2002 W220 S500 multiple failures in electrical system - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

speace · #1 06-28-2010, 05:29 PM

Moderator: Please move this thread to Car Audio and edit out this one line. Thanks!

Yesterday I was driving my 2002 S500 and suddenly, the COMMAND unit went dark. I was playing a CD and the unit just turned off and won't come back on.

But there is more...
It isn't so surprising that the CD changer won't eject the cassette...

BUT...
THE DOOR LOCKS NO LONGER RESPOND TO THE KEYLESS ENTRY REMOTES.

Both of these items went out at the same time, or within minutes of each other.

Also, the reading lights in the overhead console won't come on.
It has been a while since I used them, so this might be unrelated, but they worked not long ago...
EDIT: The reading lights are just fine. I forgot that they are in the bottom of the rear view mirror and were not visible in the roof console...

I don't find any blown fuses and have no clue where to start on this...

ILUVMILS · #2 06-29-2010, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speace

...I don't find any blown fuses and have no clue where to start on this...

You should start by finding a shop equipped with SDS, and have the system scanned for faults.

BTW, be careful when checking fuses. I've seen more than one 220 S-Class DIY'er pull fuses one at a time and mistakenly stick one back into the wrong slot. That can really add an interesting element to the diagnostic process!

speace · #3 06-29-2010, 12:31 PM

My shop did a preliminary scan yesterday and the only thing they found was that the sunroof was not normalized. Since it hasn't been touched since the battery was replaced last fall, that doesn't seem surprising.

Yes, I noticed the fuse chart is clear as "mud."

The CD player has been intermittently saying no magazine for a while. I wonder if that is a clue.

speace · #4 07-08-2010, 02:37 PM

Update: HELP!!!

Ok, my independent shop passed my complete Command 2.5 unit to a local Car Audio shop that the local MB Dealership uses from time to time.

They confirmed that the Command unit would not power up.
They switched the "power supply" box of the unit with one out of another unit they had with a cracked screen and it powered on on their bench.
EDIT: This turned out to NOT be a good idea on the part of the Audio Shop. (More later...)

Then they installed it in the car...
The NAV system powers on.
The keyless entry remotes now work! (Nobody knows how these were related.)
The CD changer was dead, but now the audio shop says it goes crazy, won't settle down and needs replacing.
The audio shop says the main audio amplifier module in the trunk is dead and needs to be replaced along with the CD player.

Presently, both the CD player and the Audio Amp are out while he searches for replacements.

At this time:
The radio appears to be playing, when selected, but without sound.
The NAV system WILL NOT display a MAP of my present location.

It displays a screen with an hour glass, the GEO CODE LOCATION at the top of the screen and it NAMES the STREET I am on across the bottom.
JUST NO MAP!

UPDATE:
My independent MB shop thought it unlikely that the audio amplifier was bad so I picked up the amp and the CD player from the Audio Shop. They reinstalled them and ran the diagnostics. The Command unit sees the audio amp as well as the CD player, but the telephone controller unit (Voice Command) is not responding. He is hoping to find a way to bypass this controller because it is an old analog unit and serves no purpose. It is believed that this device is suppressing the audio.
EDIT: Wrong... My car doesn't have the Voice Command unit. That was normal, but he did bypass the phone unit. It was an Analog unit and is of no use anyway...

They will continue on it tomorrow...

speace · #5 07-16-2010, 06:08 PM

Ok, it has been a few days now and the problems have all been resolved!

Here is the rest of the story and a recommendation to anyone that has a problem with their Command unit!

My independent MB shop ran the diagnostics again and figured out that while all of the fiber cables were intact, the Command unit apparently could not see any responses from the audio amp, nor the CD player on the Fiber Optic loop. They connected my audio amp and CD player to another car and they performed well!

The conclusion was that the Command unit was STILL not working properly.

I found a Factory Refurbished Command unit for outright purchase (no core charge) on eBay at a company called Midwest Electronics for 695.95.
These guys are THE Authorized Blaupunkt Factory Service Center for the USA.
They also offered to completely refurbish my Command unit for 495.00 with WARRANTY!

The representative at Midwest said that the module that had been swapped into my Command unit was probably not compatible with my unit. There are lots of variables and MANY different versions of firmware of these modules.

I wanted out of the services previously performed at the local Audio Shop, but they wanted the car back so that they could do more troubleshooting and run up a bill that was even more than the 475.00 I had already paid them for a PARTIALLY repaired Command unit. At this point, my confidence in them had gone to ZERO and I just wanted my money back and wanted out! They felt that I owed them SOMETHING since they had spent so many hours on the problem and didn't want to refund my money.

Then I remembered that I didn't need the old unit back at all since I could buy one outright for a reasonable price, so I GAVE him my old Command unit for his time. He refunded the 475.00 and we were both happy!

My refurbished unit arrived today by UPS. It was in a sealed box with a Genuine Mercedes Parts sticker on it. I installed it myself in just a few minutes and everything came back to life! The "default" configuration on the refurbished unit matched my car (without the phone and without the voice command unit) so it was not necessary to use the Mercedes diagnostics to configure the unit to my car at all!

I have learned some lessons here, but hopefully, this will help someone else with their Command unit problems in the future!

I HIGHLY recommend these guys:

Midwest Electronics in Franklin Park, IL
1-800-562-5978

Gilly · #6 07-16-2010, 06:49 PM

You will need to reconfigure the Comand unit to show the CD changer being there, if it isn't already (or unless you removed the CD changer)

speace · #7 07-16-2010, 09:44 PM

Thanks, Gilly!

The tech support guy at Midwest told me that the unit would be set to the factory default and that if I only had the amp and CD changer, I would be good to go, as that was the default setting.

This indeed is my configuration and it all works right out of the box, including the CD player!

My Analog phone unit has been bypassed.

Gilly · #8 07-16-2010, 10:52 PM

Oh, yeah, the phone. That actually would have been digital by 2002. The phone was portable and would have been one of the V-series. Not analog, although it could have been dual mode/triband still. Anyways, the components in the car would have only been to integrate the phone to the D2B ring, no communications functions other than getting the hands-free working in the car, the phone could have been removed and taken with and worked just fine. Problem is that they were not GSM phones so you HAD to buy the expensive phone from Mercedes and God help you if you wanted to change carriers or moved.
The voice recognition you mentioned was an optional thing and yes took another module (VR module) you had to configure in.
Gilly

speace · #9 07-16-2010, 11:05 PM

Oh, so it probably is digital after all?

...but as you said, it still isn't anything I would wnat to use.

Thanks again!