Air Conditioning
 

WHILE DRIVING, AC SWITCHED TO ECONO-AIR, WILL NOT RESET TO ANY SETTINGS, HAVE CHECKED R134, IS FULL NOT LEAKS, AND HAVE CHANGED HIGH PRESSURE CUT OFF SWITCH. COMPRESSOR STILL DOES NOT ACTIVE. PLEASE HELP

Stay away from that EC switch, It does not engage the compressor. You will have no cold AC, use another setting to get cold AC. I went to a shop to get my car fixed, and the mechanic said "Your AC is not working" I looked at the setting and of course, he pushed the EC switch on my Climate control unit.

AIR CONDITIONING
 

WELL, MAYBE I DID NOT MAKE MYSELF PERFECTLY CLEAR, SO LETS TRY THAT AGAIN.....I CANNOT GET CONTROLS (OFF OF) EC...ALLOWING THE COMPRESSOR TO CUT ON FOR COLD AIR.

Buttons may be stuck

AIR CONDITIONER
 

ALL BUTTONS WORK FINE, BECAUSE I CAN GET TEMP, AND ALL OTHER FUNCTIONS TO WORK....ONLY AC COMPRESSOR WILL NOT ENGAGE FROM DASH BUTTONS.

More A/C Problems
 

What year/model is the car? My understanding is that system goes into EC mode to keep compressor off and not damage it.

Hope you don't mind if I tell my A/C tale of woe. My '97 E320 quit cooling while it was sitting idle for a week. Not knowing what the problem was, I engaged the EC button to keep the compressor from running. Dealer says that it needs a new evaporator and that it will take 20 hours and cost $3500. I know that the S class cars of the 90's have big labor bills and bad evaporators but I have not heard of this problem with the W210 cars. Can anybody share their experiences?

Hawkkman, one minor point--typing in all caps is interpreted on the net as screaming, so watch your caps lock to avoid giving inadvertent offense. As for your compressor issue, the most likely problems would be inadequate refrigerant causing a low-pressure cutout or else a defective low-cutout switch, a defective panel switch not telling the compressor to cut in; beyond that would exceed my DIY capability. When you run the car and switch from econ to normal, do you hear the compressor clutch click at all?

AC
 

ANSWER TO CRAIG, NO IT DOES NOT SWITCH FROM EC, THUS THE COMPRESSOR DOES NOT ENGAGE. AND AS FOR R134, IT IS FULL, HAS BEEN EVAC AND RECHARGED.

E320 Econo Cycle Button Stuck
 

We have the same problem with our 1997 E320. Button appears stuck. Cannot get the econo cycle off to allow A/C to work. Mechanics only suggestion to date is to change the entire panel. Does anyone know of a way to permanently disconnect the econo-cycle or engage a/c without changing the entire panel? (Quote for replacment part is over $500). Please advise.

AC
 

THIS IS SOMETHING, WELL IF I HEAR OF ANYTHING THAT HELPS ME, I WILL MOST CERTAINLY LET YOU KNOW....AND I WOULD HOPE YO DO THE SAME FOR ME.

econo cycle
 

Yes, good luck. I will keep you posted if we can find a cheaper solution then changing the entire panel.

Hawkkman,

Please re-read the comments above about turning off the CAPS LOCK, and also please do post the model and year of the vehicle in question. It saves a lot of time and frustration.

Thanks.

econo button
 

Hi. On the web site www.alldata.com, I was able to find that a service bulletin was issued on Aug. 20, 1999 regarding this problem with my E320. (#45 on listing. called "EC lamp ON, Cannot Be Shut OFF") Does anyone know how I can get a copy of this service bulletin and/or if Mercedes will repair the problem without charge even though the warranty is expired? Thanks.

Econo Switch
 

If you haven't done so already, check out the thread I started called "Refrigerant Temp Sensor". This may be the answer to your problem.

HAVE YOU TRIED TO PUSH ALL THREE BUTTONS (OOPS!) Sorry.. At once?
-Mel

Get it fixed?
 

I'm having the same problem...won't go off of EC. 1999 C280 2.8 with electronic climate control. Did you get it fixed!

Hawkman,

It would be most helpful to know what year and model MB that you are working on.

Have a great day,

The first thing to do with most MB's with a EC button is to perform the self diagnostics available at the display.

Read this article to see how and find the appropriate lists of values and codes where ever: http://www.continentalimports.com/ser_ic40142.html

The service bulletin is for the pressure switch. If it is bad it will show up on the actual values. The most common problem is a bad evap temp sensor act value #5 on most systems. If the value is at 150 or above the compressor won't work.

I have diagnosed this more than once by cell phone with a customer driving his car, just push the buttons and look at the value and stop by when you have a half hour and we'll fix it for you.

The last one I did I diagnosed in the parking lot with the sensor already in my hand. I replaced it and it still wouldn't work and the EC light was on. I have the pressure switch as I have read the bulletin (have never seen the problem but I am ready - buy the evap sensors two at a time). Brought it into the shop and read the pressures turned out the bozo had dumped an extra pound and a half of refrigerant into it before he brought it in. Luckily it only cost him a little extra. He made an interesting problem out of a simple pattern failure. Tripled his bill, he did.

The last post by Sokoloff on this thread may help.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/86110-210-chassis-climate-control-problem.html?perpage=15

Dan