labguy

I just returned from a family vacation that my wife and I took. We drove the 2014 E350 from Birmingham, AL to Flint, Mi, and back. The problem started a few hours into the drive. First, we would get the Blind Spot Assist Inop error message and then later the turn signals would quit working. When we turned the engine off and back on, everything would work again.

I disabled the Blind Spot assist thinking that might help the turn signal issue, but it did not.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Mark

CaliBenzDriver

​​​​​​Mark, glad your plans did not get scrambled by this genuine issue.

This shares the same cause as the battery yoyo: silently soft-crashed CAN networking courtesy of CGW.


> SIMPLE WORK AROUNDS:
-- Drive with HEADLIGHTS:ON
-- Chassis REBOOT twice a month.

Fix being to resolder defective networking modules to preserve CGW integrity.

Please scan your car for faults so we can see consequences with a silent cause.

labguy

Thanks CaliBenzDriver. I have done some research on the CGW and think it may need replacing. A couple of questions for you first:

1. What do you mean by "Chassis reboot twice a month"? I have never heard of a chassis reboot.
2. How does driving with headlights on serve as a work around?

Also, I did not find any faults using my scanner and I found that I could not connect to 1 or 2 of the modules. I suppose this also is a sign that the CGW is bad.

Thanks,
Mark

CaliBenzDriver

All good questions, Mark !

The reliable voltage regulation has now been morphed from an independent ALT into a network distributed feature.

ALT is still producing all chassis power but is now digitally managed by the ECU.

ECU request different voltage output from VALEO ALT according to many parameters including battery status and engine load.

The ECU collects live battery Temp, Voltage, Current data from the R-SAM CAN-B through CGW on CAN-C.

The HELLA R-SAM controls the smart battery mgt sensor to retrieve charge condition.

Great then what's wrong ?
This design is not fail-safe!

When the BOSCH ECU logic is unable to get timely data, the ALT control begins to randomly float wildly That ge frys as many things
.....//..