EC Button

[Dave280]

Hi everybody, new to forum.
I have just bought a w202 280 facelift (1999), and with all this hot weather, have been playing with the a/c. I was told when I bought the car to get the a/c working, you turned the dials through the blue section until they clicked at the end of their travel, and as long as the fan was on setting 2 or above, the a/c would operate. Well it seems to work, but I don't understand what the EC button is for. It normally sits there with the LED out, but if I press it, the LED comes on. Can somebody shed some light on this for a newbie MBie?
Thanks

 

[PJH]

Hello Dave280
The EC button is the a/c on/off button, ie EConomy mode.
If the LED is off the Economy is off too, ie a/c ON.
The a/c works at any temp that you set it to using the wheels.
The 'click' position is just MIN or MAX.
Patrick

PS Don't want to worry you but check that the passenger side carpet is dry.
Water Panic

 

[guydewdney]

you should not need to adjust the wheels - the colour is not the temp of the air from the vents - its the temp you want the cabin to be - so its climate control - not plain air-con.

leave it in the white section...

thats the beauty of mercs - things just work, you dont need to keep pressing buttons...

 

[Dave280]

That's a lot clearer, thank you.

.... and I'll be checking the carpets tonight.

 

[Steve_Perry]

Guy is certainly right, if you leave the wheel in the white section the air will come out ice cold on a hot day and come out quite warm on a cold day.

Just a couple of other points of note:

I would leave the a/c on all the time as this keeps relevant seals lubed, if you keep the a/c permanently switched off the seals can perish over a long period of time as they 'dry up'. Another benefit with the a/c on is that the air is dehumidified and the windows will be less prone to misting up on cold winter mornings.

If the a/c gets very low on refridgerant gas then the EC led will be permanently illuminated and no amount of button pushing will cause the light to go out.

The air recirc button has two functions - with the engine running the air recycled. With the engine switched off, the a/c fan is activated and will circulate air around the cabin for upto 30mins before switching off automatically.



S.

 

[lotusmark2]

One thing I just noticed is that when I switch my ac off (first time I have ever switched it off) there is a very unpleasent smell that comes through, any ideas??

 

[guydewdney]

dirty filters? mine got a bit pongy - new filters got rid of the smell (sort of musty)

btw - whats " came this saw that it ran " (machine translation of your sig thing)

 

[SilverSaloon]

you should not need to adjust the wheels - the colour is not the temp of the air from the vents - its the temp you want the cabin to be - so its climate control - not plain air-con.

so the wheels are not like normal non-climate cars where the wheel adjusts the heat coming thru the vents...... its the desired cabin temp??? does that mean my CLK has climate even tho it doesnt have the digital readings? i thought that was just normal heater?

also there is a tiny fan by the rear view mirror.... is this for the temperature sensor of the cabin then?

 

[Dieselman]

You've got it!

 

[C240Sport97]

I changed my pollen filter (they cost about £25!!) and it has made the air that much fresher, plus the air output is greater, so no need for high fan speeds, so quieter too. Very worthwhile 'investment' and excellent HOWTO from Shude

 

[scottishc280]

recirc at rest

I just found that when the ignition is off and you click the recirc button it puts on an led and the fan goes. I guess this is trying to pull in cooler air from outside and will turn itself off at some point.

Great if you ar going into a shop for 15 minutes or so and the sun is beating down.....keeps the car a bit coller.

 

[guydewdney]

correct - the later / digital systems have a 'rest' button which fires up the fan on low power for up to 30 mins and uses the residual heat / cold to try to keep the air in the cabin at the last set temp.

the S class (W140) has an auxillary petrol heater to warm the car without firing the engine - can be set on a timer to have a nice warm car on those cold morning starts...

 

[SilverSaloon]

so is my CLK which has the non-digital display (ie the 2 plastic turning things (red, white and blue), climate? Shame it doesnt show the actual temp on the dials rather than the colours

 

[guydewdney]

am i the only one who actually READS their manual?

yes - afaik they are all climate - the white bit when set equidistant equals 22 degrees C (well - as in my old 202 it was)

and digital ones when you press temp up and down together sets it to 22 as that is what MB have decided is 'suitable' (sir...)

 

[SilverSaloon]

ok.... great!

obviously the next question on everyone's lips is - can the digital display be fitted with ease?

 

[guydewdney]

the digi-display is basically a radio sized thing - the system you have is separate wheels and knobs isnt it? so I assume you are willing to cut the dash?

I presume that if the plugs are the same, then the system will be swappable...

no doubt i will be corrected...

i COULD pop mine out and take pics of the connectors...

 

[sym]

Seem to remember that Steve K (MBenzNL) has done this mod, and there was a bit more to it than just changing the dash and the control unit !!

Believe me, if I thought it was as simple as that, I'd have done it by now

S.

**EDIT**

Almost right . . . Steve didn't even have air-con to start with . . . so maybe it would be possible to swap the units.

http://members.lycos.nl/mbenz/climate_control.htm

Steve / Somebody (!!) - we need to know !!

S.

 

[GrahamC230K]

Seem to remember that Steve K (MBenzNL) has done this mod, and there was a bit more to it than just changing the dash and the control unit !!

Believe me, if I thought it was as simple as that, I'd have done it by now

S.

**EDIT**

Almost right . . . Steve didn't even have air-con to start with . . . so maybe it would be possible to swap the units.

http://members.lycos.nl/mbenz/climate_control.htm

Steve / Somebody (!!) - we need to know !!

S.

Not an easy swap. The compressor/condensor or matrix or something is different.

 

[C240Sport97]

the digital unit does not look as good as the 2 rings and 2 rollers. a swap would be complicated because the auto cc also plays around automatically with which vents the air comes out from

 

[SilverSaloon]

oh well..... happy enough to find out my car has climate!!