EliY

Hello, my family have always loved Mercedes and owned quite a few of them. I have a 2008 mercedes ml550 that has been giving us some random problems. First is that the back up camera stopped working, then the navigation stopped working properly. Also the radio doesn't shut off once you turn the ignition off and step out the car. You have to manually press the radio button to turn off the radio. Then lol I know!...... I can't change the time in the car it tells me to turn ignition on to adjust the clock in the car. All this happend on the same day. I feel like all these symptoms are all related to a single issue. I can take it to the dealer but I figured I would share my issue and see if anyone else has experienced this same problem. Thanks for any info or advise.

Maj. Dundee

The radio and navigation is powered by fuse #25 in the load compartment fuse box.

The back-up camera is powered by fuse #37 in the same fuse box and is controlled by the rear SAM.

Did you have water entry in the spare tire area?

EliY

Hey thanks for responding, no we've never had water in the car at all. So weird! I'm going to check the fuses now that you mentioned to me

EliY

I've checked all the fuses and they all look good. I'm starting to think it has to do with the ignition because when I want to adjust the clock it will tell me that ignition has to be on, and I would be driving when it gives me that message. Also after about 30 minutes when I'm driving my radio head unit shuts off all by itself. I'm lost I can't seem to figure this out

Maj. Dundee

Let me say that you will never know when you have water entry until you remove the spare tire and the mat.

EliY

I guess your right it's been awhile since I've looked under there, I'll check it out and let you know what I see. So your thinking if water somehow got in the truck by the spare it could cause all these electrical issues I'm having? And if so, what can I do to fix it?

Maj. Dundee

Why does everyone ask what they should do before they discover whether or not there is water?

Water entry is caused by faulty tail lamp seals that were installed at the factory. Do not remove the tail lamps as yet.

As I said before, remove everything including the mat and check for water damage/corrosion at the cargo are fuse box, rear SAM, and the tailgate module and hydraulic pump. Open the cover to the pump and check for water. If you do not see any obvious water collection, have someone inside the cargo are while you hose down the right rear tail lamp

R&I Spare Wheel Well Covering.PDFR&I Tail Lamp.PDF

EliY

Thanks for the information I will take those steps you recommend and will get back to you after I inspect it all. Thanks a lot for your time!!

EliY

Hello I'm back, so I did exactly what you recommended and I see no sign of water or corrosion. Anywhere near the SAM unit. I even put the car in reverse and just tried to wiggle the wires a little Just to see if I get any flicker in the back up camera, but nothing worked

Maj. Dundee

Did you remove the mat?

Did you remove the cover at the hydraulic pump?

Did you hose down the tail lamps?

EliY

Not a 100% but I will now

msaeedz

Hi all,
This is my first post here please help me if you can.
After I had my carpets washed I found few issues with my car.
- Driver side front parking light never turns off,
- I get battery, brake fluid level or tire pressure warning randomly on front display.
- command is not working, Power and Eject buttons light up but not responding.
I followed your instruction here, I took spare tire out and it there was water around hydraulic pump. I used a blower area is dyed after a night but problems are still persist. any suggestion how can I fix the problems.

flybd5

Something tells me you did not let the carpets COMPLETELY dry before you put them back in the car. Very bad idea. First thing is to get the interior completely dry. Remove the carpets, all of them, put dessicant bags inside and a warm air blower, leave it like that for at least a day or two. If that doesn't help you're likely going to have to take it to a reputable shop or dealer to troubleshoot what happened. My educated guess is that the central gateway box that handles the communication of data in the car is wet and possibly damaged. It sits under the driver seat. Take everthing out, move the seat as far forward as it goes and look for moisture there.

msaeedz

Thanks. I will leave blower in the car for another day.
Good thing that I didnt wash front (driver and passenger side). so it may narrow down probable damaged components

Thanks for your time and help.

flybd5

Oh, and before I forget, even though this may seem obvous, don't forget to leave the windows slightly open in the car when the blower is running so the moisture has someplace to go!

msaeedz

Funny reminder. Thanks

msaeedz

Hello everybody,
I'm back with update and a few questions. I dried up everything. most of the problems are resolved.
But Driver side front parking light still is on permanently, my question is which signal module controls that?
Other question is if I replace the command with a new android DVD is there any way to adjust the car clock?

Thanks

Maj. Dundee

The front SAM controls the Parking Lights. This does not mean that it should be replaced.

flybd5

You could try resetting everything by disconnecting the battery, wait 10 minutes and reconnecting it. The procedure to do this starts on page 491 of the owner's manual. If you don't have the manual handy, you can get a PDF version here. Read the ENTIRE procedure first to familiarize yourself with what you will have to do (unless you want a mechanic to do it).

msaeedz

Thank you guys, you are awesome, Ill give it a try.
I know finally I should take it to a professional.

flybd5

The question about the Android radio is best put to the manufacturer. For what it's worth, I researched several of these units from various Chinese manufacturers and in the end I found it wasn't worth it. Too many excuses, too many runaround answers, too many "Yes, but you'll have to buy this shopping bag of optional 'accessories.'" If you need Android in the car, IMHO it's better to get yourself a Samsung tablet and a nice seat-rail RAM Mount system.

msaeedz

Disconnecting the battery didn't help. So I took the car to a certified repair shop. They sad a signal module near battery is bad and need to replaced for $600.00. They said replacing this module needs re-programming the car.
By the way does anybody knows if replacing the Front SAM needs reprogramming?

Maj. Dundee

There are two choices you have:

1. buy a used front SAM from junk yard which is already programmed, but it must be the same part # and from a 350. Plug and play.

2. remove your present SAM and remove the covers and clean the electronic board with contact cleaner.

Darwinism8

Maj. Dundee

If you really have a CL class, you are on the wrong forum.