hello all, new to the board here. Just picked up a 04 and have a couple questions.

First I made a 1000 mile trip to bring the car home and at two points during the trip the radio shut off for a good 15-20 min. Everything went black, the screen as well as all the buttons. When i hit the power button the screen came on and just said mercedes benz the whole time. THe second time it cut off the screen did the same but then would shut off after 4 or 5 seconds. Id hit the power button again and it would do the same. FInally after 15 min or so i hit the button and it actually played. It seems as if the amp is overheating and it kills the power to the whole radio.

While we're on the radio the rear sub and front speaker on the dash, maybe a midrange speaker but not really sure are definitely blow. Anyone replace either of these with an aftermarket speaker, and if so which speaker worked well with the factory amp?

The center console got extremely hot, almost felt like hot air was coming out the rear vents. AT one point i put my wallet in the center console for maybe 2 hrs, and it got so hot i could barely hold it. Anyone experience this?

Last but not least the passenger door lock unlock pin does something really weird. WHen I shut off the car it goes up and down like 3 or 4 times really fast. It locks and unlocks as it should, but it does the up and down motion rapidly a few times. Anyone know what causes this?

Other then these issues I'm loving the car and looking forward to learning more about this beast of a machine.

 

Sounds like you have a hot wire that wasn't properly taped off. Previous owner may have had a different stereo in it. I am honestly not an expert on the E55 yet, but that's my guess. You can try disconnecting the battery for an hour or two and see if a reset will fix the door unlock/lock issue.

 

Thanks I will try that. Doesnt the reset effect a few different things, like auto window roll up etc.? Anything I need to do after the reset to get things back working as they should?

 

Open all windows holding down the buttons for 5 seconds then close all windows holding the buttons down for 5 seconds. The sunroof is similarly done.

 

Door actuator is weak. It will bounce up and down like when they start to die. Check the rear AC temp settings. My center console gets toasty after 20-30 laps at the race track but not on the street. Get it on a lift and check the heat shield/insulation condition.

My radio used to cut out, it was due to a heat soak issue with the engine. It would get so hot under the hood that the electronics would start shutting down on me after a long trip at 80MPH.

 

Sounds like all my issues, found a good local Mercedes shop near by through a recommendation so will be getting it all looked at, thanks!!

 

I had the door actuator issue on the E320. You can fix it yourself or get it fixed. Dealership charges about $650 for parts and labor.

If you unplug the battery make sure you normalize all windows and sunroof.
Windows: roll window all the way down, then all the way up and keep the button pulled for an additional 2-3 seconds until you hear a click sound from the door control module. Repeat with all other windows.

Sunroof: tilt it up then close it and hold push/pull knob down for an additional 2-3 seconds. The sunroof will make another quick move. You're done with that.

Radio: AGW might got really hot or has old firmware. See if you can get it updated. Old AGW firmware had a bug that did cause exactly that (shut off/on/off...). You can also reset your COMAND: SKIP, Serv, Map -> COMAND reset another problem with the old firmware is that the radio volume goes up and up and up and even if you turn it down it goes right up again to the point where you will. Low speakers if you don't shut the radio off immediately. Only remedy if on the road is to pull over. Turn the car off until your CI display shuts off (that means your Can Bus is in sleep mode) then turn the car back on and then the radio. Nobody really knows what triggers it. Remedy for long term solution is to update AGW firmware.

The heat in the center console could be caused by missing heat shields on the bottom of the car (outside). They do get lose from vibrations and can fall off. Your center console is most likely cooled. Cold air goes through it from the AC. Standard option in USA W211 until facelift.

 

As said above check the wiring and the sw on the audio gate way. On another note before any mods start being done do a compression test. Good luck

 

Heat from the rear vents is the heater control valve.