W211 Comand system dead & other niggles

[chris116]

Hi, I’ve a few annoying electrical niggles appearing on my recently acquired 55 plate W211 E320 cdi any help on any of them would be very much appreciated.
1. Comand system. I’ve had an intermittent total failure with the comand system on start-up which has been getting more & more frequent until it’s now in a permanent state of total failure. When working the system would be fine with all comand functions fully working and the fault would only occur or disappear after re-switching the ignition back on after stopping/parking etc. however when in fault nothing works the screen’s blank, no audio, no sat nav, cd won’t eject & the CD changer drawer won’t open however the nav unit in the rear of the car still ejects nav DVD, dash message reads “Audio please wait” then changes to Audio …… I had a brief period of all being well after removing the comand main fuse, 40amp fuse 6 rear fuse box this now no longer has any effect.
2. Rear heated windows.The rear heated side windows are not working along with the n/s heated door mirror with the rear window only having a small area working, o/s door mirror ok – both mirrors move ok and auto fold ok. Fuse checks ok but no voltage to n/s rear side window all elements look to be very good.Is there a multi connector somewhere that may be giving me trouble?
3. Auto load cover.The load cover mechanism has also stopped working ,the magnetic plug is still in the cover but I’ve not checked the sensor
I’m sure the last 2 faults occurred together or within a short space of time from each other but my other concern is are all 3 of these faults connected?
Any fault finding tips & component location would be very much appreciated
Many thanks in advance for any hints tips & advice.

 

[rifiki]

Did you get the from a dealer? if so take it back as I believe they are suppose to give a 3 month garrantee by law.

 

[GordonTarling]

1 - You need to get the dealer who supplied the car to sort the Comand system.

2 - Rear side windows are NOT heated. What you are seeing is the radio antenna.

3 - Auto load covers can be very fickle things, my last car (211) would sometimes stop working until I gave it a jiggle. Try asking the supplying dealer to look at it.

 

[chris116]

Thanks, bought private I'm afraid but all was well when bought the comand unit started playing up first all else ok then the other electrical stuff together

 

[chris116]

1 - You need to get the dealer who supplied the car to sort the Comand system.

2 - Rear side windows are NOT heated. What you are seeing is the radio antenna.

3 - Auto load covers can be very fickle things, my last car (211) would sometimes stop working until I gave it a jiggle. Try asking the supplying dealer to look at it.

Thanks for the info Gordon,
feeling a bit red faced about the side windows I'm sure the seller told me they were heated I was concerned about the cable size though when I removed the cover!
Has anyone any idea where I can obtain a wiring diagram.
I know an auto trician locally with a reputation for transmission & engine diagnostic skills but not sure about his MB audio knowledge

 

[GordonTarling]

The heated side windows is a very common misconception and often perpetuated.
Wiring diagrams are available on WIS (Mercedes online workshop 'manual'). May be found on Fleabay or accessed via 'the other' forum.

 

[reb]

Dead Comand

Did you ever find the culprit for this problem?
I have experienced EXACTLY the same issue with my 04 320cdi - infact I could have written the original post!

Any pointers greatly appreciated - these cars are not the same without the gadgets.

Great forum by the way - pity about the electronics..

 

[richard]

These will be separate faults.

With the COMAND, does it display absolutely nothing (COMAND or fuse for COMAND), or does it display Mercedes Star and turn off (some other audio component has failed)

Richard

 

[reb]

It refuses to switch on. The other day it came on after an hour's drive but since then, nothing. As with Chris116, when it works, everything works. I have done every check I can think of.

 

[richard]

It refuses to switch on. The other day it came on after an hour's drive but since then, nothing. As with Chris116, when it works, everything works. I have done every check I can think of.

Sadly that is almost certainly a fault with the COMAND (the display unit in the dash), rather than any of the other audio components.

If you talk to Alfie ([email protected]) , he does have a spare in stock

Richard

 

[reb]

Dead Comand

Thanks for your help. I will see if Alfie can help with a replacement. I presume it is not worth repairing...

 

[chris116]

Hi Reb,
I'm hoping to have fund my problem but it may not help you I'm afraid. When removing the unit from the dash for inspection an unexpectedly easy task I might add, the unit came on, displayed the MB star and started to work normally. I assume the plug at the rear wasn't connected properly whilst out I disconnected all the plugs and checked all connections then carefully reconnected everything tugged and pulled bent and twisted the wiring and satisfied myself all was well and reinstalled the unit, worked perfectly since - touch wood!

I hope yours is as easy to fix mate.

I've not looked at the other stuff on my post I just live with it as is