w211 electrics

[carlswindon]

just wondered if anyone else had this problem i gotta get it scanned anyway but on the first startup of my car i get 2 malfuctions come up 1st is the srs restraint fault and the second is a picture of a oil can with a wavy line under saying display faulty i will take pictures and to add to that the parktronic doesnt power up or my rear fog lights or reverse lights. but if i take it for a drive switch it off leave it 10 mins and start it back up again all the faults go and everything works as it should and it is fine until it is left for a long period has anyone else come across this before
oh its a 2003 e200k estate
thanks car1

 

[Benza750]

Sounds as if you have a battery issue or battery control unit issue.
Thease models have a consumer shutoff function , were if power is low it will cut systems out untill there is enough power to run them properly.
The car is proberly doing what it's supposed to but if the battery is weak you will see it more often

 

[carlswindon]

thanks for the reply yeah i thought that i replaced the battery cause the old one wasnt charging properly it was just getting old so i got the bigger battery 100ah the second battery is also good asd the consumer electrics disabled message didnt appear thought it could be something else i also checked the voltage output on the display at 14v when running and around 12.6v when switched off

 

[stwat]

Oh **** off with your spam treocophuonhcm!!!

 

[SavMan]

Check the battery voltage with a multimeter at the battery posts while the engine is running, if it is lower than expected (and lower than the instrument display) it could be the earth lead. Check where the main battery earth joins the body for corrosion, I gave mine a good clean and hey presto no more battery issues for me.

 

[carlswindon]

thanks will go check that now i got a pic of the malfuctions on screen i know of the srs one could be the passenger seat sensor pad which i will check but the display one i have no idea even in the handbook that symbol and that message doesnt match (sorry about the pic quality)

 

[carlswindon]

just checked the voltage at the battery posts with it running and it coming out at 15v so i think the charging side of it is fine

 

[Ted]

15 is high. Are you sure your voltmeter is accurate.
14.5 is the highest that I would expect.

 

[carlswindon]

my apologies ted it is accurate but its an analog one i forgot to make sure the needle was on zero before hand re checked and it is actualy bang on 14v like what the instrument panel is saying

 

[Ted]

That looks better

 

[shorty]

The Display fault would indicate that its the clocks are faulty . I had this message recently on a 211 along with BAS and ESP messages , it was the clocks that where the cause of the faults , they would not communicate over the CAN bus

 

[carlswindon]

oh ok hopefully a diagnostic check will bring that up i was leaning toward a sam unit cause i should imagine the faults im getting uses the same unit i.e the parktronic not working ca the reverse lights and fog lights do not power up but like you said as for the display fault it could be the clocks its just strange it all works ok with no malfunctions when you leave it after about 10mins after first start up

 

[carlswindon]

morning everyone just adding to the list of strange faults i get on first start up when driving this morning my toddler managed to reach the rear window switch and managed to open it even though i got the rear ones switched off on the main panel when i went to put it back up both rear switches on the main switch wouldnt work only the rear switches its like the front of the car isnt talking to the rear very strange

 

[shorty]

I wonder if the Central gate way could be at fault here or even one of the Can Buss bars . The Buss bars theres 3 are located in the passenger wiring gutter , behind the carpeted side panel under the dash on the drivers side and under the dash on the passenger side . The Central gateway is under the dash on the drivers side .

 

[carlswindon]

thanks shorty im guessing diagnostics would pick this up is there anything i can check or do with those things im guessing something like that is going to cost a lot from a dealer if anything needs replacing

 

[shorty]

Yea getting it scanned with STAR or Auto logic will show these faults . The Buss bars can be checked , there only junction points for linking the various CAN modules . Threr could be loose connections or corrosion in the terminals . The central gateway might be replaceable with a second hand unit from pre 07 car and coded to your options .

 

[carlswindon]

ok will get it booked in on monday then i found a independent garage in my area that i will try hopefully i will get a bit more of a personal service rather than the main dealer

 

[shorty]

keep use updated with the problem , Id be interested to know what the cause is

 

[carlswindon]

yeah no problem here to stay now im staying with the merc fed up of fords now lol

 

[shorty]

I do miss Mercs , id really dont like the Audi we currently have , but its easy on fuel . I reckon im gonna return to MB this year probably with another 211