estrain_ny

Hey Fellow MB owners,

Over the weekend I notice a couple of weird things happening to my S500.
(1) Headlight Low beam bulb please check
(2) Wiper fluids please check
(3) Check anti Freeze

All the fluids have been check and are at capacity so it can't be that they are low on fluids

The weird thing is once the car turns of and then back on the malfunctions goes away. Have anyone experience this before and what 's the cause and how do I fix it. Also does warranty covers any of the above.

Skylaw

I don't know the exact source of the problem - but you don't give us the year of your car or the date it first went into service - so it's difficult to answer your warranty coverage question. Also, warranties may differ by country, so that would be useful as well (even if we can guess from your screen name).

estrain_ny

Sorry bout that, I have a 2001 S500 with no extras. I'm in the eastern region of the USA. Is there any other info you would need to correctly gauge my problems?

whoover

W220s (especially early ones) are notorious for electrical gremlins. They can be very difficult to diagnose, especially without the dealer's test equipment.

It's only a guess, but I would suspect the front SAM. The two Signal Acquisition Modules are the brains of the electrical system. They listen for signals from switches and respond by controlling lights and other electrical consumers. If it weren't for the SAMs, these cars would require more heavy copper cables than would physically fit. The SAMs allow thin wires to carry switch and sensor signals to two central locations (front and rear), which in turn control a few heavy current paths to lights and motors.

The SAMs are glorified computer-controlled fuse boxes, and when they fail anything can happen. Many W220 gremlins live in the SAMs. The headlights and fluid level alerts are controlled by the front SAM, which is why I'm suspicious. But the bottom line is that you need a specialist, probably the dealer.

estrain_ny

whoover,

Thanks very much for the education, point well taken. Do you think that it is a covered component under warranty.

Skylaw

It would be if your car were under warranty; but unless you bought it with an extended warranty, it's probably not covered at all. MB warranties are for 4 years/50,000 miles in the U.S. - except that the rust warranty is 8/80K and the instrument cluster warranty is 10 years from date of initial service.

That's why we needed to know the model year and your location.

estrain_ny

I did purchase an extended warranty 2 years/25000 miles, should I take it to MB stealers or to my local MB machanic?

Gondon

What Company?

and how much it cost?

whoover

If the dealer will honor the warranty, take it to them. Diagnosing electrical problems in these cars takes specialized knowledge and test equipment. There are certainly independents that have it, but the odds are better with the dealer. Here's an example of the kind of procedure involved.

http://www.babcox.com/editorial/ic/ic030538.htm

estrain_ny

Starmark warranty until 2008 for $1500. Was that a good deal. The dealer I bought the car from said that the car had additional warranty but the company was in bankruptcy and if they emerge from that then I will be reimburse for the remaining years prorated.

estrain_ny

My local MB machanics were all MB techicians some years back and decided to open their owm shop.

whoover

If you have a Starmark (MB) warranty, absolutely take it to the dealer.