80 year old father getting ripped off? - 2004 C220 CDI

[thatblokeagain]

Hi All,

My 80 year old father has a 2004 (54 plate) C220CDI which seems to have developed an electrical fault.

He's dropped it into a local garage and they want £250 just to look at it! I'm fearful they're ripping him off.

Currently all I know is that the headlights and fan are not working. We replaced the 5A at the fuse for the lights (63) and nothing changed. What I did notice was if I pulled the interior headlight switch out (front fog lights) they came on and then the headlights also came on. When we pushed it in the fogs went off (as they should) but the headlights remained on, working normally.

So there seems to be some kind of short or something? Any ideas as to where to look first?

Any pointers gratefully appreciated.

 

[bob6600]

Could be the switch itself? Star diagnostic would be the best place to start

 

[richard]

Come and see us at www.comand.co.uk - Lightwater in Surrey. Electrical Diagnosis is much less ...

 

[Abb]

He's dropped it into a local garage and they want £250 just to look at it! I'm fearful they're ripping him off.

You are right to think that!! Even MB stealers do not charge that for a diagnostics check....which would be the first port of call for me! An absolute disgrace if you ask me!

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

Walk away bud. That is absolute robbery. Take Richard up on his offer.

Hope you get it sorted.

 

[AMGeed]

Walk away bud. That is absolute robbery. Take Richard up on his offer.

Hope you get it sorted.

+1
Visit Comand online and save your Dad some money.

 

[markjay]

+1
Visit Comand online and save your Dad some money.

+2

As above.

Strange electrical faults are often the result of poor ground connection (e.g. due to corrosion etc), but finding the bad connection can be challenging......

 

[grober]

As above symptoms point to bad earthing
If you want to check these? In particular w9 behind the headlight
Location and assignment of ground points - WIS

 

[Bluegnomes]

Another thumbs up for Richard a Time Comand. Definitely take it to them

 

[thatblokeagain]

Cheers guys. A local mechanic who I know is going to have a quick look as a favour, if he's no use I'll get it booked into Command as recommended.

Thanks for the pointers. I doubt the other garage would have said £250 if I was there, pretty despicable trying to rip off an 80 year old.

I'll keep you posted.

 

[thatblokeagain]

Morning all, right we popped it to my mechanic mate who in turn had his auto electrician friend look at it for free for my Dad which was nice of him.

He has advised that somebody prior to our ownership has played around with the electrics and had bypassed the normal AC fuse with a wire and another fuse. Both fuses are burnt out. He says the AC unit has given out too much power hence blowing the fuses (that's how I remember it). What he has suggested is a new unit (£250ish) and the board that send the commands (£250ish) plus labour (3 hrs at £70ph) and then some rewiring of the fuseboard (2 hours at £70ph).

So all in all we could be looking at circa £1,000. The cars only worth about £2k on a very good day.

Is it worth trying to get cheaper parts on eBay? Does anybody know what the parts I'm looking for are?

Any help greatly appreciated!

 

[bob6600]

Morning all, right we popped it to my mechanic mate who in turn had his auto electrician friend look at it for free for my Dad which was nice of him.

He has advised that somebody prior to our ownership has played around with the electrics and had bypassed the normal AC fuse with a wire and another fuse. Both fuses are burnt out. He says the AC unit has given out too much power hence blowing the fuses (that's how I remember it). What he has suggested is a new unit (£250ish) and the board that send the commands (£250ish) plus labour (3 hrs at £70ph) and then some rewiring of the fuseboard (2 hours at £70ph).

So all in all we could be looking at circa £1,000. The cars only worth about £2k on a very good day.

Is it worth trying to get cheaper parts on eBay? Does anybody know what the parts I'm looking for are?

Any help greatly appreciated!

The board I would source on ebay, should be plenty around. The A/C unit (I'm guessing compressor under the bonnet?) you could source either new/recon for peace of mind.

 

[thatblokeagain]

The board I would source on ebay, should be plenty around. The A/C unit (I'm guessing compressor under the bonnet?) you could source either new/recon for peace of mind.

Hi, can you tell me what I'm search for for the board? Also, the unit is under/behind the glovebox technically so is this different to the compressor?

 

[bob6600]

I can only guess so it's not much help but yes it's not the compressor then. On my W210, the fan regulator was in the location you mention which was responsible for the blower. Are they willing to give you any more info (names) of the parts they want to replace?

 

[thatblokeagain]

I can only guess so it's not much help but yes it's not the compressor then. On my W210, the fan regulator was in the location you mention which was responsible for the blower. Are they willing to give you any more info (names) of the parts they want to replace?

My Dad's spoken to the mechanic again who says it's the fan heater motor and the control unit if that helps.

 

[bob6600]

Need your VIN for the exact numbers but it woud be something like this, which is fine from eBay. With the control module, you could do the same providing it doesn't need coding (unless they can do it)

A2038202614 | eBay

 

[thatblokeagain]

Need your VIN for the exact numbers but it woud be something like this, which is fine from eBay. With the control module, you could do the same providing it doesn't need coding (unless they can do it)

A2038202614 | eBay

Bob, thank you so much for your help, really appreciated and my Dad asked to thank you from him too.

I'll look into the heater blower motors on eBay and will see if I can find out more about the control module too.

 

[grober]

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