W203 - Rear Sam

[Wully]

Can anyoen tell me what runs off the rear sam in terms of coding?

My heated rear window and rear headrests don't works and i have a sneaky feeling that the sam is at fault.

Cheers

 

[miro]

Can anyoen tell me what runs off the rear sam in terms of coding?

My heated rear window and rear headrests don't works and i have a sneaky feeling that the sam is at fault.

Cheers

Sounds like something is disconnected but I would go along with your suggestions.

- seat adjustment
- fuel sensors
- rear stop lamps
- trunk lock
- central locking
- radio
- Voice control

Ask Perdikoula888 he seems to know a bit about what goes wrong.

 

[Flash]

If you have FMBSH thwn try a good will gesture claim - you have nothing to loose.

 

[Wully]

Sounds like something is disconnected but I would go along with your suggestions.

- seat adjustment
- fuel sensors
- rear stop lamps
- trunk lock
- central locking
- radio
- Voice control

Ask Perdikoula888 he seems to know a bit about what goes wrong.

Thanks Miro

The strange thing is the passenger side memory seats didn't work when i picked the car up and was put right. The one thing that does slightly puzzle me is the passenger side memory functions work when the ignition is off while the drivers side doesn't - is this right?

The brake light one does strike a cord, i sometimes get a brake lamp failure every now and then even with no lamp failures.

Is there any conventional connection to the rear window where i could measure voltage or are they tucked away somewhere?

Top of my santa list - Star System! If someone started hiring these things out they would make a fortune!

 

[Wully]

If you have FMBSH thwn try a good will gesture claim - you have nothing to loose.

Flash
No FMBSH

 

[miro]

Top of my santa list - Star System! If someone started hiring these things out they would make a fortune!

If you have a spare 4000 pounds I think it can be yours .... however for 190 Euro I would opt for the less expensive fuse box replacement.

Replacement fuse boxes always come with the alarm system coding allowing the installation of the alarm hardware.

- towing sensor
- wiring harness (runs down the left side)
- siren and bracket

 

[Ian B Walker]

Top of my santa list - Star System! If someone started hiring these things out they would make a fortune!

Saving like hell for one, got to invest to benefit later

 

[zerocool]

as daft as this sounds,just disconnecting the battery can damage the rear sam,there is a document on wis about this,but apart from that rear sams and front sams are pretty common for going wrong

 

[miro]

as daft as this sounds,just disconnecting the battery can damage the rear sam,there is a document on wis about this,but apart from that rear sams and front sams are pretty common for going wrong

The old "disconnect the battery" trick does enormous damage to the fuse boxes.

The main power connector to the fuse boxes should be removed when powering the car down.

Under normal procedures the correct way to replace a battery is to use a standby battery on the jump start points. That way the car is never actually out of power.

Powering down and then powering up is a whole checklist procedure. A point lost on most American forums.

You can be certain that powering up with the key in the ignition will cause death to the W203 rear fuse box.

 

[Wully]

I've read with some interest on this and other forums about the disconnection problem / issues.

The one thing that always sticks in my head, what about the commom jump start from another car or recovery companies. Surely this could lead to problems?

 

[mobeyone]

as daft as this sounds,just disconnecting the battery can damage the rear sam,there is a document on wis about this,but apart from that rear sams and front sams are pretty common for going wrong

as I know very well...

Do a search for rear sam and you will find my post when my went bust.

Disconnected to reset the ecu but when reconnected, blew the rear sam. AA came out and were useless, they dont even have the new c class listed (well then they never) and were clueless. They did say that there is a terminal which is used for jump starting.

When I picked my car up after having the rear sam replaced , I was told that the battery on a modern mb should only be seen to by an approved mech/tech. No more DIY and after being £350 lighter I never went near the bugger again.

My car was never the same after this though and after what 6 months of hell with it I got rid.

Sometimes, you can also blitz the front sam so be careful!

Also, try to get the sam recoded, takes about an hour but configures your car to the module again apprantly sometimes works. Mine needed recoding three times!

 

[A-AvantGarde]

I've read with some interest on this and other forums about the disconnection problem / issues.

The one thing that always sticks in my head, what about the commom jump start from another car or recovery companies. Surely this could lead to problems?

I wouldn't let anyone jump start a newish car such as a Merc or BMW. We had our Dad's W140 jump started many years ago and we believe that fried the Parktronic module. Luckily the AA picked up the tab...

 

[cidersurfer]

as daft as this sounds,just disconnecting the battery can damage the rear sam,there is a document on wis about this,but apart from that rear sams and front sams are pretty common for going wrong

Ah! What's the correct way of doing this then, if I'm going to fiddle with the rear fuse box? (I'm about to install towbar electrics) I see reference to 'a main power connector' on miro's post?

 

[television]

..




Also, try to get the sam recoded, takes about an hour but configures your car to the module again apprantly sometimes works. Mine needed recoding three times!

When you are hooked up to a diagnosis reader, the rear sam often shows many faults, cant really be the case as everything works. sometimes the fault codes cant be erassed.
I see that MB have a flash CD that should clear these stupid codes, I have written to Germany requesting one as I am going to buy the Launch X431 or the carsoft 8.

Malcolm

 

[bitonw]

The brake light one does strike a cord, i sometimes get a brake lamp failure every now and then even with no lamp failures.

Make sure that the bulb is correclty fited in the socket.

 

[A-AvantGarde]

Sounds like something is disconnected but I would go along with your suggestions.

- seat adjustment
- fuel sensors
- rear stop lamps
- trunk lock
- central locking
- radio
- Voice control

Ask Perdikoula888 he seems to know a bit about what goes wrong.

Does your rear blind work okay, think this also runs of the rear SAM.

 

[miro]

Make sure that the bulb is correclty fited in the socket.

The early series W203 had an over-voltage problem where they would run the globes at 1V higher than normal. This would greatly reduce the life of the globes.

It is also deceptive in the W203. The globes can be auto-replaced by the fog lamp globe whilst the normal stop lamp globe is blown. So looking to see if it works doesnt mean the globe is happy.

The over voltage can be corrected by a patch harness with a small resistor contained within.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Getting a bit concerned by the risk of doing it wrong. So supposing that the battery is completely dead, and you need to get it going in a hurry, what should we actually do?

Connect a standby battery, and trickle charge it from that? Or could you connect a standby battery and then just start it?

I won't use my boost starter that's for sure (has been very handy in the past though with less sensitive cars!!).

 

[Flash]

Getting a bit concerned by the risk of doing it wrong. So supposing that the battery is completely dead, and you need to get it going in a hurry, what should we actually do?

Take out extended warranty cover and IF you "fry" the two SAMs then make a genuine claim but be "economical" with the version of events.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

All warrantied up for another 12 months