something it's primarily talk radio). These speakers are expensive and I don't want to throw a bunch of money into replacing them, just to have it happen again.
My gut tells me this only happens on 100+F days and the car sitting in the sun for hours before I drive...so the speakers have inferior glues/adhesives and start melting, causing the speaker to short out (which is making all of the sounds).??
Even in the Florida heat It didn't happen so I dont think the heat has anything to do with it. I drove the car to Maine put a car cover over it then the family and I drove to Vancouver BC, for work. November 2020 my wife flew back to Maine to drive the car back out to Vancouver everything was fine. It wasn't untill we drove back to the east coast from Vancouver (mid January, below 0 and snowing) when it started acting up. I parked at a rest stop shut the car off and when I came back out my car was pretty clowdey smoke and smelled like electrical fire and smoke blowing from the center speaker behind the Nav screen. Now it is random speakers crackling and smoking randomly even when I shut the car and radio off and it will even happen when it is -20°. I still haven't really figured it out yet but I'm hopeful this forum will help.
.... defective amp 2129005213 has been replaced by current 2129006226 ...
Lucky I looked in this thread as I own a '14-E350.
I am going to preventively fix my AMP internals. big chunky heatsink for 5x tiny Amps
MAIN AMP: (in trunk, driver side)
Speakers poping sound plus the thick white smoke would suggest DC current is fed to the load...
PCB review without schematic: there are 5 small integrated Amps we can guess are driving each 4x door plus 1x center front speaker.
The 3x large 3300uF 16V 105°C caps are wired in parallel to clean the power supply to the integrated amp chips. These caps work like a single 10.000uF cap to smooth all inbound riples and feed high instantaneous current to the Amps from a low impedance source.
smart looking tech
PCB ANALYSIS:
Overall electronic build quality is very professional and the 38 IC's land this automotive amp module in the fancy design tier.
The 5x tiny integrated Amps packages seem capable of producing high heat as witnessed by an onboard fan...
The Thermal Grease in use seems pretty watery and prone to evaporation.
The 3x large caps have a dangerously low safety magin between 16v and the alternator 14.9V smart charge voltage.
SAFETY:
unplug R-SAM fuses (Amp #67:40A +Woofer #69:25A) to prevent frying your speakers. 2x R-SAM fuses powering both Amp modules
SUB-WFR
A totally separate sub-woofer Amp circuit is mounted on rear window shelf.... I save that work for after main amp.
I'll edit this post with further findings and pics once available.
++++ EDITS ++++:
Not changing anything to the above, simply adding the 16V caps get damaged by the power spikes reaching over 14.9V on top of the defective ground circuit.
Here the sick amplifier kills the speakers, not the other way around.
This amp is part of the reasons Key-ON uses sky-high 30 Amps >> I recommend against listening to car audio without the engine running!!
[I still have not gone into the rear shelf woofer amp, it likely has 1 or 2 chips bridged + DC feed caps].
👍
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; 12-13-2021 at 11:42 AM.
Reason: hands on
Even in the Florida heat It didn't happen so I dont think the heat has anything to do with it. I drove the car to Maine put a car cover over it then the family and I drove to Vancouver BC, for work. November 2020 my wife flew back to Maine to drive the car back out to Vancouver everything was fine. It wasn't untill we drove back to the east coast from Vancouver (mid January, below 0 and snowing) when it started acting up. I parked at a rest stop shut the car off and when I came back out my car was pretty clowdey smoke and smelled like electrical fire and smoke blowing from the center speaker behind the Nav screen. Now it is random speakers crackling and smoking randomly even when I shut the car and radio off and it will even happen when it is -20°. I still haven't really figured it out yet but I'm hopeful this forum will help.
its the amplifier(s) that fail, and burning out out the speakers.
btw, an 08 C class is probably a W204, which is an entirely different car than the W212 this section is for, 2010-2016 E class, so non of our part numbers apply.
Last edited by Left Coast Geek; 03-25-2021 at 06:28 PM.
[QUOTE=Rtang1973;7192483]Exactly the same issue. First the cracking noise from speaker when radio is OFF, then the smell. My gut feeing was that some mouse was trapped in and was burning down, which totally doesn't make sense. Then I read this thread and found people do suffer from the same issue.
Now since my car has low mileage, it's still under warranty.
The real problem is it's just a perfect 82 degree cool day. However, the dark brown interior and the sealed cabin heated it up to 100+. I can't imaging I need to open the window every day to avoid this issue. It's just 82 degrees outside in Pennsylvania. What about people in AZ or CA? It should be a re-call issue!
We recently purchased a 2014 C300 Mercedes for my daughter. MBFM had her care for months for service. We picked up her car this past week and same issue happened with the rear right speaker. It started to smoke and smell. The popping and crackling was occurring as well. I purchased an extended warranty but doubt that it will cover this. The bumper to bumper (lol) covered none of the repairs Mercedes did. Merceds stepped up and waived the repair costs on the other issues. Does anyone know if this issue has become a recall. Thank you.
Exactly the same issue. First the cracking noise from speaker when radio is OFF, then the smell. My gut feeing was that some mouse was trapped in and was burning down, which totally doesn't make sense. Then I read this thread and found people do suffer from the same issue.
Now since my car has low mileage, it's still under warranty.
The real problem is it's just a perfect 82 degree cool day. However, the dark brown interior and the sealed cabin heated it up to 100+. I can't imaging I need to open the window every day to avoid this issue. It's just 82 degrees outside in Pennsylvania. What about people in AZ or CA? It should be a re-call issue!
We recently purchased a 2014 C300 Mercedes for my daughter. MBFM had her care for months for service. We picked up her car this past week and same issue happened with the rear right speaker. It started to smoke and smell. The popping and crackling was occurring as well. I purchased an extended warranty but doubt that it will cover this. The bumper to bumper (lol) covered none of the repairs Mercedes did. Merceds stepped up and waived the repair costs on the other issues. Does anyone know if this issue has become a recall. Thank you.
I had this problem sometime ago when I was out of warranty. You’re best bet is to replace it with one off ebay. BUT be wary of used ones as the MY 2014 has this problem.
I managed to buy a new one for about $280 luckily and my problem has been gone since. You can try to fight for goodwill in your situation.
BUMP. Been having crackling noises and now I lost my drivers door tweeters plus the burnt smell. swapped the top tweeter to my passenger door to test and it works, probably fried my lower door tweeter next to the mid range speaker. Wonder what you all have figured for sure to be your fixes... amp does make sense unfortunately. can't see speakers getting burnt unless you feed too much power to them.
BUMP. Been having crackling noises and now I lost my drivers door tweeters plus the burnt smell. swapped the top tweeter to my passenger door to test and it works, probably fried my lower door tweeter next to the mid range speaker. Wonder what you all have figured for sure to be your fixes... amp does make sense unfortunately. can't see speakers getting burnt unless you feed too much power to them.
any feedback 2 years onward?
YO! I'm having the popping issue when everything is off, i have an aftermarket head unit AND amplifier. STILL. POPPING AND FUZZING. WTF this is crazy, I'm going to dig deeper tomorrow. My guess is it's something to do with whatever is under the REAR seat on the driver side. There's fiber optic cables going into one of them 🤔
I figure its the amp. I took mine out for now so no sound to prevent any chance of further issues occuring. I started to get the static/pop noise even when nothing was playing and then coincidentally this issue with my left front door tweeters/speakers and the channel dieing/melting a tweeter I assume. Kinda hard to find one up here in canada.
12-29-2020, 08:30 PM
