Lights in the interior are only receiving half power?
the bulb at each footwell + the bulb in the trunk ?
look to the right: footwell lamps are ocntrolled by Front SAM unde rthe hood (N10/1)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Uploaded with ImageShack.us






douchebag: An individual who has an over-inflated sense of self worth, compounded by a low level of intellegence.
hi,
no, the Sam N10/1 is just one box. this:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
as you see there are 67 fuse posts + a bunch of relais.
the same is for Rear Sam.
you could also check the fusesat the left end of dashbord, drivers'side but should not be those.
I looked if there's a specific fuse for the footwell lights but there's not.
unfortunately it's not me the tech and i cannot suhggest anytrhing more than check of all fuses ....
you see that the switch-on command is via can-B through the overhead panel ... so, try to remember if you touched something there.
other can connectors are on the passenger footwell (on the farther end, on top of his feet).
for example, rear footwell lamps go to a connector placed in the front seats, before going to the Sam.
here you see it:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
otherwise, maybe something wrong with the SAM.
if you are lucky, just a reset will solve the issue ..
did you already try to disconnect the battery ?
in the end you should perform a system-test with Diagnosys ..
yes, the electric system is crazy interconnected in these cars... even the ECU and TCU have their say on the switching of various lamps.
Having a "friend" at a dealership is the first must if you want to just think at modding ANY thing
Last edited by dyno; Feb 27, 2011 at 06:14 AM.
I have not tried disconnecting the battery so that is a great try and worth a shot!
Thanks for all the help!
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
you don't wanna start fool.... only reason i'm here because S-forum inactive..
I have not tried disconnecting the battery so that is a great try and worth a shot!
Thanks for all the help!

wow what a hypocrite..
did you check for amp draw.
test of grounding points you were checking for +12v power to the lights not the grounding points just a guess here before you send it under the stealer knife
yes, let's know.
fact is that the elctrical system in these cars (as in most modern cars) uses transistor switches, instead of relais, for a lot of minor functions (as it is the case for interior illumination).
As I already told you, these interior lights are NOT subject to a Fuse NOR to a relais. Therefore you cannot have burnt any of them. ***
They are instead driven by a transistor (which also can act as a dimmer).
The fact that you see something like 7Volts is worth nothing, it's a WRONG reading.
We had the same problem when fitting led taillights of the facelifted version: we could not get any 12Volts reading !! ... till we discovered that the electrical system does NOT work in continuous current but in Alternate Current .Proof that those 7 Volts you are reading is a fake reading is that they should suffice to light-on a bulb. it would not get the best of brightness but it should light on. but, as far as I understand from your words, it does not lights-on at all.
This does not happen because that's just a parasitic tension exiting from the transistor , with extremely weak current.
end of the story there are 2 scenarios:
Best: the CAN system detected the shorting and went into protection while impeding subsequent feeding of current. in this case a reset with SDS/STAR will solve the issue.
Worst: - your shorting burnt the transistor. In this case they will likely need to replace the whole SAM (while, in truth, it would just suffice to replace the bad transistor).
in any case this is an educating experience .. for us to know what can happen when toying with these cars without an appropriate engineering degree.
No more Fuses to save all DIYers out there

so, remain waiting !
***
from the scheme on top of page we know that E17/17 and E17/18 are rear footwell lights.
H2, for example, is the Horn.
While H2 is directly subject to a Relais and Fuse that you see on top, our E17s connect to pins 12 and 13 of SAM N10/1 but NO direct Fuse there... (even if the whole strip seems still subject to the previous relais. .. for the "Best" case scenario
) just that weird symbol that I circled in green. guess what it stands for ...
)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Last edited by dyno; Feb 28, 2011 at 11:11 AM.
if you want to check what's coming out you need an oscilloscope, not a normal tester, and it will show a signal oscillating at high frequency.
you can read 12V only if you test directly at the bulb when it's lighting.
afaik this technology using PWMs is more and more widely used, but I don't hold that degree for a more technical explanation




