1998 E300D W210, 230k odd miles.

Recently the doors stopped locking via the remote, had to manually push down the buttons to get the car secure.

Just a few days later the windows start rolling themselves down after being parked for a few hours. Sometimes all the way, sometimes part way.

Now it seems when you try to roll up the windows the right rear one will roll up, and then come back down part way on its own.


Searched the forum but did not find anything probative. Anyone have any ideas? I'm hoping this is a problem with specific symptoms that should be easy to diagnose.

Is there moisture under the rear seat?

Nope, though there might be if these windows keep rolling themselves down.

There's a "convenience module" somewhere in the car that allows you to keep the remote button pressed and so roll up all of the windows and close the sunroof as well as locking the car. If that module were to malfunction, symptoms like yours might appear. Someone here with your model year should be able to provide the location of the thing, which is just an expensive electronic relay.

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

Anyone? Cmon I'm dying here!

Until the right person shows up, you might consider pulling the window fuse(s) so the windows stay up. PITA but better than wet inside!

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

also considering one of those big harbor freight battery disconnects to make it easy to switch back and forth.

This is one of the features in automobiles of this era I could do without.

There is a system calibration procedure to use to set the window and sunroof positions (fully closed, fully open) in the owner's manual. Have you tried that? It is necessary after any battery disconnect as the little memory storage items for this stuff is cleared when the power is lost.

You might also want to look at the condition of your battery and charging system. Low voltage due to dying battery or voltage regulator, or a bad ground on the system will play havoc with things that read voltages and turn it into information about the status of various things.

Can you unlock the doors with the remote?

Well, good luck, as I don't have much more to offer. You would need the detailed design information on the system to be able to further diagnose the problem. Changing the module won't be of much help if the problem is a bad ground or some other voltage issue.

Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

I don't think this is a problem with the window "calibration"

The alternator is new, and the battery is about 1.5 years old.

The doors will unlock and the alarm will disarm. And if you hit lock the alarm will arm but the doors will not lock.

Have you made ANY modifications to the electrical system (RADIO)?

__________________
Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

update:

it now almost every time you turn the car off tries to roll down the windows and open the sunroof as if you held the unlock button on the remote.

update x2: Last night when turning off the ignition the dash readout for miles went dark untill the door was reshut, then for the first time ever the dash showed an outside time (of 0F and then -1F when it was maybe 60 degrees out)

I guess if it was mine I would probably reluctantly bring it to a dealer for diagnosis - it is worth an hour or two of labor to pinpoint it...this is one of those issues you might spend a ton of time on and still not be able to fix it without their proprietary scanning equipment. I think they can scan the controls and pinpoint it if it does it every time. Then at least you will know where you stand.

__________________
Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

Steering angle is reset by turning wheel lock to lock and holding on the stops for a couple of seconds.

__________________
Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

09' E320 Bluetec 77k (USA)
09' Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel 48k (S.A.)

I can't be of much help, but I know if you hold the remote right by the front doors and press and hold the unlock/lock, what ever the case, the windows will all roll up/down and lock/unlock the car. Maybe your remote battery is weak.

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1998 E300Turbodiesel
1980 300d

Ready- Ronnie