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So I was abrubdtly woke up at 3am to the sound of my 06'CLS55 to the car alarm going off and parking lights flashing. As I cautiouslly make my way outside I tried to disarm the car alarm work key fob and nothing is happening. I cannot unlock the car or get the alarm to shut off.
I look inside the at the instrument cluster and it had a red message stating visit workshop and the gauge lights are on. I then hear a loud whirring sound almost like the engine is revving up but the tach read zero and no loud rumble from the exhaust.
From what I gather it was the engine cooling fans running like a turbofan! On and off, on and off.
My next move was to disconnect the main battery to get all of this to stop. Somehow the trunk was unlocked and when I open it up I see smoke and the uncanny smell of electrical burning coming from the drivers side trunk filled the area! 😵😱
I disconnect the main battery negative first then positive in case there is a short to ground.
For added measure I disconnected the Aux battery under the hood too. The smoke dissipated and I pulled the cover of the access panel in the driver's trunk area where the navigation unit is and some fuses and all looked ok. Now that it's light now I will investigate further.
Going to have to be towed to the dealer.
Has anyone ever had anything like this happen?
I had not even driven the car since 8:45pm Tuesday.
Is there anyway to get it into Neutral while batteries are disconnected... My guess is no.
Rear SAM took a hit looks like from some infiltrated water, not a ton but all you need is a drop it two.
I am getting a quote from dealer now. I seen I could get one for $237 plus core charge. Thought the white relay was the culprit but when I took it out the contacts were not burned so looks like collateral damage.
Picking the CLS 55 up today from Elmbrook Mercedes (Waukesha WI) who in my opinion have done a great job replacing the SAM module.... communication was awesome. Price ended up being $1080 after some connectors needed to be replaced in the SAM module and I authorized a piece of trim to be replaced in the back left taillight area since the tech found a hole in one of the push pins so that was $65. They checked over trying to set if they could get water to infiltrate and could NOT
They checked over trying to set if they could get water to infiltrate and could NOT
Sometimes water can drip out of the GPS antenna splitter which is above the SAM (not sure if its directly above, but it's in that area). The insulation on the wiring around the rear glass cracks off and water leaks in through the GPS antenna wiring. Not sure that's your issue, but it might be worth checking (you should see some corrosion in the connector if you disconnect the antenna cable from the splitter).
Sometimes water can drip out of the GPS antenna splitter which is above the SAM (not sure if its directly above, but it's in that area). The insulation on the wiring around the rear glass cracks off and water leaks in through the GPS antenna wiring. Not sure that's your issue, but it might be worth checking (you should see some corrosion in the connector if you disconnect the antenna cable from the splitter).
Thank you very much I will definitely look there! I will post back what I find out.