2010 W221 S500 DEVICE UNAVAILABLE AFTER RECHARGING BATTERY FROM COMPLETELY DEAD

[AMR 777T]

I know there have been various threads for various models on various MB forums in the states and here in UK, however they are all under different circumstances and in different models leading up to the problem I have with my W221 S500.

Help is appreciated from all but I'm hoping to hear from facelift S Class owners with the Harman/Kardon sound system who have experienced the same problem under similar circumstances.

Problem started after coming back from a 3 week holiday on 30th of March. Came back to the car completely dead. Jump started the car next day, went for a motorway cruise and noticed DAB radio said "Device Unavailable", tried switching to FM or AM but still same message. Tried Music Register (internal 8GB hard drive), no error message and could select tracks but the timer just stayed on 00:00 and nothing happened. Then tried selecting AUX played music on phone but no sound. Then about 20 minutes in to my cruise I left the motorway to turn back from a junction. At the traffic lights (forgetting the purpose of my cruise) I thought I'd switch the car off and on to maybe bring sound back again. Switched off went to start engine and the starter motor struggled and gave up completely on 2nd attempt and also refreshed my memory as to why I went on this random cruise. Called the cavalry (my brother) and jump started the car again and to my relief everything was working again. However noticed sound kept cutting out every few seconds, thought it was just bad phone signal as I was playing music via AUX on youtube. Switched to "Music Register" and the same problem sound kept cutting out. Every time the sound did cut out it faded back on as if coming back on from mute (not sure if this is a feature in all MB models, but is in the S Class).

Got home after my 20 + 20 minute cruise + 15 minutes battery dead period in between. Switched engine off, (not to confident it would start again) and as expected battery didn't have enough juice to start engine again. Next day went for another cruise, 50 minutes this time, Sound still cutting out, extremely annoying so just switched audio off. Got home same story, still not enough charge to restart engine. Then forked out £90 on a Noco Genius smart battery charger. Charger came the next day, left the battery hooked up overnight and next morning charger was showing 100% charged. Hit the start button and the engine effortlessly growled in to action.

Now the real problem started. Car switched on with COMAND set on DAB radio, now showing initial message of "Device Unavailable", However it was different this time. Went to select FM/AM but the menu wouldn't pop up to show all 3 option of DAB, FM and AM. Scrolled to Music Register still same problem. Went to select AUX, option is greyed out. Tried to select Memory Card, Music interface, CD, USB, TV, DVD but all showing Device Unavailable or just doing nothing. Tried connecting phone to bluetooth, did connect and could make and receive calls but no sound through car speakers. Then tried Nav, input a destination, route came up ok but again no audiable instructions from Nav.
Started looking up on forums came across threads where owners experienced similar problems but most seemed to resolve by just disconnecting battery for 30 minutes or going to a STEALERSHIP under warranty and they fix with software updates or replacing the AMP or COMAND unit. A few threads in the states fixed by disconnecting Sirius units, no idea what that is but I’m guessing that's the DAB signal receiver unit, but in the states they call it SAT radio. But those issues were mostly with ML or R class Mercedes and I think just issue with DAB saying Device Unavailable not everything.

I’ve tried all the above apart from going to a stealership. Still no fix. My local specialist has the STAR diagnostic but it had been sent away for updates. I grew impatient and removed the boot lining unplugged DAB unit and the HARMAN/KARDON AMP for 30 minutes, noticed the fan on the AMP spun for a split second when plugging back in so was a bit optimistic. However Still no fix. Reading a few more threads I learned the AMP could be busted and owners experienced this after jump starting or charging a dead battery, one thread even had the issue of Device Unavailable after MB themselves replaced the dead battery. So now I’m suspecting a fried AMP So completely removed the AMP and opened it up. Found black sooty residue directly below where the fan sits on the cover. I sent the pictures to my colleague who is a qualified avionics engineer and knowns his stuff. Straight away he thought a discharge has occurred, I mentioned it was below the fan. His theory…… fan blows air in, instead of out, so dust has accumulated inside AMP and caused a short, thus damaging components in the AMP. He recommended attempting to clean with electrical contact cleaner. So I vacuumed up the soot using a very soft brush and sprayed the area very carefully with the contact cleaner, making sure it didn’t pool up and done it under the sun to make sure it evaporates quicker. Reinstalled AMP, sadly still no fix. (Sorry could not attach pictures of AMP internals, error come's up saying file to large on forum)

I am now waiting for my local specialist to get his STAR diagnostic back and have starting calling up companies specialising in repairing car electronics some even having mention of Mercedes / Harman/Kardon AMPs on there websites as it seems to be a common issue with MB.

In the mean time any help or solutions would be greatly appreciated from owners who have experienced similar issues under the above circumstances and if anyone has had to go down the route of repairing the AMP who have they used or would recommend using, as I don’t want to end up paying someone hundreds of pounds repairing the AMP and still end up buying a new one or worse end up at the stealership, which might happen any way as I think the AMP's have to be programmed after repair. Which unfortunately can only be done at MB, unless anyone knows something I don't.

 

[esscee]

All appears to be a nightmare for you. I notice you are in West London. It might be an idea for you to contact the experts in Lightwater or drive down the M3 to go to them, Comandonline.co.uk.

 

[AMR 777T]

I got the car plugged in on STAR today. came up with the following codes:

D200 - At least one button is sticking or was activated for longer than 120 seconds

D022 - The video cable from control unit A40/3 (COMAND control unit) to control unit N66/10 (Backup camera voltage supply module) is not inserted.

D100 - MOST master reports open ring.

D103 - MOST component at position 3 reports open ring

Mechanic cleared the codes and only D100 reappeared after 2nd read, the first 2 are just old stored faults. I was expecting D103 to reappear but it didn't. maybe it would have if I drove the car for a while. Can anyone tell me what component at position 3 could be?
And also what is MOST? I haven't a clue.

 

[esscee]

As I mentioned earlier, speak to Alfie/Richard in Lightwater, Comand.co.uk. Will save you much hassle.

 

[AMR 777T]

As I mentioned earlier, speak to Alfie/Richard in Lightwater, Comand.co.uk. Will save you much hassle.

I did call Comandonline, as expected they won't help without paying up £120 first. I really don't want to pay £120 just to find out what MOST component position 3 is. They also don't repair anything. They will only replace units. So if the AMP is busted they said you'll have to buy a new one from MB for £1500.

 

[richard]

AMR777T. to expand on one of my colleagues conversations: -

a) Yes, we charge a diagnostic charge to find out what is wrong, as it involves a load of time, specialist skills and use of expensive equipment. Clearly if we knew it was something that was only 5 mins, or it only took 5 mins, we would not.
We have to work out what has failed, and that means Star Diagnosis (genuine, so costs us £££ every month), and take panels of the car to access the control units and bypass them etc etc, using skills (and certain tools) that most MB dealers have no idea about at all.
- note that your local chap is not using a genuine Star Diagnosis machine (as it is not sent away for updates, MB supply updates every two months) - but that is actually enough for diagnosis a W221 S class.
b) What is at MOST component 3 has to be found out by using Star Diagnosis, its dependant on options, what has been added, and the circuit diagrams for this are mostly wrong.
c) We will bypass broken units for you to send away and get repaired (we tell you where is best to send the item) if it make sense. We keep some spare stuff but mostly not for S class as its too expensive. The reason we don't sent stuff away ourselves is then (1) we get a lot of hassle if there is slow return and (2) we have to add a margin, and (3) some of the repairers are not VAT registered so if we dealt with them we'd have to add 20% VAT when billing you for the work - so by getting customer to deal with that it is cheaper for him and we don't get hassle.
d) We have lots of experience with the W221 HK amp. Yes, we don't repair it and we recommend you don't get it repaired when it has died by carbon and that you buy a new one. The reason is the carbon plus humidity makes acid and our experience is the units just fail again quickly. The Diesel S classes, particularly those used as a taxi where they sit around with the engine on get the problem you have. I am surprised to see it on a petrol S class. There are vents in the wings into the bumpers and exhaust fumes get sucked in and passed through the amp, which in the case of diesel means carbon build up. If it has not died by carbon then they can be repaired. Some of the trouble though is the repairers don't often test them as a harness to test a S class amp is not a simple or cheap thing as you need a S class head unit too.

As you have ascertained, jump starting has broken something. This happens very easily if battery is completely flat unless you charge it up a bit before jump starting. Why ? Because battery itself acts as a regulator which stops big spikes going up the power of the car from the starter motor.

Without someone doing what I have suggested above, you can end up making some very expensive mistakes by buying stuff that is not faulty.

I hope that explains!

Richard

 

[esscee]

Now that is what one can call a very detailed reply for you, courtesy of Richard. Car being an S class looks like it is probably going to cost more than say an E class to diagnose/rectify.

 

[richard]

One of the troubles with S class and SL class are that they were £80k minimum when new cars and the parts didn't get any cheaper to buy from Mercedes.

 

[Riva811]

Did you use a compatible charger for the battery? If not then you probably fried something hopefully a fuse.
I just bought myself the icarsoft MB II diagnostic scanner for my Face-lift CL500 and not regretting it, mostly because someone just tried to scam me with alleged repairs that were not needed

Sent from my G8141 using Tapatalk

 

[Borys]

Do you still have your s500?

 

[David404]

It's not much help now but when I went away for 4 weeks on my return I opened boot, with manual key and charged battery with my Ctek charger until it was 100% didn't even turn ignition on before doing that. If left longer I'd charge battery before leaving and disconnect battery. Recharge to 100% on return and then reconnect battery.

Mercs are known to be fussy about bad batteries and being left stood.

 

[Riva811]

It's not much help now but when I went away for 4 weeks on my return I opened boot, with manual key and charged battery with my Ctek charger until it was 100% didn't even turn ignition on before doing that. If left longer I'd charge battery before leaving and disconnect battery. Recharge to 100% on return and then reconnect battery.

Mercs are known to be fussy about bad batteries and being left stood.

Problem is that they have a lot of electronic devices and the load is high. Cheap batteries do the trick but die fast and most components in your car won't work. I am about to replace mine in a W220 and C216 so the research is already done

Sent from my G8141 using Tapatalk

 

[c63chris]

My SL doesn’t like anything more than 2 weeks parked up. 3weeks away was always going to be an issue. They don’t shut down electrically like cars used to. Far too much stuff that keeps running. I leave mine on a CTEK if it’s not going to be used for more than a week and it’s fine with no problems this way. You have to be so careful jump starting a modern car and to be fair plenty of warning in the manual.

 

[David404]

Unless I really had back to the wall and I absolutely had to have car running I'd not jump my car, I'd put on charge and wait it out until fully charged.

 

[moog999]

I'm currently on holiday....car is at Newcastle airport and will have been there 3 weeks before we get back.

Surely, surely, Mercedes engineered these things to be left sat for a few weeks while the owner tops up their tan?

 

[clk320x]

I'm currently on holiday....car is at Newcastle airport and will have been there 3 weeks before we get back.

Surely, surely, Mercedes engineered these things to be left sat for a few weeks while the owner tops up their tan?

Mines been left for weeks with no problems. No one is going to post a thread saying they came back after X weeks and their car started perfectly

Enjoy your holiday

 

[moog999]

Mines been left for weeks with no problems. No one is going to post a thread saying they came back after X weeks and their car started perfectly

Enjoy your holiday

Lol...very true....holiday being very much enjoyed so far, thank you.

 

[biker69]

I have just sold a mb II diagnostic in preference for an Autel 808K. Same problem with MOST ring open this week, audio went off weeks ago but came back after 24 hours but has not returned this time (same grey screen).

 

[Riva811]

I have just sold a mb II diagnostic in preference for an Autel 808K. Same problem with MOST ring open this week, audio went off weeks ago but came back after 24 hours but has not returned this time (same grey screen).

The issue with the S/SL/CL of that era and configuration is that if one component in the audio system failed then it reports open ring and everything stops working. As Richard said above the best way to investigate is to unplug each device from that MOST ring until your sound returns via any source. My DAB radio died when the road side assistance assured me they knew what they were doing and charged the battery. They fried my dab sigbal amplifier which is part of the dab unit. If your battery is dead i suggest you replace it with a compatible one otherwise you keep damaging your car.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Mines been left for weeks with no problems. No one is going to post a thread saying they came back after X weeks and their car started perfectly
Enjoy your holiday

Absolutely true about Internet horror stories about cars which are basically extremely reliable.

To paraphrase Mark Twain "Bad news can travel half way round the world while good news is wondering about putting on its shoes."

I've regularly left my W221 / S211 / S212's for more than a month without the battery being flat.

R230's: not so much. But I do but I do put my 10 year old cars / battery on charge twice a year, which is why I never buy new batteries.

On the general theme of car electrics, there are plenty of proper, pukka, car electricians out there who have all the skills to handle these issues.

.