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Old Apr 17, 2025 | 03:30 PM
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1999 C230 Kompressor
Display shows multiple failures

Car starts, All the idiot lights are on, display rolls through failure after failure such as tire pressure not working, SRS failure, ECO failure, says do not drive. etc. Battery reads 11.99volts. connected another battery, now reads 12.26. Aux battery reads 12.46 volts. My OBD readers not connecting to my phone app, this might be a reader fault.
When I google an error it just comes back to fix that symptom but I am seeing everything fail.
Any ideas.
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Old Apr 17, 2025 | 03:45 PM
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extreme combination

Originally Posted by hs545
Car starts, All the idiot lights are on, display rolls through failure after failure such as tire pressure not working, SRS failure, ECO failure, says do not drive. etc. Battery reads 11.99volts. connected another battery, now reads 12.26. Aux battery reads 12.46 volts. My OBD readers not connecting to my phone app, this might be a reader fault.
When I google an error it just comes back to fix that symptom but I am seeing everything fail.
Any ideas.
Your not so bad 12V battery voltages are engine off, right?

This many failures at once all of the sudden... "water works": check the front footwell carpets for evidence of water. Also engine compartment fuse box - F-SAM may show high humidity...

Your OBD scanner not connecting is a call for battery disconnect and chassis reboot.

Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Apr 17, 2025 at 03:49 PM.
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Old Apr 17, 2025 | 05:05 PM
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1999 C230 Kompressor
Originally Posted by CaliBenzDriver
Your not so bad 12V battery voltages are engine off, right?

This many failures at once all of the sudden... "water works": check the front footwell carpets for evidence of water. Also engine compartment fuse box - F-SAM may show high humidity...

Your OBD scanner not connecting is a call for battery disconnect and chassis reboot.
Charged up the battery it is now 12.44, no water on the carpets. Disconnected battery to see if a reboot would help, no go.
Been dry for a couple of days but will check fuse box et. tomorrow.
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Old Apr 17, 2025 | 05:26 PM
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Originally Posted by hs545
Charged up the battery it is now 12.44, no water on the carpets. Disconnected battery to see if a reboot would help, no go.
Been dry for a couple of days but will check fuse box et. tomorrow.
I re-read OP... car engine does start. CAN-C ECU does run.

Measure your main battery voltage with engine running: Is it 12.44V or 14.4V ?
Same test for AUX Batt voltage.

OBDII connects to CAN- D that's virtually unused by anything else. You need to scan your chassis for to collect faults descriptions.
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Old Apr 23, 2025 | 08:41 PM
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Had the car checked out, seems the cluster is not responding and cannot connect to it with MB scan tool. Looks like a bad instrument cluster.
I can replace it, but does it require special programming?
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Old Apr 23, 2025 | 09:21 PM
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not obvious

Originally Posted by hs545
Had the car checked out, seems the cluster is not responding and cannot connect to it with MB scan tool. Looks like a bad instrument cluster.
I can replace it, but does it require special programming?
Cluster indeed needs programming !

Don't rush into replacing your odo module. These are built to stay reliable.
Suspect CAN-B signal issue before IC.
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Old Apr 24, 2025 | 07:39 AM
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Former MB mechanic scanned and tested each CAN line, all OK except IC. Cannot connect to IC.
Thinking I should pull the IC and take a look, maybe bad connection etc.
Anyone know if there are known issues such as bad solder joints, corroded contacts.
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Old Apr 24, 2025 | 02:49 PM
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Originally Posted by hs545
Former MB mechanic scanned and tested each CAN line, all OK except IC. Cannot connect to IC.
Thinking I should pull the IC and take a look, maybe bad connection etc.
Anyone know if there are known issues such as bad solder joints, corroded contacts.
That's a good troubleshooting.

It shows only IC has bad CAN....
Check power and GND condition.

IC is a reliable module.

The distribution bus bars where visually checked on both sides (pass+ drvr): true?
CAN-B runs across.

Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Apr 24, 2025 at 02:51 PM.
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Old Apr 25, 2025 | 03:12 PM
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to my knowledge yes , both sides were checked.
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Old Apr 25, 2025 | 06:04 PM
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GOLD PLATED PCB

Originally Posted by hs545
to my knowledge yes , both sides were checked.
Never say never... I really don't see iCluster being bad yet I don't know the history of your chassis. How many times it got zapped, hot/cold...

It's not a cheap module to replace casually for good luck tries.
On the other hand, you have validated all the essentials possible: CAN + PWR

Just Do It ?

Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Apr 25, 2025 at 06:08 PM.
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Old Apr 26, 2025 | 07:01 AM
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Agreed, this is too expensive to guess, we did the first troubleshooting in my driveway. the new plan is to tow it to my friend's garage and dig in, The mechanic is a former MB service tech and has pretty much has all the tools that he had when he was working.
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Old Apr 26, 2025 | 08:33 AM
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What car are we talking about here?
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Old Apr 26, 2025 | 03:36 PM
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2014 E350
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Old Apr 26, 2025 | 04:07 PM
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VERY UNUSUAL ISSUE

It's hard to decide what to do when you're not the actor... What we can help you with does not matter to the technician who wants $$$$, fixed or not.

I would walk all around that module before blowing $1,500+
IC is connected to multiple CAN (B and ?) acting as its own gateway.

Buy yourself a good scanner and WIS diagrams.


Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Apr 26, 2025 at 04:08 PM.
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Old Apr 27, 2025 | 05:16 AM
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Experiencing multiple failures on the display can be quite frustrating. While troubleshooting the issues, using a hands-free messaging app could help reduce distractions, especially when you're working on repairs or driving. It automatically responds to messages, allowing you to focus on other tasks. More info is available here. The app includes a Hands-Free Messaging App​ feature that ensures you're not distracted by incoming texts, helping keep your focus where it’s needed.

Last edited by steveclark; Apr 29, 2025 at 03:16 AM.
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Old Apr 27, 2025 | 07:33 AM
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thanks for your input, batteries have been checked, car starts and runs. CAN bus has been checked (had to remove front seats to get to connector and wires). The MB scan tool does not see the IC so we need to do more troubleshooting.
Hopefully we missed something, I have never seen and IC so I would like to pull it out and check connections, wiring, maybe a bad solder joint?
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Old Apr 27, 2025 | 01:28 PM
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Originally Posted by hs545
thanks for your input, batteries have been checked, car starts and runs. CAN bus has been checked (had to remove front seats to get to connector and wires). The MB scan tool does not see the IC so we need to do more troubleshooting.
Hopefully we missed something, I have never seen and IC so I would like to pull it out and check connections, wiring, maybe a bad solder joint?
the IC Module has a gold plated circuit board... unlike the ABS brakes controller!! It has no missing solders chaos.

Its CAN-Bus connections are located at the door thresholds. In any case it's easy to pull out IC... new unit need to be coded to work

If you had a full chassis scan we could see what other modules are unstable and save troubleshooting time.

Having someone else do all the work, you can only trust their calls.


Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Apr 27, 2025 at 01:30 PM.
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Old Apr 30, 2025 | 07:55 AM
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So the network wiring was checked but we didn't dig in deep enough. Using a scope we found loss of signal and traced it to multiple CAN busses under the passenger seat. Several network wires were eaten by what appears to a mouse.
Separating the wires to remove shorted connections and the car starts without errors.
Today's project it to cut out the bad wires and patch in new wires.

Thanks for everyone's input, hope this helps others.
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Old Apr 30, 2025 | 11:38 AM
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Happy ending....PROBLEM SOLVED.
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Old Apr 30, 2025 | 07:05 PM
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Originally Posted by CaliBenzDriver
It's hard to decide what to do when you're not the actor... What we can help you with does not matter to the technician who wants $$$$, fixed or not.

I would walk all around that module before blowing $1,500+
IC is connected to multiple CAN (B and ?) acting as its own gateway.

Buy yourself a good scanner and WIS diagrams.
proven correct:
CAN-B was found "reworked by critters" near passenger threshold.
Glad we could save your good IC-Display.
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