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This could be a coincidence, but this has happened twice now... I take my 2016 G550 out for a long drive, park it on my driveway, attach my CTEK battery maintainer under the hood in snowflake mode, walk away. A few weeks later, I unplug the maintainer, start the engine, and notice the center console switch group (dynamic suspension, transfer case, windshield heater) are not working at all (no lights, no function). I take it to the dealer, the tech unplugs some fuses and relays, plugs everything back in, and the switches are working again. According to the tech, there are no faults stored that provide any clue why the switch group stopped working.
I'm wondering if voltage from the maintainer caused some issue with the SAM and it is shutting down that switch group for some reason.
Has anyone else had electrical gremlins that seem to occur after plugging in a maintainer? I've stopped using the maintainer for a couple months now and the issue has not recurred. Maybe the issue is the snowflake mode, or the fact that I plug it in while the fan is still running. Maybe I should wait a day or two before plugging it in.
2015 SL400 (M276 Turbo), 2014 C350 Sport (M276 NA), 2004 SL500 (M113), 2004 Audi TT225 (BEA)
The snowflake mode is for AGM batteries or charging when it's really cold out. Even with having an AGM battery, you may want to just have it on the car mode during hot temperatures. I used one on my 2004 SL500 connected to the trunk battery during winter all the time without a problem.What model CTEK do you have? Do you have a scanner to scan for codes (even if the tech say there are none)? Get a Mercedes specific scanner such as an iCarsoft MB V3.0 or a LAUNCH Creader Elite Benz. Both are available on Amazon. Cheaper than running to the dealer all the time and paying for them to scan the car for you.
The CTEK is model (56-353) MULTI US 7002. It's the middle tier CTEK.
Not sure I want to buy a scanner. Wrenching on cars used to be one of my hobbies, but not so much as I get older. I'll admit I was warned that Mercedes ownership is a world of fault codes and electrical glitches... sometimes even when purchased brand new.
2015 SL400 (M276 Turbo), 2014 C350 Sport (M276 NA), 2004 SL500 (M113), 2004 Audi TT225 (BEA)
A scanner is absolutely the first "accessory" you want to get. Otherwise, you'll never really know what problems lurk unless you take it to a shop and you'll pay more to have the shop scan the car for you.Check Amazon for:
iCarsoft MB V3.0 (not MB II)
Launch Creader Elite Benz
Foxwell NT510 Elite
BlueDriver
BlueDriver is the least expensive and a pretty good scanner if you just want to know what codes are there and to clear them. Beyond that, you'll want one of the others. They all will automatically identify your car and scan for codes, and give you the option to clear them. The top 3 will allow you to do other things if you ever start tinkering again, such as changing your brakes, resetting maintenance counter, etc. Even if you don't do your own maintenance, it's good to know what is going on. You have a complex vehicle and need to know when something important is wrong or not.
Yeah, CTEK are the smartest chargers but you want to stay away from SnowFlake and AGM modes while battery is still connected to the car.
These two charge modes overvolt the lead-acid AGM to balance deep-cycle cells... don't need to & dont want to fry capacitors rated 16V if equiped with HK sound.
HK sound Amplifier 🙂
The center console modules are built with electronics sensitive to disruption.
center console modules
temporarily good unsoldered connections
Even the "E/S Mode" button is a full fledged networked module with 3-Pins: LIN!
A good scanner ("Launch Creader Elite Benz") would let you easily reset crazy modules that will help drain your battery as they fail to enter sleep mode.
✌️
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; 10-11-2023 at 04:28 AM.
Reason: creader 👍
Good insight. Thanks. I'm surprised no one else has posted this concern.
I only park the vehicle for two or three weeks at a time, maybe four weeks when I'm really busy, so I'll probably just not user a maintainer.
I'm definitely going to buy that scanner. Just looked up a youtube review and it seems to be worth it.
Sorry just want to hop on this thread since you are all talking about the creader scanner. I posted this on the GLE sub forum but didn't get much response. Just wondering if anyone here had input on whether it's common to get so many fault codes when you do a scan.
Also, is it fine to use creader to do a reset on modules such as transmission adaptation?
All of your codes are stored and not current. Is this the first time you used the scanner? Are you the original owner of the car?
You could go to "freeze frame" to see when the codes occurred, or just clear them and see if they return. A lot of times, a low battery or disconnecting the battery to change/replace it can cause a bunch of weird codes. None of them appear serious (except the "temperature-controlled cup holder 1 has a malfunction"), so you probably will not see a warning light (MIL).
J/K about the cup holder. That is unless you are addicted to coffee.
2015 SL400 (M276 Turbo), 2014 C350 Sport (M276 NA), 2004 SL500 (M113), 2004 Audi TT225 (BEA)
WRT the transmission reset, I have not tried it on either of my current cars, but I did once on the SL500 I had using my DAS/XENTRY computer and it had a weird effect on the shifting of the tranny until the tranny adjusted to my driving style, which didn't take long.
All of your codes are stored and not current. Is this the first time you used the scanner? Are you the original owner of the car?
You could go to "freeze frame" to see when the codes occurred, or just clear them and see if they return. A lot of times, a low battery or disconnecting the battery to change/replace it can cause a bunch of weird codes. None of them appear serious (except the "temperature-controlled cup holder 1 has a malfunction"), so you probably will not see a warning light (MIL).
J/K about the cup holder. That is unless you are addicted to coffee.
I borrowed a neighbor's creader (uses it for his Sprinter) and used it on my car because my warranty is ending soon so I was curious about any faults that should be taken care of before it ends. Regarding transmission adaptation reset, I happened to see it as an option and so I was wondering if anyone has used the creader to do such a reset.
Regarding the heated and cooled cupholders, mine work fine so I'm not sure why that fault code popped up. I googled the rest of the fault codes the scanner listed and I'm not experiencing any of the issues, at least with the fault codes where I was able to glean enough info about its meaning from Google searches.
I'll try to clear the codes and run another scan to see what pops up again. Thanks!
2015 SL400 (M276 Turbo), 2014 C350 Sport (M276 NA), 2004 SL500 (M113), 2004 Audi TT225 (BEA)
You definitely want to have your own scanner. This is the exact reason why. For well under $200, anyone owning a Mercedes and can put their own gas in the car should have one.
2015 SL400 (M276 Turbo), 2014 C350 Sport (M276 NA), 2004 SL500 (M113), 2004 Audi TT225 (BEA)
A scanner is absolutely the first "accessory" you want to get. Otherwise, you'll never really know what problems lurk unless you take it to a shop and you'll pay more to have the shop scan the car for you. Check Amazon for:
iCarsoft MB V3.0 (not MB II)
Launch Creader Elite Benz
Foxwell NT510 Elite
BlueDriver
BlueDriver is the least expensive and a pretty good scanner if you just want to know what codes are there and to clear them. Beyond that, you'll want one of the others. They all will automatically identify your car and scan for codes, and give you the option to clear them. The top 3 will allow you to do other things if you ever start tinkering again, such as changing your brakes, resetting maintenance counter, etc. Even if you don't do your own maintenance, it's good to know what is going on. You have a complex vehicle and need to know when something important is wrong or not.
10-06-2023, 11:58 AM
