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Garage door VERY limited range

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Old Mar 16, 2014 | 01:15 PM
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Garage door VERY limited range

If my car is parked directly in front of the garage door it works. But if the car is parked 6' to the right, it doesn't.

Homelink has told me to call Mercedes. Before I do so, has anyone else run into this issue?
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Old Mar 16, 2014 | 01:22 PM
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Originally Posted by jbee11
If my car is parked directly in front of the garage door it works. But if the car is parked 6' to the right, it doesn't.

Homelink has told me to call Mercedes. Before I do so, has anyone else run into this issue?
Yes. My Gate at the office won't open unless I'm right by it within a perfectly good line of sight with the sensor.
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Old Mar 16, 2014 | 02:41 PM
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Were you able to resolve?

Originally Posted by Chucky300
Yes. My Gate at the office won't open unless I'm right by it within a perfectly good line of sight with the sensor.
Were you able to resolve the issue?
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Old Mar 16, 2014 | 04:24 PM
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Originally Posted by jbee11
Were you able to resolve the issue?
No because I have a "clicker" to open the gate and it's not worth it for me to leave the car with the dealer to address the concern of programming the remote again and having the range length figured out.

Last edited by Chucky300; Mar 16, 2014 at 04:27 PM.
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Old Mar 16, 2014 | 05:23 PM
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Yes, the garage door range is limited, mush shorter than any other car we have had. Have to be sitting right at the door for it to work, will not work 30' away while pulling up to the door. I assume this is due to the special film they have in the windows to reduce the IR and UV waves from entering the car. The home link system really needs an external antenna.

Like Chucky I have found the gate does not open well for me either, even my manual clicker does not work well, unless I roll down a window. My home alarm system FOB also does not work well unless I roll down the window.

That film on the windows is very effective at blocking a significant range of radio frequency devices for me...
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Old Mar 17, 2014 | 09:24 AM
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Omg. Yes! This is also the case with the w221. The range sucks! I used to be able to open my garage door with my last car as soon as I pulled into my driveway. Now, I have to be like 5 feet in front of it for it to open. I thought something may be wrong, but it just seems to be this way.

Last edited by Jason B; Mar 17, 2014 at 11:38 AM.
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Old Mar 17, 2014 | 11:02 AM
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jealous of this problem LOL
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Old Mar 17, 2014 | 11:41 AM
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Like someone already said, this issue is with the 221 as well.
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Old Mar 17, 2014 | 12:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Kratos-TM
Like someone already said, this issue is with the 221 as well.
It's been like this for a long time. It's the IR reflective coating on the windshields for S/CL's.

The range on the SL is great (easy 50ft.). They coated the leather instead of the windows
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Old Mar 17, 2014 | 03:15 PM
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Makes sense.
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Old Mar 17, 2014 | 04:34 PM
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I think I read where these coatings were also put on to keep the car cool when sitting in the sun on hot summer days. Wonder if it actually works or if it's more of a gimmick.
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Old Mar 17, 2014 | 04:44 PM
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I do notice that interior is not as hot as my E on hot summer days. So it must do something. It does not keep it cool, but, it does not seem to get as hot.
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Old Mar 17, 2014 | 09:39 PM
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The film does do a good job in reducing heat from the sun. Very noticeable difference from a car that does not have the film.
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Old Mar 18, 2014 | 12:53 AM
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Originally Posted by DaveVY
The film does do a good job in reducing heat from the sun. Very noticeable difference from a car that does not have the film.
I am getting confused here. Does this film come from the factory or is it done at the dealer? Is this the same as the tinted windows the dealer tries to sell?
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Old Mar 18, 2014 | 08:58 AM
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Originally Posted by BeanTrader
I am getting confused here. Does this film come from the factory or is it done at the dealer? Is this the same as the tinted windows the dealer tries to sell?
The is not a film actually. Rather, it's an Infrared coating on the windshield similar to a coating on a camera lens. More or less invisible unless you look at it with polarized sunglasses. Factory coated. Non-removable.

There are some cut-outs in the coating for toll/car-pool lane readers & radar detectors (that why they work poorly when internally mounted).
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Old Mar 18, 2014 | 11:01 AM
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Thank you Wolfman. Now it makes sense to me.
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Old Mar 18, 2014 | 11:15 AM
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Is this the same coating that's on the side windows too? If you look at a stock w221 or w222, you 'll notice the side windows have a factory mirror tint to them. It's been this way for many years.

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Old Mar 21, 2014 | 08:54 AM
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A fix..at least for me. It involves lengthening the antenna on the garage door head unit (not in the car)

Credit this fix below found on a Mopar forum. It involves lengthening the antenna on the head unit by a specific amount (a 1/4 wavelength to 1/2 wavelength?) and possibly a reroute. Instead of the o/p's use of a butt connector, I soldered the two wires together..I don't trust butt connectors with microvoltage connections.

There's another post, which I've misplaced, for those who want to figure the length of their antenna based on the garage door frequency, which should be on the name plate of the head unit.

So far (a 4 day test), it works.
--------------------------clipped from original post on Mopar Forum------
I posted this comment in another thread, but felt that it could use some more exposure:

My Magnum EVIC HomeLink (despite the dealer replacing it once) did not have the range of my 300M, nor the hand-held remotes. I solved it by lengthening the garage door operator antenna by a fractional wavelength. That is to say I doubled the length of the OEM opener antenna.

All you need to do is:

1. Get a piece of 18-22 gage (not important) wire exactly as long as the existing antenna (you will have to guess the length in some cases when the wire disappears into the housing).

2. Use a butt connector to join the stripped ends of the existing wire and the new one.

3. Let it hang down from the opener.

Now the Magnum hits the opener from a reasonable range and the others can hit it from about 100m away!

Last edited by Pushbutton; 08-29-2006 at 04:22 PM.
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Old Mar 21, 2014 | 12:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Jason B
Is this the same coating that's on the side windows too? If you look at a stock w221 or w222, you 'll notice the side windows have a factory mirror tint to them. It's been this way for many years.

Yes, same coating on all the windows.
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Old Mar 21, 2014 | 12:43 PM
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Isn't this enough tint/coating from the factory? Why would anyone want to have additional tint on windows at the dealer? I suppose it's for more privacy, but I know I'm not going to do it.
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Old Mar 21, 2014 | 12:56 PM
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Originally Posted by BeanTrader
Isn't this enough tint/coating from the factory? Why would anyone want to have additional tint on windows at the dealer? I suppose it's for more privacy, but I know I'm not going to do it.
The factory tint is not really a darkening tint it just filters out UV and IR wavelengths.

If you have a light colored interior it can get very bright, especially in sunny environments. Here in florida with the light colored interior we added a tint film to our car in order to keep the interior a little less bright which makes driving a little more relaxing in addition to reducing the heat a little more too.
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Old Mar 21, 2014 | 01:30 PM
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Originally Posted by DaveVY
The factory tint is not really a darkening tint it just filters out UV and IR wavelengths.

If you have a light colored interior it can get very bright, especially in sunny environments. Here in florida with the light colored interior we added a tint film to our car in order to keep the interior a little less bright which makes driving a little more relaxing in addition to reducing the heat a little more too.
Well, I guess since mine has a black interior and burl walnut trim, I don't have to mess with additional tint.
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Old Mar 21, 2014 | 01:48 PM
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Yea, that's what I like about these windows. That slight mirror looking tint from the factory looks very nice, and with dark interior and power rear side window shades, you really don't need to add more tint.
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Old Mar 22, 2014 | 08:24 AM
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Strange...mine worked at least 100 yards from the house.And at an angle too.
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Old Mar 22, 2014 | 08:28 AM
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Originally Posted by jbee11
If my car is parked directly in front of the garage door it works. But if the car is parked 6' to the right, it doesn't.

Homelink has told me to call Mercedes. Before I do so, has anyone else run into this issue?

A tipoff might be if any (internal,not the kind attached to the front bumper)EZ Pass kind of toll transponder (many folks in urban areas have them) works properly.If you have one and it doesn't work then it's the special "tint" of your windows blocking various radio waves.
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