W208 CLK 230 Cabrio Electrical Problems

[nav]

Hey all - got a real mad problem here - need some help.....

Earlier today my radio went off out of the blue, didnt think too much of it so turned it on from the on button. I got home and tried to put the hood up - wudnt go up - then i realised my electric windows were not working, nor was the washer wiper, nor was the cruise control. Fortunately i was on a pretty much straight road so no indicators were needed - as they were not working either . I managed to get the roof up manually - (tough job !!!) and checked all 3 fuse boxes and all fuses were ok. The windows go up and down using the key fob but not using the buttons. It seems all electrics have gone weird on the car. The hazard lights work as do the normal front and rear lights. Any ideas what the problem can be. It seems as though there is some relay which controlls all the above which might have blown. Anyone got any ideas what i can do to sort this out.

Thanks

Nav

 

[nav]

Electrical Problems

Ended up getting the car onto the Star at an Indie (surprised they had one actually) and it turns out its the ignition key module is faulty. The system has a low voltage warning - and it faults on all the above mentioned items.

So i guess its off the the Stealership with my Log book in tow to get a new Ignition Module. I was hoping it was my key fob at fault, but the other key did the same thing.....

Nav

 

[television]

Are you sure it needs replacing,, it seems odd, low voltage is one thing but this not require a new switch.

To me it just sounds like the consumers switched off through low battery

 

[nav]

Electrical Problems

Sounds interesting - they checked the battery and the battery status was good at 77% capacity so they said it wasnt the battery.

they thought it was the Key fob so they checked the other fob. The errors was N73 module - low voltage.

anyone else have any views on this. I sure as heck wudnt want to spend £200 quid on a new ignition module to realise thats not the fault

 

[cwcl2000]

W208 Cab Roof Prob

Replaced a faulty battery and now my roof stops just before it stows, have to turn ignition off, start again and all is fine. Lifts ok and goes through closing process without any probs, try to stow again and it fails. Cn anyone help?

 

[BlackC55]

The fault memory may need erasing. Get it on a Star first.

 

[chris846]

Maybe you started out with a voltage/ignition fault which is now cured.
But manually pulling the roof up and down has dislodged one of the limit switches on the mechanism.
The culprit could be the limit switch on the main LH ram, which is prone to failure.
Can you describe the exact point in the sequence that it reaches before stopping?

As an example, I found that when I was having all sorts of fun with my roof, by repeatedly manually operatng the bow latch with the allen key tool, I'd accidentally displaced the limit switch within the latch that senses 'bow released'. This prevented the bow from raising. Not a major problem, but after I'd climbed in to the compartment with a torch to see what was happening...and closed the compartment cover on myself...whilst in a multi storey car park in the middle of sheffield (not the smartest thing I've ever done!)...it was a real stroke of luck when I found the very simple problem.

 

[rayrichard]

Hi, sorry to hijack your thread.

Chris, I think I am having a similar problem with the bow latch not releasing when it should.

You can see the roof trying to open, but the lock just does not want to release.

Can you let me know how you fixed your issue?

Many thanks
Ric

Maybe you started out with a voltage/ignition fault which is now cured.
But manually pulling the roof up and down has dislodged one of the limit switches on the mechanism.
The culprit could be the limit switch on the main LH ram, which is prone to failure.
Can you describe the exact point in the sequence that it reaches before stopping?

As an example, I found that when I was having all sorts of fun with my roof, by repeatedly manually operatng the bow latch with the allen key tool, I'd accidentally displaced the limit switch within the latch that senses 'bow released'. This prevented the bow from raising. Not a major problem, but after I'd climbed in to the compartment with a torch to see what was happening...and closed the compartment cover on myself...whilst in a multi storey car park in the middle of sheffield (not the smartest thing I've ever done!)...it was a real stroke of luck when I found the very simple problem.

 

[chris846]

When you say the roof is trying to open - what exactly is happening?

It's possible that the wiring to the bow lock limit switch is damaged where it runs alongside the compartment cover hinge and flexes. This would mean that the control module doesn't get to know that the lock is successfully 'unlocked', so the sequence stalls.

To access the bow lock and the suspect wiring, you need to manually move the roof through the first few parts of the opening sequence - so's the compartment cover is opened. Then you can access the bow lock which is fitted to the underside of the compartment cover.

The owner's manual shows you how to manually open the roof.

 

[rayrichard]

Hi Chris

Let me try to explain further.

I unlock and turn the handle on the roof
The windows all go down
I lift the red roof switch
Looking through my mirror I see the bow trying to lift, but failing. There is about a few milimetres of movement, it just looks like it cannot get the lock to release.

I can take video on my phone if you like, and pop it on YouTube if that might help?


Currently I have manually opened the roof, and taken off the panel that allows me to check the hydraulic fluid level.

 

[rayrichard]

Here is a post I made a few days ago, it might help put things in perspective.

This looks like this an intermittent issue to me, as the roof started working, and now has stopped again.

I took it to the main dealership, they checked it out, hydraulic fluid fine, oiled a few switches, apparently, then called me to inform me that it was fixed.

I went to collect, the guy gave me a demo of the working roof, but it didn't work.

They sent it back to the service centre, and after an hour told me that they didn't know what the issue was as everything checked out on the system check. They advised bringing it back for a longer inspection.

My feeling is that the lock that holds the back windscreen in place is not releasing as it should; everything else seems fine, the roll bars move up and down, the roof switch illuminates as it should, I just don't know what to try next.

Any thoughts would be really appreciated at this stage.

 

[chris846]

Intermittent, bow lock problem -
have a really good look at the wiring to the limit switches on the bow lock. Open the compartment cover and remove the trim on the underside. You'll see the bow lock mechanism. Trace the wiring and hydraulic pipes to where it runs alongside the compartment cover hinge on the offside of the car. It runs through plastic conduit designed to move with the movement of the hinge - you'll have to remove al this to check things properly.

There's a good chance that, somewhere where it flexes, one of the wires is broken. It might take some finding, because it sounds like it's an intermittent break. As good as it is, STAR won't find that - it'll just show a 'time out' fault when the bow lock doesn't seem to release within the allotted time.

Try that, then we'll think about the lock mechanism.

 

[chris846]

183 posts - and 182 of them about the f****in roof!
what a car!

hardcore ROOF enthusiast

 

[rayrichard]

183 posts - and 182 of them about the f****in roof!
what a car!

hardcore ROOF enthusiast

I think I will do as you suggested today; thanks Chris, I will keep you informed of progress.

 

[rayrichard]

I have removed all the carpet now, and have access to everything now.

I have taken some pictures, could you take a look Chris, and let me know if you see anything odd.

Now I have to work out how to post pics

 

[rayrichard]

Adding pics

First 3 pics

 

[rayrichard]

Next 3 pics

Next 3 pics

 

[rayrichard]

last 2 pics

last 2 pics

 

[chris846]

the cable & hydraulic hose routing around the compartment cover hinge looks all wrong. The third picture also seems to show some fraying on the binding around the wires. Tomorrow I'll take some pictures of mine and show you the correct routing.
You need to idenitfy the wire to the bow ram limit switch and examine every inch of the wire in the region where it flexes near the hinge.
Odds are its a broken wire.

 

[chris846]

in the seventh picture, the plastic conduit is kinked - that bit of conduit should rise and fall vertically as the compartment cover opens and closes, in a sort of slot in the plastic hinge covering. You need to remove that corrugated cable sheathing and look at the wiring inside. It's just a two core wire to the bow ram limit switch and it will break if it doesn't route properly.