My 1997 Mercedes E320 throws up a "Display Defective" message everytime I start the car. The "Display Defective" also seems to have a picture of what looks like the coolant symbol with it. I have replaced the coolant level sending unit in the bottom of the coolant reservior but that didn't fix anything. Any ideas on what my problem may be?

Any ideas out there?

Just a wild guess...... Perhaps your display is defective.

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-tp


1990 300SE "Corinne"- 145k daily driver - street modified differential - PARTING OUT OR SELLING SOON - PORTLAND OR. AREA - PM ME FOR DETAILS
1988 560SEL "Gunther"- 190K passes anything except a gas station
1997 S420 - 265k just bought it with a rebuilt trans. Lovely condition

Pretty solid guess for it to be wild.........if you want to be a clown join the circus.....TP

Did you check the windshield washer reservoir fluid sensor? Some sensor must be disconnected or defective somewhere. That's what "display defective" means.

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

I thought "display defective" means there is a pixel burned out on the screen somewhere? Mine does that too, but I just hit the "cancel" button and everything's back to normal. I don't get any image of a coolant reservoir or anything else. I believe my burned pixel is in an area of the screen that is seldom used.

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08 W251 R350
97 W210 E320
91 W124 300E
86 W126 560SEL
85 W126 380SE Silver
85 W126 380SE Cranberry
79 W123 250
78 W123 280E
75 W114 280

If the error doesn't come back after you cancel it, I wouldn't worry about it. It's the persistent ones that really indicate something wrong. I don't know if the system is so smart that it can detect a burned out pixel. I kind of doubt it. I know I get the "display defective" message when I unplug the windshield washer fluid level sensor, so I believe it's simply telling you that it will not be able to warn you of low fluids and maybe other things.

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

Yeah, it is odd but read this:

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/electronics/8813-w210-display-defective-message.html

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

or heck ill hook you up with mint 99 cluster w 64k miles on

Nah, I'll pass. Rude as you are, I still don't want to take your job.


I said it was a wild guess, and I meant it.

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-tp


1990 300SE "Corinne"- 145k daily driver - street modified differential - PARTING OUT OR SELLING SOON - PORTLAND OR. AREA - PM ME FOR DETAILS
1988 560SEL "Gunther"- 190K passes anything except a gas station
1997 S420 - 265k just bought it with a rebuilt trans. Lovely condition

Personally, I'd have guessed the same w/o using search.

Anyways, obviously I know little about defective displays, although I do know that not all years of displays are PNP and that many can't have their mileage wiped unless you are a car thief with phenomenal computer skills, or work at PA Speedo.

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Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

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

well why dont you try buying a new w210 cluster? its gonna cost you arm and maybe leg

i am sure it can be fixed but if not, be a slime and replace it with lower miles, but make sure service stations wont jug down youre mileage, since they report it to carfax and all that bull manure

One of the "Display Defective" messages means the coolant level sensor-washer fluid level sensor circuit is open (too high of a resistance). That is how Mercedes programmed it. It is not a defective display but rather a bad choice of words for the error message.

Since you have already replaced the coolant level sensor, now measure the resistance of the washer fluid level sensor. Just unplug the connector and use a multimeter to measure (with a full reservoir). It should be around 170 ohms. If it is much higher than that, replace the washer fluid level sensor.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w210-e-class/1298824-display-defective-error-message.html#post3468758

This is a common problem in the W210s. They decided to save input points in the display computer by putting both the coolant sensor and the washer sensor in series. To allow the computer to tell which one sent the signal, there are series and shunt resistors of different values in each sensor. The right combination of resistances tells the computer which sensor is in alarm.

If the measured resistance is not one of the plausible values, it means that one of the sensors has likely gone open circuit or failed. The system posts "Display Defective" which is not the best choice of words.

The washer sensor is a 30 second job to change, the coolant is a little more difficult since you have to drain the system to empty the reservoir. Both sensors are less than $40 total.

I believe the washer sensor comes first in the chain since when this happened to me, I was able to just change the washer sensor and it fixed both errors. The washer sensor was open circuit. The coolant sensor is still on the shelf in my garage, I plan to swap it when I do my next coolant flush.

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The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech