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2014 E350 wagon. Had almost 160k miles on it. Fully loaded has the fancy led/hid headlights.
recently- within the last 2 weeks. I noticed after the car is parked you can hear what sounds like little fans running. Just a very quiet humming from the front of the car. Listening it seems to be from the lights. I’m guessing the bulbs have some kind of cooling fans on them?
granted it has been HOT here, but they are running ALOT. Like you park the car, they are off, they might come back on in 5 min and run for 10,20,30 min? I don’t know exactly how long they run. I know after a few hours they are off. And they seem to go off and come back on. Several times my wife will say they are off when she parks, I go down an hour later they are on. Will be off hours later.
car is parking in the garage when home.
also, I’m not sure if this would be related or not, but about a month ago the car randomly threw a CEL for something related to coolant temp taking too long to warm up? I forgot the exact code number, but googling everything pointed to thermostat or coolant sensor. I cleared code and it has never come back. I just checked last night car has zero codes. Just randomly thinking could it be the sensor and it’s somehow telling the headlight fans it’s hot?
W212 M276 DELA 30 ; W211 M113k, W126 M117, W126 OM617, W211 OM642 ; R107 M117 X2, Sierra 1500 LZ0
Mine run forever when it's warm out, even slightly warm. I think if you lock the car they'll turn off sooner. My guess is that they're running when you're parked and unlocked (like at home or in my garage), they assume they're going tonbe started up again in a short period of time like you're parked at a store or something. I hope the fans don't burn out.... these things are expensive.
So try locking the car in your garage and see if the behavior changes.
W212 M276 DELA 30 ; W211 M113k, W126 M117, W126 OM617, W211 OM642 ; R107 M117 X2, Sierra 1500 LZ0
Originally Posted by CaliBenzDriver
Signs of high heat are a very legitimate concern.
The issue of the HL fan running for ever is the tip of an iceberg.
Replace your thermostat ASAP... it is stuck!
Engine thermostat or something else? where does the HL get it's temperature information? I would assume it was somewhere on the HL itself. Wouldn't a stuck thermostat show up as a code?
When and if ambient air temperature sensor at the bumper goes bad or loose connection, it may make headlight cooling fan run more.
One time I forgotten to re-connect the ambient air temperature sensor because I was removing the bumper, and then the LED cooling fan kicks in when it was not supposed to.
Engine thermostat or something else? where does the HL get it's temperature information? I would assume it was somewhere on the HL itself.
Wouldn't a stuck thermostat show up as a code?
The HL is full fledge mini compuer with non-stop network access.
The HL heatsink environment is the hot air that was forced through the 200F radiator.
HL actually get heated by the car heatsoaks when heat can no longer be removed.
The coolant thermostat EOL is a bit like Lambda... "No code - No problem!" is WRONG logic.
Before it gets stuck terminally, Tstat suffer from slow motion through limited travel. You can wait for the codes and let us know how everything paned out.
W212 M276 DELA 30 ; W211 M113k, W126 M117, W126 OM617, W211 OM642 ; R107 M117 X2, Sierra 1500 LZ0
Originally Posted by CaliBenzDriver
The HL is full fledge mini compuer with non-stop network access.
The HL heatsink environment is the hot air that was forced through the 200F radiator.
HL actually get heated by the car heatsoaks when heat can no longer be removed.
The coolant thermostat EOL is a bit like Lambda... "No code - No problem!" is WRONG logic.
Before it gets stuck terminally, Tstat suffer from slow motion through limited travel. You can wait for the codes and let us know how everything paned out.
Well yes, that's great, but what should one look for to determine if the thermostat is slowly degrading if no codes are thrown and the engine temp remains constant?
Well yes, that's great, but what should one look for to determine if the thermostat is slowly degrading if no codes are thrown and the engine temp remains constant?
managed Tstat
You have many options to deal with coolant Tstat...
-- monitor what the coolant sensor reads vs. what the ECU is doing to Tstat built-in heater
-- wait for fault codes from ECU
-- spend a little to live a little!! <<<<<<<<
-- listen for fan blasting in winter
> When you see the size of the return spring you can guess if it can not close... it can't move to open either.
So I went with early maintenance option.
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Jul 7, 2024 at 01:04 AM.
W212 M276 DELA 30 ; W211 M113k, W126 M117, W126 OM617, W211 OM642 ; R107 M117 X2, Sierra 1500 LZ0
Originally Posted by CaliBenzDriver
managed Tstat
You have many options to deal with coolant Tstat...
-- monitor what the coolant sensor reads vs. what the ECU is doing to Tstat built-in heater
-- wait for fault codes from ECU
-- spend a little to live a little!! <<<<<<<<
-- listen for fan blasting in winter
> When you see the size of the return spring you can guess if it can not close... it can't move to open either.
So I went with early maintenance option.
Thanks, so you proactively replaced your thermostat before any major symptoms appeared? How many miles were you at then? I'm in the mid 50s, but barely drive the car any longer. It sits in a garage 24/7, so I think a lot of the things I see reported here as wear/maintenance issues have not appeared yet on mine.
Thanks, so you proactively replaced your thermostat before any major symptoms appeared?
How many miles were you at then?
I'm in the mid 50s, but barely drive the car any longer. It sits in a garage 24/7, so I think a lot of the things I see reported here as wear/maintenance issues have not appeared yet on mine.
Yes I sure did!
You can have my old tstat... only 55kMi with extreme heat soaks.
I am aiming to have normally controlled ~200F temperatures.
The M276-NA engine oil temp is only cooled by the coolant controlled by this tstat.
The high engine heat from stock setup puts a lot of stress on this one single item.
When my car was new less than 10kMi I had the experience of driving in 100°F weather. It coold not cool the engine nor the cabin... no codes!
I returned this year to in-land 100°F heat having reworked a few things... Now heat is seem less!
The engine crisp response is unchanged like it's cool and the cabin A/C freeze my feet instead of foot-sona. Heat removal is now normal like a good Japanese car.
My 200°F coolant circuit has no issue cooling in 100°F weather.
Absolutely No heat stress.
The engine did not smell or use any coolant, nor smell or burn any oil either.... it's now a normal car.
Having a sitting car is not necessarily the best thing for fluid circulation or softening rubbers.
Get your rear wheel brakes flushed to keep fresh DOT-3\4 in there.
Hopefully your main battery is on a float charger, right?
++++ HOT LED HL....
The point here is that engine radiator heats the LED modules. When you follow that trail it leads to the extreme heat source.
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Jul 7, 2024 at 01:35 PM.
so small update- car was not driven much all weekend. sunday my wife took it out for maybe an hour. parked in the garage and fans running. I did what was mentioned here- locked the car, and the fans stopped and never heard them again.
the oddity- car sat from Sunday afternoon until this morning, Tuesday morning. as soon as my wife unlocked the car to get in, the HL fans kicked on immediately.
thats making me think maybe the ambient air temp sensor? there is no way the car could have excessive under hood heat when it hasnt run for 2 days.
what is a good scanner for an MB? id like to get one that isnt specifically for MB and would work on our other cars if possible. my neighbor had an Autel, that might work? feel like i read something about Xentry on the forum before
so small update- car was not driven much all weekend. sunday my wife took it out for maybe an hour. parked in the garage and fans running. I did what was mentioned here- locked the car, and the fans stopped and never heard them again.
the oddity- car sat from Sunday afternoon until this morning, Tuesday morning. as soon as my wife unlocked the car to get in, the HL fans kicked on immediately.
thats making me think maybe the ambient air temp sensor? there is no way the car could have excessive under hood heat when it hasnt run for 2 days.
what is a good scanner for an MB? id like to get one that isnt specifically for MB and would work on our other cars if possible. my neighbor had an Autel, that might work? feel like i read something about Xentry on the forum before
The best Xentry is sold by the forum sponsor@BenzNinja
A lot of us enjoy LAUNCH ELITE scanner as having superior coverage.
The HL fan kicking on when you unlock the cold car is simply amazing. My car car used to do that as well. This is Mercedes for ya
At least now that you know, this bug won't drain your batteries.
Always locking doors forces deeper sleep from SAM power mgt
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Jul 9, 2024 at 07:05 PM.
W212 M276 DELA 30 ; W211 M113k, W126 M117, W126 OM617, W211 OM642 ; R107 M117 X2, Sierra 1500 LZ0
Originally Posted by Porno Joe
so small update- car was not driven much all weekend. sunday my wife took it out for maybe an hour. parked in the garage and fans running. I did what was mentioned here- locked the car, and the fans stopped and never heard them again.
the oddity- car sat from Sunday afternoon until this morning, Tuesday morning. as soon as my wife unlocked the car to get in, the HL fans kicked on immediately.
thats making me think maybe the ambient air temp sensor? there is no way the car could have excessive under hood heat when it hasnt run for 2 days.
what is a good scanner for an MB? id like to get one that isnt specifically for MB and would work on our other cars if possible. my neighbor had an Autel, that might work? feel like i read something about Xentry on the forum before
They always come on when I approach or unlock my W212, in anticipation of being turned on. Of course, when you unlock the car the LEDs come on immediately too. I need to be more disciplined about locking the car in my garage so these things don't wear down.
the launch elite- is that brand specific? i was looking on amazon and i see some launch elite x431 systems for like 170? but some are brand specific? they have different listings for ford, GM, mercedes, etc.
i was actually thinking of something like the Autel mp808. if launch is brand specific and i needed more than 1, the autel might not be a bad choice
the launch elite- is that brand specific? i was looking on amazon and i see some launch elite x431 systems for like 170? but some are brand specific? they have different listings for ford, GM, mercedes, etc.
i was actually thinking of something like the Autel mp808. if launch is brand specific and i needed more than 1, the autel might not be a bad choice
Yes, personnal scanners come with one brand and when you need to add a Lexus/Toyota you can buy the additional coverage from the scanner marketplace applet.
Both LAUNCH and AUTEL work that way. The included SD-Card storage is also limited but can be supersized later....
2016 E350 4Matic wagon, 2019 Ford Expedition, 2019 Chevy Bolt EV
LAUNCH sells a variety of Creader submodels, both ones specific for a single make like Benz, and more generic ones that support multiple or all makes. they have smaller units designed for DIY, and larger ones designed for shops. I have an older version of this benz specific one.
yes the Launch x431 is the one i ordered to try out . it was like $130 with a discount i think.
the autel i was using does not require a purchase for each car brand. ive used one before so im familar with it. but the launch is cheap enough i will try it.
i own mercedes, BMW, and GM stuff, so thats why i was thinking if i had to buy 3 launch devices the cost would be up near the Autel.
I'll report back once i have some time to play with the launch this weekend
yes the Launch x431 is the one i ordered to try out . it was like $130 with a discount i think.
the autel i was using does not require a purchase for each car brand. ive used one before so im familar with it. but the launch is cheap enough i will try it.
i own mercedes, BMW, and GM stuff, so thats why i was thinking if i had to buy 3 launch devices the cost would be up near the Autel.
I'll report back once i have some time to play with the launch this weekend
Well I had already ordered the model specific for MB. Showed up today. Played around with it a bit. I don’t see anything specific to the headlights. No faults showed up in the HL modules, and I did see the temp readings which match outside air- like 84 in my garage.
good/bad news I also found a code a cam adjusted. Guess I found my rattle
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