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One possible problem is water damage to the rear SAM (Signal Acquisition Module). The most common cause for water damage is a plugged drain in the HVAC plenum inside the engine compartment. When the plenum fills from rain or wash water, the water overflows into the passenger compartment, under the carpet. You usually can not see any water - it runs in recessed channels under the carpet, and will eventually fill the rear SAM, causing very serious corrosion and electrical problems.
Searches will show many, many posts discussing the problem...
HI WallyP, I am almost in tears as I write this to you. Fist of All Thank You for the quick response. You are also Top Notch because that's exactly what happened to my ca which I just bought 2 months ago. The plenum /Heed/ HVAC drain was clogged and full of water when I found it yesterday afternoon, water got in and front passenger carpet is water logged, totally soaked. We had torrential rain in Florida yesterday afternoon causing the plenum drain which was already clogged to overflow inside the car. So I am in Big Trouble. I used a coat hanger to clear the drain and let all the water out What do I do now? Where do I start? What needs to be replaced usually when that water gets in like that. I will pull the carpet today (Saturday) and try to dry some water. Please Give me some advice on what to do next. Thanks in advance.
HI WallyP, I am almost in tears as I write this to you. Fist of All Thank You for the quick response. You are also Top Notch because that's exactly what happened to my ca which I just bought 2 months ago. The plenum /Heed/ HVAC drain was clogged and full of water when I found it yesterday afternoon, water got in and front passenger carpet is water logged, totally soaked. We had torrential rain in Florida yesterday afternoon causing the plenum drain which was already clogged to overflow inside the car. So I am in Big Trouble. I used a coat hanger to clear the drain and let all the water out What do I do now? Where do I start? What needs to be replaced usually when that water gets in like that. I will pull the carpet today (Saturday) and try to dry some water. Please Give me some advice on what to do next. Thanks in advance.
Ok first don’t drive or move the car so the Water
doesnt slosh around . Next disconnect batery because more things will short out with power and water x then you need to remove seats and carpets front and rear to dry it out . The SAM is under the rear seat and might be able to be saved with complete drying and hair dryer
Thanks a lot Wally, I will do as you say and see what happens. I will watch some video on how to remove back seat and rear SAM/ I will keep you posted.
Thanks Tusabes for the suggestion but I am not going to put a claim as I just put one in last month when my niece borrowed my car. They might drop me.
the thing is that if you can’t do the work yourself and drying out the car doesn’t fix it , this can be a $8000 claim or total the car out. Make sure to take pics of the water and document everything in case your attempt to fix it doesn’t work and you need to end up filing a claim
a lot of insurers will try denying your claim if you attempt repairs yourself without letting them inspect it . You can say you were trying to mitigate your danage and fix it yourself to avoid a claim , but when it became apparent the damage was extensive then you filed . That’s why youll want to show every step of the way the water was there on xx date and how you dried it .
Thanks a lot Wally, I will do as you say and see what happens. I will watch some video on how to remove back seat and rear SAM/ I will keep you posted.
you have to remove the front seats too . And the carpets front and rear because There are gallons of water in those recesses in the metal floor - and you can’t just dry the rear Sam - it will get soaked again as soon as you drive the car and the water sloshes in there from the front to the back
there is no way to remove all the water and repair it without removing front and rear seats and carpet as shown. You can try to just remove the front carpet by pulling it up starting from under the dash , which Is very easy , then jacking up the rear of the car so most of the water Sloshes back to the front carpet area. It is much easier But you won’t get all the water
I pulled up the front carpet it was wet but not too much water and the same thing in the rear next to the SAM and Fuse block, not too much water but to be safe, I will jack up the car from the rear to push any remaining water towards the front. I will also jack it up from the front while the SAM is up and see water come again to the rear. I will Update tomorrow.
Hi there everyone. Quick question. Which part is the SAM? The part with the Orange sticker that say says Motorola Made in the USA. It has the word NACH on the sticker. Please let me know so I can order the SAM. I attached 3 pics to this post also. Should I check all the fuses from the fuse block or is it Mostly the SAM that usually gets shorted out?
Hi there everyone. Quick question. Which part is the SAM? The part with the Orange sticker that say says Motorola Made in the USA. It has the word NACH on the sticker. Please let me know so I can order the SAM. I attached 3 pics to this post also. Should I check all the fuses from the fuse block or is it Mostly the SAM that usually gets shorted out?
Hi there Tusabes, here is the pic of the rear SAM. Now once I buy one, even if the same number. Does it have to be REPROGRAMMED? If so, how? Do I have to take it to a Dealesrship or a Auto Repair Shop? Will the car start after I put the new SAM in? If I have to take it to the dealer to be reprogrammed. Rear SAM 2005 S600 W220.176 - A032-545-8432
Also will the car start after I put the new SAM in?
Hi there Wally, quick question that I asked Tusabes. My rear SAM A032-545-8432 from a 2005 Merc S600 W220.176. After buying the new rear Sam. Does it have to be reprogrammed? And if so, How and Where do I get it done? Dealership or Auto Rep 2005 S600 W220.176 Rear SAM A032-545-8432
air shop?
Thank You Again Tusabes, I bought the SAM that you saw on Ebay. Unfortunately it is located in the U.K. (Europe) therefore I have to wait for about 9 days before receiving it. It came to about $117 the shipping was about $40 U.S and it was like 30 Euros or pounds .
I will definitely let everyone know how things turn out after receiving and installing the New Rear SAM. After drying most of the water under the carpet front and rear on the right side, I did not remove carpet on driver/left side as it was not wet. I started the car, the only thing that did not work visually was my Gas Gauge/Fuel Tank Gauge, I ran an MB2-Isoft diagnostic tool and it said that it could not communicate with Rear SAM. Also, the rear Tail Lights have gone out after drying out the water in the area where the SAM was located.
Hi everyone, I want to thank everyone who helped me with bad rear SAM due to clogged Heed drain, specially Tusabes and WallyP. After receiving an used SAM from the U.K. Yes indeed I was able to locate an exact match on Ebay from a gentleman in the United Kingdom. He shipped very quick via DHL in 3 days, quite surprise of the speed on the delivery from Europe. I replaced mine after drying the water and the carpet. All my troubles disappeared, the rear tail lights stopped flickering, Fuel gauge started working again etc... So I wanted to show my gratitude by Thanking everyone and give thumbs up to the MBworld forum community. I am very Grateful to you all
Heed Drain Valve cleaning = part of regular Maintenance
[Yes Sir, GREAT Advice. Anyone who has an S Class. Regularly cleaning the Drain Heed/HVAC Plenum valve or Drain hole is a must.If not, you are playing with fire with Gasoline in your hand. LoL
UOTE=tusabes;7567889]
Glad to help
and thanks for coming back to post the update
please ensure the drain is clear under your windshield so you don’t have the same problem again
Yes, this happened to me 2 weeks after I bought my car, spent days with hair dryer and pulling out ever plug and wiping them down, still had to replace Sam. I put a household de humidifier in car for two days to get all moisture out.