SAM units. Can you purchase without going to Main Dealer?

DavePrentice

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Merc C230K (52) plate. SRS, ESP & ABS lights on & stuck in 'P'. Main Merc dealer quoted for a new ECU & clean up of wiring harness covered in oil(not the problem) which my indie mechanic disputes. This model doesnt have the brake switch under the pedal, so think a new SAM unit is now needed. Is it possible to buy this unit & have it installed without going to a main dealer for coding? Have been charged £158 from main dealer & no further forward!
Any help or advice would be much appreciated.
 
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It has to be coded to the car unless it is very new stock that come pre coded now for some cars, though these new ones will work on the car just fine, STAR will never find it until its been coded to the car on line.

If it is just a standard un programmed version then yes it needs coding to the car and any indie could do this
 

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Front SAMs are usually just variant coded not SCN coded and can be done with any STAR diagnostic machine whether you are a dealer or not
 

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I would avoid spending money on new parts until you know what is wrong.

A new front SAM is now only £230 +vat, and you could always fit a used one too.
 

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Front SAMs are usually just variant coded not SCN coded and can be done with any STAR diagnostic machine whether you are a dealer or not

I only mentioned the fact that it may come coded as the door module for my 216 came that way
 
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DavePrentice

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Sam unit

Many thanks to all who responded to my problem. The main Merc dealer was quoting £1450 for an ECU then maybe a SAM unit also...Charged me £150 for the diagnostic & they didnt investigate the problem it went in for. Would Europarts or Dingbro (Im in Scotland) have this part in stock?
Learned now to avoid Main dealers
 

rf065

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Another option which works for me is Mercedes in Hamilton, for cars over 5 years old the labour is charged at 50% and you get 10% off parts. This works out cheaper than going to the local garages round this area.

On the one occasion I required diagnostics on STAR, they charged £75 for this but took it off the price of the repair.


Russ
 

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It would have been nice to have known exactly what ECU MB wanted to change
 

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Sadly there are loads of them in the car, a huge problem is that when they are unsure they give a silly price to cover their backsides
 
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DavePrentice

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SAM units

Have to agree. Most unimpressed. My 'indie' with 30 years experience is fuming & going to give the service manager a call on Monday. He spoke to the technician briefly but when he asked some technical questions, the bloke was lost. Booked in for stuck in P & warning lights for ESP, SRS, ABS on. Promised 'call backs' which never happened & service manager always quote 'out on a test drive'
Surely should have tested the SAM unit before investigating the ECU.
Certainly will never go back to Main Dealer again. Feel like contacting MB direct to complain about standard of service.
 

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If it was not for the ABS lamp on I might have said an EIS problem, with no ABS there is no speed signal, so the box locks in park as it does not know what to do with no speed signal. The EIS (ignition switch) is the master that calls for information via the CAN, the information is all stored in the front SAM.

In this case there is a fault on the chassis CAN A and body CAN B, one can look at the circuit and see what components are on this front SAM, it should be that, but without a plug in replacement that is not always the case.

With some of these SAM faults if you start the car and leave it running the faults could go away once the priority components have been found and the CAN goes quiet, then secondary components may be found. if this does happen, once you turn off it will be the same thing all over again on the next start when a SAM is at fault.
 
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DavePrentice

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Problem Solved

Can I personally thank all who responded to my problem. Despite the Merc Main dealer wishing to replace SAM & ECU to 'see if that would 'maybe fix it', my indie traced the problem to a faulty steering sensor - which I thought the main dealer would have picked up on quickly! Still £168 down for the diagnostic which I hope to get returned. Appalling service from a Main Dealer & will never use one again.
About to write a very stong letter to both the dealership & Mercedes direct.
 
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DavePrentice

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Problem Sorted

Car eventually went back to my 'indie' mechanic. He diagnosed as a front brake sensor after 9 hours labour as he had to trace it manually. MB main dealer wanted to replace ECU & SAM. My total bill is £220 as opposed the nearly £2500 if I had gone with MB. I would have thought they would have picked this up as they have all the proper diagnostic equipment!
Going to write a strong letter to main dealer as it seems it was either incompetence or fraud.
Thinking also of going to trading standards and writing to MB direct as so angry.

Rant over (smiles) but if anyone interested in outcome, let me know.
 

whitenemesis

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Can I personally thank all who responded to my problem. Despite the Merc Main dealer wishing to replace SAM & ECU to 'see if that would 'maybe fix it', my indie traced the problem to a faulty steering sensor - which I thought the main dealer would have picked up on quickly! Still £168 down for the diagnostic which I hope to get returned. Appalling service from a Main Dealer & will never use one again.
About to write a very stong letter to both the dealership & Mercedes direct.

Car eventually went back to my 'indie' mechanic. He diagnosed as a front brake sensor after 9 hours labour as he had to trace it manually. MB main dealer wanted to replace ECU & SAM. My total bill is £220 as opposed the nearly £2500 if I had gone with MB. I would have thought they would have picked this up as they have all the proper diagnostic equipment!
Going to write a strong letter to main dealer as it seems it was either incompetence or fraud.
Thinking also of going to trading standards and writing to MB direct as so angry.

Rant over (smiles) but if anyone interested in outcome, let me know.

Ok, so which was correct? First indie got it wrong? Same indie then "re-diagnosed" it to a brake sensor, which is what exactly?

I'm sure many here would be interested in the response to your letters and visit to TS..

Keep us posted.
 

Alex Crow

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This does not yet add up.
Neither the steering angle sensor, nor the wheel speed sensor, would put up the SRS lamp.
 

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This does not yet add up.
Neither the steering angle sensor, nor the wheel speed sensor, would put up the SRS lamp.

That was my problem Alex, Ok you are much better than me on these things, but no way could I tie all those things together ABS and SRS have nothing in common other than a possible SAM fault, the ABS has nothing to do with the EIS either:confused::confused:
 
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DavePrentice

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Problem solved by my local 'indie' after 16 hours labour - it was a front brake sensor wire. Total bill was £260. Merc Main Dealer should have diagnosed this I would have thought! They wanted to replace ECU & SAM unit first. Unbelievable incompetence and maybe a warning about going to a main dealer. Wont repeat what he called them. Going to contact them in writing & maybe write to MB direct about this. Thanks again to all who offered help and advice. It was much apperciated.
 
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DavePrentice

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Sorry. My 'indie' is not a Merc mechanic. He only has basic diagnostic stuff on his computer. He advised me going to main dealer as they have the diagnostic tools which he thought would solve my problem quicker.
 
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