domwild

Hi,
C220 CDI W204 2007 July: "The output for the central locking motor has a malfunction. There is a short circuit to ground". LH front does not lock, quote: $600! All three others lock.
Have noticed the door locking just once, so it looks like the motor is OK. If there is a short circuit to ground, does that mean the fuse has blown? But putting a new fuse in, will not sort a cable shorting, but where? Help and thanks.

An aside: Just got my Tanaka airbag fixed as part of the recall; just read MB USA has informed users of Tanaka having gone broke!

NolaGL550

Have you pulled an electrical or door component diagram up yet? It might help with tracing the ground wire from either the door control module to the door locking unit, or it may help you to identify how the door locking motor communicates to the module. My opinion is you may have a faulty central locking motor (on the door itself), which you could get yourself for much less. The $600 quote is probably a dealership. An indy shop could do it for $300, and you can do it yourself for about $130. See the example locking motor for a U.S. spec 2007 C230. The parts should be interchangeable unless the cars are actually much different spec. Granted, this is from a U.S. parts company, so shipping might also be a factor if you live outside North America.

NolaGL550

Also, it's "Takata", not "Tanaka". You are definitely correct about the Takata Corporation. After almost every automotive manufacturer had to issue recalls to replace the Takata airbags, and after Takata was sued beyond their financial means, they filed for bankruptcy and are now owned by Key Safety Systems (Takata airbag recall) I had a 2011 Audi that was under the recall which I sold and received a $2000 incentive toward another Audi due to the length of time it was going to take to replace the dangerous and faulty airbag.

domwild

Thanks for help. Will try to get a diagram to follow. The warning message seems to indicate a working motor, but the input to the motor seems to be kaput.

NolaGL550

I've had control modules with strange DTCs that made it appear that a connection is at fault, or a central control unit was not communicating, when it was actually just an internal fault of the actual component. I may be able to post a wiring diagram for your vehicle soon, but do let us know if you get ahold of anything. You can test the wiring to the locking mechanism which will tell you a lot...you'll just need a good multimeter or other electrical tester. If it's getting signal input from the central electric module, or the door control module, then it's definitely the actual locking mechanism at fault.

domwild

Thanks Nola. Looking for a diagram (and I am still looking) I saw an example of a possible situation: An owner had cut the "accordion" rubber hose between car and door and found several wires had been broken. Problem with that approach is the damage to that "pipe" when selling the vehicle. In fact the previous owner was honest enough to tell me that fault and based on the LH front door not closing, I was able to drop the price by the $600 dealer quote. Anyway, I will keep on looking. I do not feel too confident to remove the door panels to get at the motor despite a good Youtube video showing me what to do..