W210 Electrical Gremlins!

[Cliff_W140]

Haven't posted in a while as the E430 has just been too dang bulletproof! Until now...
All of the front seat electronics seem to be going out at once. So far I've noticed the front seats, Steering wheel, sunroof, keyless entry, and front dome light activated by an open door, not working.

These can all be reset to work by unhooking the battery for a bit, but one by one they all quit again.

Does this sound like a relay problem? Anyone know where I'd look to find said relay? Its becoming very frustrating.

[RichardM98]

Sounds like your battery is failing. How old is the battery? Anything over 4 years is suspect. You can have a load check performed but it must be done with the battery out of the circuit. W210's are pretty sensitive to slightly lower battery voltage which produces the problems you are having. If it is you can have MB (1-800-FOR MERCedes) come out and replace the battery and reset everything for about $175. That should qualify you for 18 mos. of Road Side Service.

[Cliff_W140]

Had the battery checked out today. It's came back fine and at 90% charge.
After sitting for a couple days I got in and everything worked just fine... For 3 days, now the front windows and seat controls have gone again.

Any more ideas or thoughts?

[RichardM98]

Not really. Sorry.

[Gilly]

Have a quick check done on it, sounds like either a CAN problem or a bad door control module.

[BigRed0803]

Had exact same issue mine turned out to be the door control module on drivers door. Sounds kike your going to have to try disconnecting some things and seeing if the problem stays gone then you have found ur issue.

[raymond~]

has it been raining recently? am thinking that there may have been water in the
battery area which in turn, induced gremlins around the fuse box, PSE and possibly
short circuiting. signs of moisture etc down there?

[190E 2.3 rur rur rur]

these cars are full of conveniences. how bout a self test for control module? or a protection relay for low voltage? wire diagrams are supposed 2 be avail at library with a little sleuthing. thats where i find kind attitudes and some helpful folks

[Cliff_W140]

Sorry it takes me so long to respond... I really only have time to work on this on Saturdays. I've had the door control module suggested to me multiple times. Where do I find it to disconnect it? Once disconnected what would be the signs that it was to blame? Should I expect everything other than the driver's door to work?

[Gilly]

I should have asked before, do you mean both front searts stop working or just the drivers door? The seat is what made me thing DCM, but that DCM can bring down other interior modules besides the things on the controls on the drivers door. And they are a common fail for some reason. Cheaply built I'd guess, or water gets to them possibly?

The dome light problem, I should have also mentioned to make sure the switch on the dome light is in the proper position, you can switch that to the "always off" position w/o realizing it and have the same effect. Unless it is working normally at one time and suddenly these problems all appear at once.

If you disconnect the DCM, hmmm, anything IN that door or controlled by a switch ON that door won't work, IIRC, anything electrical anyways. Power window on that door, power locking on that door, remote unlocking on that door or trying to operate the whole car unlocking from that door sensor, driver seat control, I think the dome light should work when you open that door as the switch isn't in that door. The sunroof should work, and can't remember where the steering wheel adjustment switch is on the 210, if it is on the door with the seat switch it won't work, if it is on the steering column it should work with the dcm disconnected I believe, not sure as it might be affected by the memory functions in the DCM. All the signals in to or out of the door go through the DCM except possibly the side airbag signals.

If you pull the door panel (interior trim panel) you will instantly recognize the DCM, stereotypical "black box" attached to the door, roughly in the area of the seat switch, but mounted to the door, not the seat switch itself, just sort of in that area.

As I used to work in a dealer I never had to resort to "unplugging it and see what happens" so not sure about that procedure, nothing really to lose I guess but time spent.

[Cliff_W140]

Almost a year later and I'm still having to unplug the battery if I want to use the front windows/seat controls, and power mirrors. Also now the Windshield wiper has developed a mind of its own.... once you turn them on they might not go off again until you turn the car off.

I'm an electrician by trade so I've got the voltmeter to start checking things... if anyone would be so kind as to direct me to where or what.

Thanks!

[Gilly]

The wipers run until the ignition is switched off, then they freeze where ever they were when you shut them off, then you turn they key back on and the wipers then park themselves and shut off, that all sound right?

Have you ever done anything towards fixing the window/mirror problem since you last responded? Cux I can make a few guesses about the wiper problem but if ultimately you are just going to keep disconnecting the battery to fix one problem or shutting off the car to turn off the wipers, why even bother?
Gilly

[Cliff_W140]

Sorry for the confusion. No I haven't been able to fix the other problems but I still very much want to... I saw a random post about pressing the brake pedal for 30 seconds with the battery unplugged as a fix to the issues... Not sure if I have much hope for that but it's been tried and everything is working for now.

[Cliff_W140]

So I did the unplug the battery and then hold down the brake pedal for 30 seconds thing 4 days ago and everything is still working... My problem couldn't have been this simple right?

I've probably jinxed the whole thing by posting this...

[Cliff_W140]

And the driver side window, seat, and steering wheel are dead.... Soon as I got back to the car....

I knew I'd jinxed myself.