PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post

Jeremy5848 · #4 07-30-2013, 01:34 AM

I saw your post and will check and lube the regulator before putting the door skin back on -- thanks for the tip. I finally got the white plastic cover back in place but I had to trim it where it goes up into the rear guide for the window. I didn't want to pull the passenger door skin so I popped the alarm switch out of the door end and looked in the hole. Everything afterwards went back together smoothly.

I can't tell whether the rattle is gone or just different. Since taking the door skin off isn't difficult, I may just put it back on and see if the noise is still there. Nothing seems loose but I haven't checked the window regulator yet. Since the driver's side gets the most use it's certainly worth checking.

The pneumatic switch/actuator for central locking still isn't working correctly (I thought the rattle was from it -- that was the start of this whole problem). When I pull the inside lever to open the driver's door, the door unlatches and opens correctly but the switch doesn't activate the central locking system unless I pull the lever as far as it will go and even then it's unreliable. Pulling up on the button or unlocking the passenger door or using the key from outside or using the keyless remote that I added last year works correctly to lock and unlock all the doors. I can't see anything wrong with the pneumatic actuator but maybe it's hanging up and gradually failing -- certainly the problem is getting worse.

It's to where I can now open the driver's door and get out without unlocking any of the doors and even with the key in the ignition. Shutting the driver's door then leaves me locked out of the car (fortunately I always carry a spare key). I have to watch carefully, making sure to pull the door lever all the way and wait for central locking to do its thing, or unlock the doors manually before trying to open the driver's door.

I suppose the actuator is an arm and a leg from Mercedes. Maybe I can get one from Pick-n-Pull. The only other possible cause is something in the mechanical link between the door latch and the pneumatic actuator. I can see how the link is supposed to allow the actuator to pop up and trip the switch, thus telling central locking to unlock all the other doors. The locking function works, it's only unlock that is flaky and only the driver's side.

Jeremy