kevm14

New E55 owner and I've been ticking through some maintenance items over the past couple of weeks. But it seems I've stumbled into my first electrical gremlin.

First, this is a 2004 E55, about 130k. Keyless Go.

The issue appears to surface after rain (I washed it today and I think the issue surfaced again after doing so - it's been dry for a while).

Symptoms:
Initially, the lights weren't turning off in Auto (this was 2 weeks ago, I think after it rained). I would shut the car off, open the door, and they'd stay on. I could turn them off but it would still beep at me. Furthermore, the little red light next to P on the shifter was on, indicating that something was keeping, uh, the ignition on or something. I fooled around in the lighting settings, turning the surround feature on and off, as well as the delayed lighting after shutdown. It seemed like if I fooled around with those options enough I could make it go to sleep. I had a nearly drained battery the first time this happened.

I had more problems today. At one point, the parking lights were going on and off, and the red light next to P on the shifter was going on and off. I could hear things coming on and going off.

I scanned it and I got two codes from the front SAM.
9050: Communication with component M6/1 (wiper motor) is interrupted.
9083: The actual value Circuit 15R supplied by control module EZS over the CAN is implausible (Circuit 15R EZS IMPLAUSIBLE)

I have the manual though I am really annoyed I can't find info on these codes to help me troubleshoot. This is my first Mercedes so I'm still in learning mode big time.

But looking at WIS, it seems that Circuit 15R is related to both the wiper motor and a signal from the EIS (ignition in 1, 2 or 3rd position). There are no codes in the EIS and it seems to behave as I'd expect. It sends power to the various Circuit 15s when the ignition is switched on, and off when it is switched off. I did not witness any spurious Circuit 15 signals being send from the EIS but I don't know if this rules that out.

However when I look in the driver's side SAM, the issue will cause power on Circuit 15R in my scan tool, and when it stops, it goes "off". I should try to take a pic if that would help - I forget the exact terminology. I know the SAMs are a whole thing...

I did some searching and I do see references to 15R. I don't think it is just a relay issue as I pulled the relay and the problem persisted. Furthermore, there might be a CAN issue (obviously the code referred specifically to CAN). Reason being, if I go in and out of menus in the scan tool (iCarsoft MB II), it will seemingly trigger the issue. So something must be up on the network but unfortunately, WIS seems to be of no help or I don't understand how to use it yet. The problem could be originating out of the SAM but I'm not sure how washing the car is causing an issue there unless there is some windshield drain that gets screwed up or something. I have no clue - also I did not wash the engine bay.

Is there a diagnostic process for the SAM itself? Is this a specific issue folks have seen or is this just a failing SAM? Is there a common reason they fail? Am I supposed to pull it out and look for wetness or something?

Anyway, looking for some help for a new member. Thanks!

kevm14

Did more digging. What are the chances that water is dumping on my wiper motor and causing feedback on Circuit 15R, causing this issue??

I guess I should inspect and perhaps unplug to see if that stops the behavior next time it happens.

kevm14

Kept it in the garage all night (it isn't normally garaged). I switched the surround lighting and the light delay and it's all working fine, no issues.

I did find some nice homebrew wiring in the left front SAM. Looks like some previous owner tapped into one of the wiper wires (scotch lock, hack) as well as the hot in the SAM, ran that to a relay, and that apparently powers the intercooler pump. I tried jumping in the intercooler pump in the trunk and it's not connected. So I get to deal with this now, too. Not sure it's related.

It's not part of this topic but I hope I can simply plug in the factory connector and there isn't some other problem that they were attempting to solve. I'm assuming the mod was to keep the intercooler pump running all the time but who knows.

bbirdwell

About halfway down the linked thread you will see photos of the additional cover added in '05 and more covers in '06 to prevent water infiltration.

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...lfunction.html

This one has the part number:
https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...ml#post7405214

kevm14

Thanks, that's a good tip I hadn't seen. Looks like I may need the clips, too. I will check to see if I have mounting holes.

kevm14

Is there a CAN distribution block that I should track down that's notorious for getting soaked?

bbirdwell

B and C block in track next to driver's seat, C block on passenger side of transmission tunnel under dash. Search for HO219 W211 network. I can post link tomorrow.

kevm14

I received my new cowl cover and used SAM prophylactic cover. Will install soonest. Hope this just makes the issue go away. I drove in an extreme downpour on Wednesday and had zero issues...

kevm14

Installed cowl cover and SAM cover. So far so good.

kevm14

Just wanted to follow up that I washed it with a pressure washer, drove at dusk so the auto lighting was doing its thing, shut the car down, and everything is perfect.

Thanks again for the tips. Not sure if it was the new cowl cover or the SAM cover (or both?) but I don't care - it works.