S-Class (W220) 1999-2006: S 320 CDI, S 320, S430, S 500, S 600

-15 and now nothing works! (W220)

Old Feb 9, 2009 | 08:59 AM
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-15 and now nothing works! (W220)

I stay on the outskirts of Aberdeen and it has been so cold the last two days (-15 in some cases). Since then the central locking has stopped working, the soft closure doors are not working and the boot (trunk) release won't open. The boot won't even open manually as it feels locked.
Can anyone tell me if all of these faults are related could this just be down to the cold or does it sound like some fuses have gone. I think the fuse for the central locking is under the rear seat so any advice on how you get the rear seat out would be appreciated

Cheers
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 09:51 AM
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Hi there. It sounds like your battery has died in the cold weather. Mine did the same a while back when I left it outdoors in all this snow (normally garaged).

You will need to remove the metal blade key from within your remote key and manually unlock the boot by twisting and pushing (this is not obvious and can be a little trying to get open straight away).

I also had the added pleasure of finding that my car had a water ingress under the rear seat causing many electrical gremlins, this was later sorted.

My battery was needing a change (4 1/2 years old and was not new when I bought it), so £99.99 at Halfords and all is well.

The fuses under the rear seat are accessable by removing the rear passenger footwell light housing, this unclips and comes out with the wire trailing. You can gain access to the fuses from here.

I hope this help you out somewhat.

Cheers

EDIT : I should read better. I notice you say you have tried to manually unlock, does the car run?

Last edited by KevinJ; Feb 9, 2009 at 09:54 AM.
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 11:13 AM
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Kevin
Thanks for your response. To confirm the car is running fine and all other electrics are working. Its just the central locking, boot and the soft closure system. To be fair the self closing was not working last week when it was really cold
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Old Feb 9, 2009 | 04:55 PM
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The vacuum pump in the trunk operates all of those. There is a plastic part that cracks (not replaceable, sadly) and it makes sense it would give up the ghost in the cold.
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Old Feb 10, 2009 | 05:47 AM
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I changed the 20amp fuse in the rear box today as it had blown. Uo till now it has not blown yet. I checked around for any sign of water ingress but there was no sign (phew) It was however very cold in the compartment so I'll just have to see how it goes. The car is booked in to the dealer next week to check the airmatic system so I'll see if anything gets picked up during the diagnostic check
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Old Feb 10, 2009 | 10:30 AM
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The pump in question has nothing to do with Airmatic. Unless you are also having suspension issues, pointing the dealer at Airmatic would seem to be a waste of time. The vacuum pump for the soft close, door locks, boot release and seat pneumatics is quite distinct.
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Old Feb 10, 2009 | 03:04 PM
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Sorry whoover, the check on the airmatic is a seperate problem that appeared before these other ones. Touch wood the fuse is still in one piece and everything is back working
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