wizos6

Hey,

1st off I searched till my eyes bleed-(That goes for any question I have or had).

I cannot get this issue resolved...I bought a E55 with a tremendous sound system and Eurocommand unit. When I got the car the second day I got a low battery signal but thought it was normal since the car was shipped 15 days on a truck...However, driving the car on a single trip did not recharge the battery enough to turn on the radio..Also if i tried to turn the stereo up when it seemed fine it would draw to much power quickly and shut down the radio. So I figured the battery should be replaced. Boom $300. I also removed the subs from the trunk, 2 amps, clean sweep and cap.
I tested the battery and it was great. I then a few days later get a low battery signal again? I went to a audio shop who installed my new radio and put one amp back in and asked them to look at everything. They said they could not find an issue but the low battery came on a few times and they had to put a fast charged to it so they could use the radio.
I went home and charged it up to full-battery.
2 days later I am getting the same messages in my cluster. I figured it must be the alternator as that would be the logical next step...I went to Mercedes and told them about the issues. He said also that it must be alternator and ordered me one.
Well, they tested the alternator yesterday and said it was fine. However, the car is getting a 4amp discharge or draw on it with the car turned off???? That is huge!!!
Most cars do not exceed .6 and that is why I am getting a low batt signal apparently.

The tech unplugged in the rear from the power panel the power wires that supply the SAMS and fuse panels. Apparently after the car went to sleep it went to 0. This is good but they cannot locate the draw at all?

I went today and they said that they checked individual modules and could not find the problem. They checked the BCM and one pin shows a little bit of water intrusion but unplugged does not stop the draw..The techs are getting stumped and cannot figure this out...

I need my car back and have been throwing a ton of ideas at them but am getting no where. Does anyone here have a similar issue fixed? I have read about the seat modules and asked them to look at them. They are starting to turn and say that the car has too many aftermarket parts and they cannot locate the issue. That stock cars do not have this issue and unfortunately that it might be outside of their tech?

Thanks for any help you can give me

emoving

Oh brother!

wizos6

Still not selling it to you!

Yacht Master

Have you tested both batteries?

The only thing that can pull that much juice and not smoke, is the small battery up front.

emoving

LOL.....as soon as your wife kicks you out, you will have no choice! You got my number!

wizos6

I asked them to check it and they said it was not the issue-the small battery

bobgodd

It sounds to me like whoever installed the system tried pulling power from a place they shouldn't have, and maybe tried to put it back to normal causing a short somewhere or something to be live all the time when it shouldn't be.

wizos6

They pulled power from the battery which is in the rear of the car for the amps and there was a stock radio in the front. The Brabus lights have a fuse and power directly to the battery as well which is in the rear.
I checked all these conections as well and while it was getting worked on again to install the new stuff they ran new power and ground wires and removed the old ones. Basically about 1 foot of power supply and ground wire was used.

The only other thing is the a/c in the rear is not working and the cause there has to be a loose connection. I informed them of this as well that the rear display for the ac is not working and that they should check it as well.

I hope there is no gremlin issue in my car. Everyone knows that a electrical can be the hardest to find in a car?? HelpPPPPp!

Yacht Master

OK if you have a 4 amp draw, you will have a few byproducts, light, heat or motion.
Do you see any lights on?
Do you see any smoke?
Any blown fuses?
Any thing hot to touch?
Can you hear any motors running?
If in fact the small battery is OK, then your audio guys hacked the install.

leojang

Maybe you can check the fuse box with Meter and go one by one and see which one's drawing power.
and Does the Sound system shut down?
And check the remote wire or relay for the system if it really goes on/off with ignition.
That's all I can think of for now.

lowprofile

You mentioned that the A/C for the rear is not working. I would make a checklist of everything electrical on the car that is not in working order, then work backwards from there. You already have one area that needs to be investigated.

wizos6

Hey,
the old system was completely removed. Then in it's place a new head unit that turns on amp remotely without switch . I checked that already to see if that was the cause snd pulled the fuse; no luck there.
Today they called me to tell me that the alternator is being replaced to see if that helps and they might switch out a seat module that has a minimal draw from it. They checked the bcm and said it's fine. They r blaming ground wires for some of it that used to have LEDs in the trunk but they were disconnected before too?
I think they have it down to 2 amps draw but still cannot find the last piece of the puzzle . I love this car for the short time I have had it and need to get her healthy so I can take her to her first photo shoot... Dam the gremlins in this beeaach!

Nait Sirhc

Here's a quick question, don't want to derail the thread completely though...

Can you charge the battery with a standard 2amp battery charger by clipping on to other cables (say... the + & - cables running directly from the battery to the amp)? Reason I ask is that I'd like to fully charge my battery overnight, but it'll be a huge pain to get the box+amp+everything out of the trunk. If I pull the power & ground wires out of the amp, and hook the alligator clips from my charger onto them... will it still charge normally?

I would assume so since you don't disconnect the rest of your electronics when charging a battery, but just want to doublecheck.

edit: nevermind, forgot that the ground wire is grounded to chassis, not going to neg terminal on battery.

wizos6

Update:

I think they might have found the issue...The stock mb audio gateway is causing the draw probably along with the stock amp. There are aftermarket wires that seem to originate from that region and there used to be a clean sweep in the car...What are the odds that now the dealer is going to blame something on it and not use my warranty to pay to fix it.
I got to take a closer look at the situation when I get the car back but I am scared how much this might cost me...

bobgodd

That's kinda what I was figuring, someone tried to tap power or signal from somewhere and goofed something up in the process (hopefully not though).

I had some stereo work done at a Tweeter in my old Z28 and for whatever reason the tech tapped into a random wire and after the install we couldn't figure out why my tail lights had stopped working.

Busta Riles

FYI,
We have an audio gateway in stock for a W211 that has been sitting there forever. If you are paying for it, let me know and i'll get it for you as cheap as possible.

There were a few diff gateways for the 211, so we'd have to check VIN

wizos6

You are in Canada though and by the time I get it....How much do you think my dealer is going to rape me for?
I found your older post where you where trying to help another guy with similar problem and I asked them to check the sunroof, seat and door modules..
I cannot believe that I have had this car for only 3 weeks and I have only driven it for only half of that time..