turbo97se

What you say makes sense , but I hate waiting for bad stuff to happen again especially battery stuff. I like to get ahead of a problem where possible so I don't get stranded. Well looks like I have to wait too.

turbo97se

Cool .. thanks for explaining, this sounds like my symptoms. I will wait for it to happen and drive to O'Reillys ... almost did that yesterday but the message wasn't there by the time I got close to O'Reillys.

kponti

Easy fix, while you are waiting, get a battery charger! Always charge your battery overnight till you figure this out and fix it. A fully charged battery everyday keeps the tow truck driver away

Critter

You have to listen to Kponti, he has been down this road before.
Just curious, but you state it is the original alt, what mileage on car. Have you tried to turn on every item that draws current, max fan on heater, headlights, high beams, defogger, radio, AC ,emergency flashers, then with the car idling in neutral check the voltage, then put the car in gear, brake on and recheck voltage. But as Kponti found out it was his alternator. Even when they okayed his alt 3 times after load testing.

turbo97se

I have 89K miles on the car. The only additional loads I had on the car when I got the message are:
1. Dashdaq
2. Onboard camera
3. Music was playing louder than normal
4. AC was on

When the message came on, the Command got shut down as did the camera. After about 5-10 minutes would come back on again

This morning, the only thing that was likely not on was the AC. Everything else was the same. No message this morning

I'll try adding seat heaters, lights, rear window demister etc ... to load it down. We will see what happens

Critter

yes, what I propose is to turn everything on and see if the system will start to shut things down, or what voltage is dropped to while doing this.
Money is on the alt/reg, being the issue.

turbo97se

So I turned everything on in the car, lights, seat heaters/coolers, rear defroster, interior lights, command, A/C on maximum. The voltage drops to 12.3V at idle and gets to 13.5V at lower speeds. Never got the Battery Protection message today at all (except when I pulled the battery terminal while engine running). So regulator now?

I pulled off the battery terminal when the car was running and the car continued to run, so I am thinking the alternator could be OK.

* Edit * Oh I did stop by O'Reilly to check my charging system .. their tester was out of juice …

Critter

You have 2 ways to go, replace regulator with OEM Bosch unit into old alternator with 89000 miles. Or the second replace the alternator with a new unit (alternator and regulator). As other have gone they replace the reg, some have luck others are SOL and have to spend further time and money soon after.
Kponti found out that just replacing the reg did not solve his issue, even with the OEM Bosch replacement in a remanufactured unit , it just did not cut it.
Good Luck,
A proper voltage with car running is 14.1-14.2V with everything on.


Side note, we all have done it, removed the battery cable from a running car but DO NOT put the cable back on with the car running, besides a good spark you could do electronic or electric component issues. Seen a neighbour electrician do this and he blew every light bulb in the car that was on at the time he was doing his testing LOL even the dash lights, he should have known better.

turbo97se

Thanks … I'll just get the alternator .. it's a matter of time I think. I might swap the voltage regulator from the new one just to see if that helps as an experiment …. any good sources for full alternator? Sounds like a reman is not going to cut it?

kponti

I wouldn't rule out a reman alternator, just make sure the parts are Bosch and it is INDEED a Bosch reman. I have replaced mine with a brand new Bosch alternator and I did a tear down on my reman, it may have been Bosch at one time but the internals were certainly not. Stick to a well known and trusted source for the real deals

BTW when the "convenience shut off" light is off, the car will pass any test you throw at it. When the light comes on, it will fail
My car is fixed and back to normal, WOT or excessive idling does not bring up any more false codes

I got my new Bosch from Amazon

marroquin38

Just finished installing mine yesterday. Here are some useful notes:

-sizes of nuts on alternator are 13mm and 15mm
-Alternator bracket has (1) screw plus (2) 13mm nuts holding it down
-Voltage regulator has (3) screws plus (1) 15mm nut holding it down
-used this tool to get the screws out due to limited space

trixs

Hi guys could my problem the voltage regulator I'm hoping some one can help me or should I locate the ovp relay on my e 320 2005 here's a quick run down of what happened for me to think its that acting up so last week I pumped at a new gas station (not sure if that has anything to do with the car stalling) but at first I did. after lots of reading online I think its my ovp relay so Monday I went to work 20 min drive 20 km away and at the lights before the Hwy my car displayed the low battery convenient functions temporarily unavailable then just cut out as if I shut her down so I thought ok boost dead battery maybe I tried cranking it not knowing I was still in drive hahaha noob mistake nothing then I put her in park and she turns no hesitation get to work no more problems then Tuesday no problem Wednesday I'm off so I went to my local pond for some well needed fishing on my way there its about 10 mins 5 km 3 lights from home she stalls out and then I give to gear park crank starts a bit of hesitation not much so come Thursday all good now Friday while in the drive through at Tim Horton she shuts down while I had her in neutral and revving at 750 rpm (thinking its the new gas I put in still premium gas but they only offer regular and premium) ( Canadian tire gas bar I switched cause of the reward points I used to always pump at shell with there v-power premium gas )... so I wait till the lady handed me my coffee and I paid then cranked her up but she started after a bit of cranking one turn of the key but near the end of the turn get to work no problems so its good Friday no work I stay home now sat no problems but I never had to stop at any lights to or from work I timed it out good if it was a red coming up I just slowly approached till it changed now its Sunday Easter Sunday every thing is closed and I wanted to fish but first I idled in my parking space revving at 750 -1000 till it reached full heat maybe 7 mins 5 - 7 mins then I thought it was good till it cut as I was revving so this time I cranked it right away and it didn't start so I put the battery back in my c220 as she was sitting all winter long and cranked he one shot she started lol 1994 c220 love that car about 30 later I start my e 320 to see what happens and starts no problem now here I am any help would be appreciated I'm thinking ovp cause I don't thing its the new gas and also all winter its been a cold one the low battery convenient functions unavailable would pop up most days but then go away 2 mins later I had the battery / alternate checked they said there fine just the battery needed a good charge and that was 3 week ago or so so please I work nights and need to work tonight at midnight and I'm a big diyselfer I would love to avoid going to my indie for repairs she has 120 000 km also I have not pulled any codes yet I don't have a obo ll. Reader also I forgot to mention the check engine light came on the finale time I started it up so I will pull the codes on Monday

trixs

I found out its the cps crankshaft position sensor so ill fix that Monday as well as my voltage regulator next week thanks for the help heres a link if anyone else need help https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/358472-crank-shaft-position-sensor-diy-pics.html. and a video http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...C32FBA9D908A2D

Ottin

Thanks, I followed your instruction and fixed the problem on my car, only $40 spent.

The symptom was, the voltage dropped from 14V to 12.5V after 10 min driving. I think the original regulator only work at cold temperate and then stop works at high temperate. I noticed the alternator and the regulator are too near to the exhaust pipe, that's a design problem.

Jakpro1

YES YES!!! Man did I wish I read this before last night. Cramped my hands up big time trying to use the tiny Phillips to get those out!!! Just a heads up to first timers with headers, some of the nuts near my headers where a bit of a challenge. Otherwise, the DIY was worth it's weight in gold!!!

I'm an OG so my baby just sits nowadays.....and remembers years gone by when E55's ruled the 4 Door Planet. Ahhhhh, those were the days.

Proud of our turby brothers though, it's was from us that they were born.

E55AMG05

why didn't I think of that oh my God and I was killing myself under the car getting the screws off. and I did it in the summer I was sweating bullets. where did you buy it. it's good to
have for future reasons

FLGSHP7

I have flickering headlights and interior lights. I just replaced the voltage regulator and it still didn't fix my flickering lights. It only happens when it's cold out. If I let the car warm up for awhile then it will eventually stop. What should I be looking at next?

black06c230

Possible BCM. Battery control module.

FLGSHP7

Is there any way to diagnose without Xentry or replacement? I've also heard of the connectors becoming corroded and this occurred after I left the car sit for a few months. Both batteries are good. I'm not having any problems starting or consumer electronics going offline though I do have the red battery light. After replacing the voltage regulator I did notice that my dome lights seem much brighter. But it could have been my imagination.

Critter

FLGSHP7- it sounds like you are experiencing a power issue. The regulator will "regulate" but can only do this with clean power, you may have a faulty diode, causing a pulsing power signal. Check what the voltage is when the car is running, you may see it is in the 13.5 range.

FLGSHP7

I haven't had the car running for more than a few minutes for three days(it's not my daily driver) but when I went to check batteries the consumer electronics were offline. It may simply be from inadequate charging from the short time the car was idling. I will check again later.

The results were as follows:

Car idling with no auxiliary functions on-
Starter battery 14.09V
Auxiliary Battery 14.09V

Car off
Both batteries read around 12.6 at shutoff and then continue to drop to a little above 12 volts.

marroquin38

At my local Sears store, in the tools department.

JaySee56

I second the remark about disconnecting the battery. Besides being hard on the ratchet when it grounds and sparks, its hard on the head when you jump and bang your head on the bottom of the car. (There's not much room under there!)

Critter

Anyone who works on electrical components with the battery connected should reconsider any mechanical contact with a car. Learning the trade on a Mercedes is costly. Try a lawn mower.

SuperChargerE55

Sorry for tearing up and old thread but I find it pretty interesting as my newly bought e 55 after 2 weeks burned the Alternator / Regulator melted, totally gone installing new OEM alternator pricey but be done with it..
Car died totally died on my on highway had to call road assistance I frk hate it lol anyway no charging both batteries are D.E.A.D new one installed still no charge inspected alternator "Made In China" oh no really all you could have done was tell me is a China alternator well he didnt and is not paying the price, thank god seller has little brain so no problems there so far.....

Problem is me not having any time atm had to leave car at AMG Center huuh and now I am paying the price,, DO NOT Save money on alternator (Never install CHINA Made on a Fk AMG" is all I can say else buy a china car..