Car is an '01 S500, the row of buttons above the NAV. None of them light up at night, or respond at all. Any help greatly appreciated.

 

Amazing similarity between this post and Al's on BenzWorld. http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w220...t-working.html

 

yeah that is my brother, thought i'd try my here luck here too.

 

I ran the codes using CarSoft.

"It says that there is no data transfer between D2BMaster and a D2B Component. The Component at Location 0 reports a fault in the D2B ring."

Any idea what this is talking about?


I am begining to think technical help on this forum is a lost cause.

 

I have no idea..........

But if it was me and I didn't want to take it to the dealer, I'd pull them and look for a loose wire. Check for power and ground. That is after I made sure it wasn't a fuse or fusable link issue.

 

I guess it is going to the dealer next week, beginning to think I'll be getting rid of her very soon. Should have listened shooting for 03 and up pay a little more and be done with it.

 

I agree that the '03 has less issues, but this kind of problem can happen in any car. The wire insulation or connections can be problems.

 

Bad thing is everything is connected through the BUS system, so I wouldn't even know where to begin.

 

Yes, but if it's only one area with problems, I'd start right behind them....

 

Technical help on the forum is hardly a lost cause - but the more information provided, the more help one can be.

To understand the technical help provided, one needs to understand something about the car. The CarSoft info told you one thing that is wrong. The fiber optic ring has a component that is either malfunctioning or is disconnected from the bus (or has a damaged lead), and that is being reported by component 0, the fiber optic controller - in the '01 S500, that's the COMAND/radio unit. See the phone bulletins on Paul H. Dick's site at http://home.earthlink.net/~phdwebsit..._bulletins.htm - toward the end of it is a diagram of the components on the fiber optic bus. One of them, not necessarily the COMAND unit itself, has a problem.

There is also an extensive discussion, including an instructional tract on the D2B fiber optic bus that your brother's car has, on Paul's site.

I cannot tell if the reported malfunction will have impact on the switches because I don't believe they are on the fiber optic bus. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about how they are connected to other controllers.

However, you have spent some time on the forums - you can probably identify certain folks with a great deal of technical knowledge - between MBWorld and BenzWorld, there are Sunman, Streetglower, Diesel Benz to name just a few. There are more, and they are helpful. If you don't get a reply, perhaps e-mailing or sending a private message to one of them will get a response. You'll need to include the info on the car (year, model and some geographic info - US, European, Asian specs) and as much as you can about what symptoms are present.

Then, give them a little time to consult wiring diagrams, factory bulletins, and so forth. These folks work for a living - and they give of their spare time to try to help. They may actually have things to tend to besides your question.

And, when you get a technical reply, I hope you will comprehend it better than you did the CarSoft information.

Of course, if a response takes too long for people to provide free assistance, you (or your brother) can always take it to a dealer and pay the price for a faster response. A faster response is a maybe. Pay, a certainty.

 

Thanks for the response Skylaw after seeing the D2B diagram I think the error code may be talking about something wrong with phone cradle.

I ended up removing all the trunk panels and rear seats to go through everything, but it all checked out fine. The car had some kind of aftermarket video system or something so I thought they may have damaged something.

I removed the COMMAND noticed the module behind it the dealer was talking about, that those switches connect to. All connections were fine. This is the one the dealer said was $90. I will replace this and see what it does, if not going to the dealer I guess. Although two dealers I talked to said they have never replaced one.

 

Regarding the switches' malfunction - As LetsJet suggested - before buying a new module, I would look to the power source; a fuse, most likely, or perhaps even +wire connection or ground. You may be able to identify which fuse by going to the fuse diagram (normally in the spare tire well, folded around one of the tools) and look at the fuses for each of the malfunctioning switches. It is possible (and only possible; I have no wiring diagrams for the car) that only one of these systems provides power to the module itself. With luck, you'll also find a plastic fuse puller in the tool holder.

BBaller14 has also posted a fuse diagram for the '01 S500 here - http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w220...e-diagram.html

Since someone has modified your fiber optic loop with additional equipment, connecting power to the supplemental equipment may have damaged or accidentally disconnected the power source or ground to the module. I have never seen this particular problem reported - indicating that it isn't common. It was more likely caused by someone fooling around than by a manufacturing defect.

If you don't find a fuse, trace the power and ground sources from the module back to the fuse block and to the grounding point. Look especially for wire splices.

If that doesn't identify the problem, you're back to replacing the module.

Be sure you're not dealing with the airbag module (the one in my '05 is prominently labeled). And good luck.

 

Special thanks to Skylaw and Letsjet. Printed the fuse chart went through everything extra carefully. Two fuses were missing. The aftermarket stereo people had spliced my vacuum hose on the drivers door so the pump was tripping out and giving error codes. The phone module and CD changer was all loose just hanging there. One of the optical connections was out and broke. The modules under the rear seat bench loose and hanging as well. At least they left the nuts and bolts on the floor to put everything back together right. The car was a mess I guess it is easy to frustrated, but i'm happy everything is working fine. Thanks for the help, maybe I can start to enjoy the W220 body car now...

 

As complicated as these cars can be..... always go back to what is logical....

Good job

 

Thank you for the feedback - it will be helpful to others, and I learned something too. Glad it's under control.

 

chibenz has posted the following that affects U.S. owners of W215s and W220s that have been or may have been affected by flooding of the A/C wells in front of the windshield. Such flooding sometimes resulted in damage to the SAM units under the seats, causing problems with switches and operating components. The settlement applies to current owners, and in some circumstances, to past owners, nationally. See http://www.reedvalvesettlement.com/ The deadline to file a claim for damages, if you qualify, will be Sept 16, 2010.

Thanks, chibenz!