W220 S500L Air con problem

[Ade W220]

Hello everybody, this is my first post so be patient with me.
My 1999 S500L has just had its a/c compressor changed and regassed with 950g of refridgerant. It had been diagnosed as a duff compressor by both MB dealer (£228 to diagnose) and a reputable independent (£0 whilst recharging my wifes car). That has now been changed for a new one and regassed as previously mentioned. My problem is that my ec button will not go out and hence my a/c won't work.
I know that the button defaults to a/c off (ec button illuminated) when there is an a/c problem but how the hell do i reset it other than going to the local stealer??
Oh and it's also turning into a rust bucket before my eyes, not what one would expect of a car that cost over £85k in 1999 with options. Thank god I didn't take that depreciation hit
Please somebody help me restore my faith in this marque!!!!

 

[Dieselman]

Please somebody help me restore my faith in this marque!!!!

Don't hold your breath....You might be waiting for a while yet.

 

[Dieselman]

Hello everybody, this is my first post so be patient with me.
My 1999 S500L has just had its a/c compressor changed and regassed with 950g of refridgerant. It had been diagnosed as a duff compressor by both MB dealer (£228 to diagnose) and a reputable independent (£0 whilst recharging my wifes car). That has now been changed for a new one and regassed as previously mentioned. My problem is that my ec button will not go out and hence my a/c won't work.
I know that the button defaults to a/c off (ec button illuminated) when there is an a/c problem but how the hell do i reset it other than going to the local stealer??
Oh and it's also turning into a rust bucket before my eyes, not what one would expect of a car that cost over £85k in 1999 with options. Thank god I didn't take that depreciation hit
Please somebody help me restore my faith in this marque!!!!

The EC light will stay on if there is insufficient pressure in the aircon system. Did the specialist check the pressure when filling the system. The best advice is to take the car back to the specialist because surely they charged to repair the system, not just change the compressor.

 

[Ade W220]

Thanks for that input, any and all is gratefully received
Sadly the independent seems to be under the impression that the car needs a Mercedes only reset. Could it be that the cars' cpu has logged a fault and whilst this fault (the compressor had seized) has probably been fixed, the cars' cpu needs to have this logged error reset?? The independents a/c machine has given a read-out that suggests that the system should be ok and that it has dosed 950grammes into it but still no joy, and his diagnostic device has nothing that can talk to my cars' cpu. He is very obviously at the extent of his knowledge and probably wished that he only had Vectras and Mondeos to deal with!!!
Does any body know how to read any onboard diagnostics that may be relevent here??

 

[Flash]

From what you have described my guesses are that it is the Indy's "doing" that is causing the problem with the EC button. Try having a word with the Stealer's workshop foreman and he will be able to advise and if problem is with the indy's negligence then tell the indy that the Stealership have advised "blah blah" and that i.e. no reset is needed by Stealership!!!

 

[C43AMG]

The exact thing happened to me, the reason why the light stays on is when you had the car re gassed the key was left in the ignition and the only way to get rid of the light is to have it reset. Fortunately my air con man and my freindly indi know each other and he reset it as it was the air con mans fault for not taking out the ignition key.

 

[Ade W220]

Thanks again for the input guys,
So how did he reset it? Could it be a battery off for an hour job or is it a genuine software job? Indy or MB?
Also does anyone know exactly how much gas he should have been put in? My car has the optional rear a/c if this matters for the quantity.
Cheers Ade.

 

[jasohal]

sorry to hear about your AC issues - luckily mine were resolved by a gas recharge service.

you can quite easily read and erase stored A/C diagnostic codes yourself if you follow the instructions detailed in the following post...I did this on mine and worked a treat..

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w220-s-class/1218592-intermittent-electrical-issue-w220.html

As for the gas amount - you should have a green sticker either on the panel where the bonnet shuts or somewhere around the engine which will detail the weight of gas required for your system, as an example my e320 coupe requires 0.95 Kg

hope this helps...

 

[Ade W220]

Jasohal thats a pint I owe you. Top man:bannana: :bannana:
Houston we no longer have a problem
And mucho thanks to the guy from the USA site for the original info.
One problem down, now just the Lancia Beta lookalike front wheel arches to deal with at the stealers .
Many many thanks for everyones assistance, may you all win the Lottery (the week after me!!!)

 

[C43AMG]

Thanks again for the input guys,
So how did he reset it? Could it be a battery off for an hour job or is it a genuine software job? Indy or MB?
Also does anyone know exactly how much gas he should have been put in? My car has the optional rear a/c if this matters for the quantity.
Cheers Ade.

Yes my SClass has the optional rear air con, 1kg. and my indi re-set the fault.

 

[zmaster007]

Talk to the dealer, managed to get both the front wings on my S320L replaced under the 30 year rust warranty after a bit of complaining