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About a month ago I went into a car wash and just as I drove away noticed that my passenger side floor was getting soaked. Shortly after that, my instrument cluster briefly lit up like a Christmas tree with errors and battery icon but everything went away and the car was fine...
...for a couple of weeks.
Since then, Ive progressively lost remote unlocking and keyless go. At the one point the instrument cluster died in the middle of a drive. Now the car wont start putting the key in the ignition switch does nothing.
As I peel back the passenger compartment and start looking for corrosion what specifically should I be focusing on?
So, I got the subwoofer and seat out. Its been at least a couple of weeks since the car saw any rain but the area is still damp and the foam insulation in particular is like a soaked sponge!
Could some corrosion in this CAN block be the source of my troubles? There are also traces of corrosion elsewhere eg the CAN ground cables(?) and even a bit on the fuse connections.
A poor connection in the CAN distribution block would explain the issues with locking and Keyless Go. The key data is transmitted to the ignition switch from the antenna module by way of the Overhead Control Panel, and the transmission occurs through that CAN block. However, I don't think it would explain why the instrument cluster isn't working.
My post wasnt clear the instrument cluster blacked out on me once, mid-drive. I pulled over and restarted the car and its been fine ever since.
Biggest issue right now is nothing happens when I put the key into the ignition slot (like keyless go, regressed from working intermittently to not at all)
So I cleaned that CAN block (along with the ground and prefuse block) with electrical contact cleaner. (And dried out the carpeting and foam) No change.
I am starting to wonder if the water is not the source of my current problems and has misdirected me.
Would a bad EIS be consistent with what Im seeing?
Right now, heres what Im seeing once I reconnect the batteries:
-alarm goes off
-key does nothing: cant unlock or lock or anything, and there is no response when I place it in the ignition
Would a bad EIS be consistent with what Im seeing?
Yes, absolutely. I'll guess the chances of it being faulty are better than even, but because of he high cost of a replacement from a dealer (c. $1000), I'd want to have a look with Star Diagnosis. As an alternative to the dealer, there are repair services on eBay which repair the switch for about half the cost of a new replacement.
Curiously, has the car been garage kept its entire life?
Nope. Theres evidence of the sun taking a bit of a toll on it from its time in FL. And I only recently got a garage Im actually pretty sure this most recent incident of water ingress happened after the car was left outside in a storm and got a bunch of plant debris.
Yes, absolutely. I'll guess the chances of it being faulty are better than even, but because of he high cost of a replacement from a dealer (c. $1000), I'd want to have a look with Star Diagnosis. As an alternative to the dealer, there are repair services on eBay which repair the switch for about half the cost of a new replacement.
Got it thanks. I should *hopefully* have a functioning SDS setup in the next few days.
I may actually wind up having to send it for repair because I am not sure a tow truck can get to my garage!
Nope. Theres evidence of the sun taking a bit of a toll on it from its time in FL. And I only recently got a garage Im actually pretty sure this most recent incident of water ingress happened after the car was left outside in a storm and got a bunch of plant debris.
Definitely garage your SLs if you can.
Definitely. Get a good detail on it. Nowadays they restore almost anything.
07-29-2020, 10:09 AM
