Please could someone let me know how to go about swapping out the seat module in the multi contour dynamic seats. Its a drivers seat, W221 W216 SEAT CONTROL MODULE A2169004400 / A2168204326
Its easy to get at in the seat back but on the label it says caution 220v so there must be an inverter or something - is there a set procedure or can you disconnect the 6 multiplugs having unlocked the car but not got it to wake up ?

 

I've done this. It's not that difficult.
Leave the car off; pull the back of the seat cover off. 2 screws and pull the seat cover down.

Unplug the 4(?) electrical connectors at the top, then replace the module. You may need to snip a zip tie or 2 for the connectors.
You won't get zapped as long as you don't put a wet tongue on the connectors.

The flexible plastic mount for the module snaps onto the seat frame. It is easier to work on if removed with the module.

If I recall correctly, there may be an SDS new part adaptation, but it may not be required.

FYI - this did not solve my dynamic seat issues. Still working on them.

 

Nothing special...

 

FYI I did this and it actually did work, fixed my driver side dynamic seat issue. In Xentry it wasn't even showing it as there at all (the passenger side was there "right front dynamic seat" or something similar). Swapped out the module and started working instantly.

 

thanks very much.

mine seems to work, but in diagnostics I often see drivers say it has an issue. I say no it doesn't and for a few weeks its OK.
Did notice once the massage didn't respond, but did next drive. I got a module cheap (its 2 years newer) with the same hardware part and the software update my seat is running runs came as std

 

I know someone else who fixed by swapping this module ( I think it was on his rear seat)

 

I just did a post re the Opt432 Dynamic Seats Front Left and right on my S65AMG...what issues are you having....
Control modules and seat insert and possibly the software to be adjusted.
Grant.

 

I seem to have lost the picture, its along the lines of seat back rest carrier module is defective

 

thanks for support guys, fitted seems to be happy :-) 7 year newer part 50 bucks, 30 mins leisurely paced fitment


oh yeah, 4 multiplugs …..

 

Can it be confirmed that this module controls the dynamic functions, ie movement on turns etc. Mine seems to work for a while then becomes static, also bottom bolsters inflate at a given point on a regular trip I take even though road conditions are smooth. What gives? Will a new control unit resolve these issues? just curious if anyone knows
Thanks,
Skip

 

look for a post in last 14 month about repairing the seat cushions and all the fractured air pipes - it has more detail about the designed to fail seat modules...

they just give up, some claim disconnecting all the multiplugs can help, I swapped my module and the intermittent fault codes over 5 years went away forever and it just works normally all the time

 

What symptoms were you guys experiencing with a bad control module? I've currently got a problem where the seat often goes to the dreaded 0 after using it for a cycle or two. My car is currently at MB, and for some reason they thought my second new pump in a year would fix the problem. My home code reader says bad carrier control module. I figured DAS/Xentry would be way smarter than my code reader, but I jumped in the car on Friday after it being there for 2 months, and the seat massage did not work at all--not even the usual one or two cycles.

On a side note, where is quality control at the dealer? Second time in a row I've been told the car is done, only to pick it up and find out one of the primary reasons for the visit was not fixed. Both visits were 8+ weeks.

 

massage doesn't happen, seat holding air pressure in the bags seems to drop off slowly - so you don't notice, but can be reinstated using seat memory, fault codes in diagnostics. The massage can be there next drive and the fault codes can disappear for a week to 2 years then come back every day for a week or vanish for 6 months - I think its mostly modern pretend engineering with a mix of Microsoft noughts and ones randomly sprinkled in the mix that occasionally forgets to be wrong and it accidentally starts to function properly

 

check out the other post - https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...g-fixed-b.html added this post's link to post #17 and the link for the pdf about the module swap out

 

I'm having the problem on a 2013 S350 where neither of the two seats will work properly. When I bought the car I would set it and it would immediately go to zero. I then found a broken blue line under the driver's seat. Now when I set it to a number, it starts to do its thing and then in a few seconds it stops and the value goes to zero. Any ideas? The dealer said I should spend $4000 for a new bladder on the driver's seat, which I am not going to do. If both seats are presenting the same issue how could the problem be just the bladder in one seat?

I have taken the trunk lining out and listened for any leaks near the pump. Admittedly I don't have great hearing, but I didn't hear any hissing. Also the headrests won't go down on the rear seats (I do not have any option features on the rear seats). Any ideas from the braintrust?

 

its what they do - lack of use and or bad connections to the module don't help things, and then an air pipe can pop and make things escalate

check this for more detailed fun...

https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...g-fixed-b.html

including this little nugget I wrote at the end of last year.....

an example of the the fun these give - on mine for 18 month the rear wouldn't clear a fault saying right backrest defective - just like the fronts like to do randomly - till you update the software or redo all the multiplug connections or just shout at it - but the rear seemed determined to remain "broken" - then as I was playing with dealer diagnostic kit last weekend I thought I'll see if that will get me anywhere - nope - so I sat in the back for the first time ever and bounced up and down kicked prodded and generally played about with all the buttons - dead - reports as dead - no response at all - so then I decided to run diagnostic test routines (in dealer kit) left side behaved then right side (the faulty one) part way through woke up a bit, played coy for a bit, then ran all tests and cleared all the faults and is back working again !!!

 

Somewhere on this forum I saw the .pdf of the procedure to remove the front seat (w221) and I can't find it now. Any chance someone could provide me with a link? Thanks!

 

must search harder...


see post 17 has the pdf links in the thread worth keeping alive

https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...g-fixed-b.html

 

Thanks for the help!

So far I have found and replaced a couple of the hoses that had cracked (the blue hose under the driver's seat and the short blue hose that goes from the pump to the reservoir). I used clear tubing but put a piece of blue tape so that in the future I can remember which hose that was*. Now with those hoses providing air I can get the massage feature to at least not go immediately to zero and it will run for a couple minutes now (although I hear and feel something going on in the seats I wouldn't really say it's massaging) . I have been using an Xentry scan tool to clear codes and run tests.

Do you or does anyone else on here who uses a scan tool know what the acceptable range is for pressure that the pump delivers? The scan tool shows mines getting the reservoir to 185-215. Since those cracked hoses were causing the pump to run a lot and there were a lot of stored faults about the pump overheating, I am wondering if my pump just isn't putting out the amount of pressure it needs to? I don't think it's the reservoir. I didn't feel any air leaking from the reservoir, but I pulled the hoses from my reservoir yesterday and hooked them up to a good used reservoir and got the exact same readings.

*Can anyone provide what the colors mean that go in and out of the pump? I would like to hook up a smoke machine to the hose that is the air intake (red??) and have the pump push the smoke through the system so I can see if there are any other leaks.

I am hoping not to have to pull the seats out of the car and take them apart. The car is a '13 and has only 19,000 miles on it. But I'm sure it's more age than miles that destroys these parts. My first goal is to just get it so that the rear seat headrests will go down (I do not have the rear dynamic seat package).

Thanks for any help that can be provided. I really appreciate this forum and what I've learned so far and hope to be able to share what I've learned through all of this.

 

185 to 215 sounds right from what I recollect (in kpa ???)

forces to 250 (I thought - though might be 300....) following the test routines from Xentry... in my opinion leave well alone, its the interesting completely wrong seat back shape that means you need help on a long drive.... everything is just too fragile to hope it can last

 

UPDATE: I pulled the green line off of the Pneumatic pump and hooked up the the smoke machine to that line (it goes into the reservoir first, then to the rest of the system). I had previously repaired a couple of lines on the driver's seat that were visibly cracked. The smoke test showed that the line that is wrapped in the electric tape underneath the door side of the drivers seat and passengers seat are leaking. Trying to get through that tape and wiring bundle is too hard with the seat in place.

Question - without actually removing the seat from the car, how hard is it to get the trim off of the seat, get the seat unbolted and titled back so that I can get to these bundles and repair the air lines?

(By the way no smoke coming out of the reservoir or anywhere in the trunk or in the back of the seat with the cover off. I have repair the blue and red lines back in the trunk already and the blue line behind and under the driver's seat.)

Thanks in advance!

 

UPDATE: THE SEATS ARE FIXED!!! ALL FUNCTIONS WORK!!!! MY REAR HEADRESTS GO DOWN!!!! HALLELUJAH!!!!!

After doing the smoke test yesterday I got to thinking about the black line under the seat wrapped up in the electric tape that was going to be a pain to get to. It dawned on me - that doesn't need to be replaced - causing me to take the seats out, it just needs to be bypassed. So I ran a new line from the rear of the seat to the joint underneath the front of the seat on both sides, without even taking any trim off of the seats. They did need to be back as far as they can do the front hookup, and as high off of the floor as they can be for clearance to work.

Once I did that, I cleared all of the codes, and every function now works on the seats and my rear headrests go down.

So lessons learned -
1) Mercedes should be ashamed of this design. Engineers shouldn't be allowed to continue to pursue designs that have roughly a 100% expected failure rate in use.
2) The air tubes they use crack and leak. The ones you can see are easy to replace. The hidden ones are the challenge.
3) The smoke machine was what clued me to the main black lines under the seats. Don't get a cheap $99 smoke machine. That one was defective. Thankfully Amazon took it back. I bought the $180 machine and this thing pumps out smoke almost instantly in large volume.
4) Having the Xentry was invaluable. Seeing on the screen that nothing was inflating said that it had to be a massive air leak. Looking at the Actual Values now after the repair on the Pneumatic pump tells me that I should have 1400+ hPA pressure in the reservoir. The most I was getting with the leaks under the seats was 180-220.
5) If I have problems in the future I at least know what to look for. In driving around after repairing it, the massage features and especially the lumbar actually really help.
6) Do not take it to the dealership for this. The dealership's diagnosis was a bad bladder in the driver's seat and a $4000 estimate, which wouldn't have accomplished anything. They keep e-mailing me to see if I'd like them to repair it.

Including the smoke machine and not counting my time I have less than $300 in the repair.