Hary Gahtoe

The transmission is throwing recurring codes and I need to pull the Conductor Plate to get it reconditioned.
Codes are 200A ( Which is the control unit )
2201 Y3/8n2 Internal speed sensor
2200 Signal from Internal speed sensor NA

I'm a very visual person. Has anyone seen a decent video procedure for the
VG1 Conductor Plate removal?
I would greatly appreciate any links or info/advice
Thanks

Hary

kbob999

Have not done this, but expecting to some day. This video is the 722.6 5 speed.
Does not look hard:
Get a new filter, fluid, and gasket kit to go with it. Change the electrical connector (front/right) if leaking. Everything must be lint free, squeaky clean.

Hary Gahtoe

Thanks. Not sure if a 5 speed has the identical procedure but good to know.
Reason I asked specifically about a 722.9 VG1 was an online source said the valve body and the conductor both had to be re&re'd and later VG2-3 were separate and the plate could be sourced or repaired separately.

Rudeney

If you have a 722.9, the conductor plate is NOT a DIY. With the 722.9, the TCU is integrated into the conductor plate and it's part of the anti-theft system so it must be SCN coded, which requires a live connection to MBZ via SDS. This pretty much makes it a dealer-only job. Yes, there are dealers techs who will moonlight and loan their SDS logins and some guy in Romania who will copy your TCU's EEPROM, but really, the right way to do it is to go to the dealer. And trust me - I'm NOT a dealer fanboy!!

Hary Gahtoe

It's not necessary to re code your own conductor plate. There are (multiple) companies that you ship your plate to and they repair it. Then reassemble.
Yes I own an SDS4 which can re initialize new components on the plate like internal speed sensor that have no bearing on TCU, ECU encoding

FWIW; there are also reputable companies that can virginize a used plate and copy your VIN onto it in the U.S.

Rudeney

If the problem is a speed sensor that has failed ad you just have that component repaired, the you are correct - there's no need to re-code the TCU. The problem is that often times, it's not the sensor that fails, but the plastic plate warps so that the sensor no longer picks up the signal (it's a Hall Effect sensor).

If you replace the TCU, then it has to be SCN coded. I am aware of the various "ways" that this can be done w/o SCN coding, but they all require cracking open the TCU and removing the EEPROM for programming. I've done this sort of thing on an instrument cluster, but I just don't feel comfortable doing this on the TCU that needs to be sealed to sit inside the transmission. I know guys who do this, but what sort of warranty do you get, and then what if the plate is warping and you get another sensor error a month later?

Most dealers charge around $1400 for the job, and given the risk in DIY (or shipping it of to a DIYer) and still paying half that for the total job, I'll spend the extra money for the warranted part.

Hary Gahtoe

NFW am I taking my car to the dealership where I live. Even the Indy's won't do this here. Having done a filter/fluids change, removing the valve body not much more involved.
The company I have contacted to refurbish the plate offers a 2 yr warranty. Works for me

Rudeney

I understand avoiding the dealer. They did a number on my CLK's transmission and flywheel when fixing the "balance shaft".

Hary Gahtoe

Found an excellent tutorial for valve body removal and conductor plate breakdown.

Time to order gasket,bolts, filter, fluids and electrical connector and tear it apart.

Hary Gahtoe

Sometimes shops can oversell what they can actually perform.
Ca. Based shop gave me no hope of repairing my original plate.
Got parts in transit, will get this done with others help

Hary Gahtoe

Does anybody "actually" ask what specifically went wrong with a conductor plate ?
I mean what caused the internal sensor failure not just a sensor failure

Because I get a more vague replies every time I call or email shops and specialists
Everybody gets the 2000/2201 internal speed sensor & 2204 turbine.
I won't find out my particular problem until I pull mine apart but strongly suspect the electrical ribbon connector although the SS/tubine look pretty cheap also

Rudeney

Like you, I've never heard a clear answer to what is broken that causes the failure. Those repair services like the one you tried re-use your TCU, so there's no need for SCN coding, and why you have to send your car's original conductor plate and not a donor/used one. Given that they only charge around $300 inclusive of shipping, and a new conductor plate bought at a discount is $300, this leads me to believe that they are not just transplanting our TCU. I also see some eBay sellers offering just the speed sensors with a special tool for replacement. Maybe it is the sensors themselves that fail? I have actually heard that it's a fault within the TCU, like maybe a bad capacitor or transistor. I too, would like to know!

Hary Gahtoe

I call a shop from Ca. that has an extensive list of services.
I get an almost bait and switch phone conversation from a guy there who says they "refurbish" your conductor plate but tells me they have to SCN code it back to the car.
Rudeney; am I wrong in thinking they're NOT repairing mine but grabbing another (very likely used) one that's been virginized ? You don't re code your own conductor plate if you replace solenoids or sensors
So; WTH are they actually doing? I don't want to find out they've merely replaced my unit with another very used POS and have that go dead 5-10k mi. later.

I'd love to hear from an older MB tech if the true nature was ever exposed about the internal speed sensor failure

Rudeney

They can't officially SCN code a TCU outside of the car. They could, however, manually program the EEPROM on the TCU. They could do this one of two ways. One, they could read the code from your TCU's EEPROM and transfer it to the donor. The other would be to just code your VIN into the donor EEPROM, sort of "emulating" SCN coding. As I understand it, that requires some encryption algorithms, so they'd have to know those. I've seen the guys on mhh atuo discuss this, so I believe it's possible. Now, the question is, why not just repair whatever is wrong with your conductor plate instead of going to all this trouble? Maybe it's because it's a factor of turnaround time. It might be faster for them to re-code a refurbished conductor plate and ship it out to you than to repair yours. Then, yours just becomes a "core' for a new refurbishment. Just a thought!

Rudeney

Poking around The Internet, I found a video showing replacement of the speed sensors:


It looks pretty easy, but you have to be careful soldering with that Mylar ribbon cable - heat too long, or a slip of the iron and you ruin it.

Hary Gahtoe

I watched that video and two others similar.
I bought both an internal speed sensor and a tubine.
I have background experience with repairing ribbon wiring.
I wound up pulling our W164 door panels due to another MB design flaw. Door locks
While I was replacing the door locks, the ribbon wires crimped and I had to solder a break.
I've done the fluids/filter procedure so as long as the resoldering goes well, this will work.

Rudeney

I will be very interested to see if the the speed sensors do the trick. Like I said earlier, I have heard different possible causes - warped plate, bad sensors, bad cable, bad TCU. Hopefully this will fix yours and that makes it a cheap job!

Hary Gahtoe

I finally got the replacement Conductor Plate today.

I'd like to say the Conductor plate purchase went well but I can't.
"Very" well known Company who does re & re took 2weeks of back and forth. Missing email info. Mis information about what they actually sell. Then; their final out the door/Fedex shipping took 5 days(I paid for Overnight) . AFTER they already had charged my credit card.

If you need a replacement; don't be fooled by the online turnaround quotes. Have patients. Eventually it does show up.

Hary Gahtoe

The replacement board has the very same Chinese Speed sensor/Turbine I had purchased and not to boast but my soldering connection were better
If I didn't absolutely need this part and it wasn't warrantied, I'd be slightly angered and even more so embarrassed

Rudeney

Harry, what exactly did you get? Did you send them your plate and hey fixed it? Or did they transplant your TCU into another plate?

Hary Gahtoe

I guess I answered this in a different thread.

My plate wasn't salvageable. When i pulled the Turbine sensor the plate was ruined. It was factory hardwired to the plate and my float was heat damaged and broken. There was no saving my original plate.
I bought a virginized reconditioned plate.
The other option which I originally wanted was a brand new blank. Time line was going to be another month, maybe more. I deferred to use the virginized replacement.

Rudeney

OK, so how are you planning to code it?

Hary Gahtoe

Offline SCN coding. There's several on youtube for 722.9

Same procedure as a blank. That's why I had to go virginized rebuilt as my board can't even be read or downloaded

Rudeney

Are you getting someone to supply the file, or have you found someone to do the calculations for you where you just key them in?

Hary Gahtoe

The SDS re wrote the TCU but started a fail/abort program repeatedly shortly after
Nothing is straightforward, though I was sure the main Can bus was in the main fuse box; but no. Then I realized R230 Can is (rectangular?) and not there at all.
I don't have an SDS Can connector anyways. Just a 38 pin OBD, besides the industry standard smaller type up under the drivers side dash.
So after install, Plates fine, fluids good. The TCU checks out fine but I am getting ABC, related codes
C1519
C15EF
I don't think I have the tech to completely marry the TCU.
Looks like I'll test it out then probably call a couple local shops tomorrow. See if they can wrap this up.
I can handle almost anything I have solid background on but there's too many unknown issues here for me on top of smothering personal commitments. I'm buried up to my neck.
FWIW; somehow in all this, my light switch won't turn off while key-on running. Regardless of its position Never did anything like that before. <Issue resolved
Turns out Can isn't used here and OBD II port is used