EC light on. no air con

[Cole@MBS]

You are SO SMOOTH:lol:

Simple business facts Alan, look after your customers and they look after you!!!

You keep coming back

I think more for another chicken roll!!

Thats another story!!

 

[Alex Crow]

hello all. just read all this thread and feel i have to comment.

the most common problem causing EC light on and no cooling, as has been said, is low gas pressure. the most common cause has also been identified; leaking condensers. after repair/recharge the aac module fault codes need erasing, notably the low pressure code causing the non operating compressor protection, also previously stated. i work with these cars daily and have seen this scenario many many times.

sorry if i seem a little forthright, and also have no regard for capital letters! but i hope to be posting here a little every now and then where i feel i can be of help.

 

[television]

hello all. just read all this thread and feel i have to comment.

the most common problem causing EC light on and no cooling, as has been said, is low gas pressure. the most common cause has also been identified; leaking condensers. after repair/recharge the aac module fault codes need erasing, notably the low pressure code causing the non operating compressor protection, also previously stated. i work with these cars daily and have seen this scenario many many times.

sorry if i seem a little forthright, and also have no regard for capital letters! but i hope to be posting here a little every now and then where i feel i can be of help.

Welcome to the forum,,and look forwards to some post

 

[Hoggy]

Everything works fine on my 2001 C class W203 Cdi since the fix ... light out/cold air ... only problem now is when the ventilation system is running without the aircon, there is a really musty smell that hovers around the cabin lol ....

 

[Cole@MBS]

Theres a spray to cure that, kills all the nastys that build up!!

 

[nickcc101]

Everything works fine on my 2001 C class W203 Cdi since the fix ... light out/cold air ... only problem now is when the ventilation system is running without the aircon, there is a really musty smell that hovers around the cabin lol ....

Same problem with my W203, glad to hear about the spray.

 

[television]

You can get it from Halfords and air conditioning outlets, you just spray it in

 

[jaymanek]

Malcolm - I was under the impression that EC light being on all the time just implies a fault in the system.. Could just be low gas or pretty much anything in the system.. not necessarily the temp sensor?

It does have to be reset on star though..

 

[television]

Malcolm - I was under the impression that EC light being on all the time just implies a fault in the system.. Could just be low gas or pretty much anything in the system.. not necessarily the temp sensor?

It does have to be reset on star though..

Hello Jay the cars that have or can have faulty sensors are in this post

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=27407

Yes it usually indicates a fault when the lamp is on and cannot be turned off, very low gas can turn it on.

There is always the odd one out like my SL, I had a fault in the 2 front SAM's this knocked the Air con out, with the light on all the time, and this is because one sensor goes to one SAM and the other sensor to the other SAM. So in my case there was nothing wrong with the air con.

When are car comes in with odd non plausible faults, I look at the wiring diagrams to see if they are all going to a SAM, and 99 times out of a 100 it will be the SAM at fault rather than all of the other silly faults


So yes many things can do it,,when reading on STAR you sometimes have to look a little further at faults, and often a common item like a SAM can be the reason

 

[Arkonite]

I dont understand my aircon

I have a W202 c180, my aircon does not chill and possibly just needs a recharge, but i am at great pains to understand how the aircon works and am really confused as to what the EC button does. I push the button and the light goes on, i push it again and the light goes off, when is the aircon actually working? with the light on or off?
When the light is illuminated does that mean it is in economy mode and the aircon is off and when light out the aircon is on.

I have read numerous posts which have been very helpfull but i am still slightly in the dark as to when its working and when its not.

 

[television]

On your car the EC light must be off and not lit up

 

[RADw203]

Dear All,

This is my first posting. Thank you, thank you for this thread. I purchased a used 2001 C200K and has this problem at the moment. I am located in Stirling. No Merc service centre or independent specialists.

Called up an air-con specialist who advised on changing the condensers and a regas. But reading through the replies here, the car might just need a computer reset.

Anyone can recommend me a place nearby Stirling where I can have my car's a/c diagnosed and fixed if necessary. At a competitive/reasonable cost of course. I'm a miser.

Cheers!!!

 

[television]

Sorry that your nice post did not get an answer,,are you still looking for someone to check it

 

[RADw203]

Sorry that your nice post did not get an answer,,are you still looking for someone to check it

Hi Malcolm!

Sorry for the late reply. Been busy lately. Yeah, still looking for that elusive specialist. Had a friend of mine in Kwik Fit check the system and he says that there are no leaks to the system and the gas level is also fine. Might need a reset using STAR and he does not have it. I'm quite surprised there are no independent Mercedes garage (that I know of) in Stirling. The nearest ones are in Glasgow/Dundee/Edinburgh.

Rad

 

[television]

I would start a new thread asking for an indie where you live

 

[tcb180]

I have this fault with my 2001 Y reg C180. Not had the car long and just pressed the ec button and the light stayed on and is now constantly on. So what's the first thing I should get done?

 

[W203-C220]

Same problem here...

Hi, my 2001Y C Class W203 C220 Classic saloon has this problem. I found the EC light on one morning (assumed the wife had pressed the button and left it on) but it normally toggles on/off with each press? Not any more! Oddly enough, it was always mutually exclusive before, I mean if the Auto button was pressed it would override the EC to off. But I can get both lights on same time now! The heating has been waning for some time but the chilling was fine. Since the EC light has been perm-on the heating seems poor and I have lost 5 mpg overall on economy. I used to drive with both off mostly, or Auto but almost never EC selected. Is mine telling me a gas leak is present or could it even be a dodgy EC on/off switch?
Any thoughts? :-(


Many thanks in advance.

Kevin
W203-C220

C Class Classic SE Saloon 220 CDi 2001 (my 5 year car - 18 months to go!)
C Class Avangarde 220 CDI Sportpack Estate 2006 (the wifes indulgence)

 

[W203-C220]

Ideas anyone?

Posted this EC light problem about 3 weeks ago, no replies thus far sadly.
Maybe I'm posting in the wrong place? I tried searching the forum for posts about EC light but it always ignores the EC part so no joy there I'm afraid :-(

 

[RADw203]

Hi there!

Just to update on the EC light problem on my '01 w203 C200k.

The problem is finally sorted. Thanks to Shlomo Simmons at the Independent Mercedes Specialist in Livingston.

Television's advice has been useful. Had a full STAR diagnostic which located the problem as:

1. Low refrigerant level
2. Possible expansion valve fault.

Shlomo checked my A/C system and removed the old gas and oil. Then he vacuumed the system twice. Finally topping up with gas and fresh oil. Recalibrated my A/C actuator flaps and the works and now the A/C is working again. The STAR diagnostic showed that the problems are solved. No more EC light on problems. He asked me drive around this week with the A/C on to see if the problem recurs. If it does, then the expansion valve might be faulty and could be changed later. Shlomo refused to charge me for a replacement valve unless it is really faulty.

He was nice enough to rectify and remove all other faults and advised me on the general condition of my car. He even offered me a genuine MB pollen filter for £18+VAT which I find is cheap since a Hengst pollen filter from Eurocarparts would cost £56.40.

I paid £145 for the whole job. (Air cond servicing+regas+diagnostics and the pollen filter.) I would recommend his garage in Livingston for folks near and around Edinburgh/Falkirk/Stirling.

This is the link to his website:

http://www.independentmercspecialists.com/index.html

Cheers!!!

 

[W203-C220]

Thanks for the update

Glad to hear your problem was easily fixed by an indie with little cost.
I just had my thermostat replaced which has got the engine running about 90 again so the heater works now!

Think I will get my local indie (Star Motor Services - Caversham) to sort out my EC fix and a regas. When I get time.

New problem starting to surface now... sometimes throws up a BAS 'go to workshop' warning upon starting. Next time it's normal and fault message only stored during that trip. Had something like this last year with random brake lamp fail warnings but a new LED unit cured that.
Have heard SAM units can play up causing random errors. Could it just be a fluid level switch? Should I be worried?

Kind regards

Kevin