Living with an R230

[BeansMeansCLS]

I may take you up on that once I sort the broken bleed nipple

The brakes stop well but the pedal feels quite mushy, maybe I'm not used to it but certainly not as good as the CLS

 

[BeansMeansCLS]

Tomorrow I'm tackling the roof, I've located the problem down to the S69/11 switch by following the diagnostics document and monitoring on iCarsoft. I can see the general area that the switch is located in but does anyone know exactly how to get to it? From the below looks like it can be accessed pretty easily?
View attachment 89007

Just in case anyone else tackles this, posting a picture I found on the internet, was too wet and windy to fix today!

 

[BeansMeansCLS]

Did some more digging on the weekend and the error code I'm actually getting is for the side flap switches (B1265-017), this matches the behaviour in the vario roof diagnostic document.

I've installed the uprated flap arms from Mercedes as the old ones were sagging slightly but still not luck, at this stage I'm guessing it's one of the micro switches that's fault, think I'll have to bench test them off the car!

 

[BeansMeansCLS]

Anyone encountered this code before?

My front battery doesn't appear to be charging properly. When I monitor the front battery voltage it seems like the car is intermittently charging it when it's on? (voltage fluctuates a lot)

Could this be the famous fuse under the subwoofer? I'm thinking if it was then it would charge at all?

 

[BeansMeansCLS]

Photo didn't attach for some reason

 

[BeansMeansCLS]

Documenting my findings because it may help others in the future.

Terminal 30 and 30a refer to two different outputs on the BCM, this is located on the rear drivers side of the boot, underneath the boot side lining. Terminal 30 (on the left in red) is connected directly to the positive terminal of the main (rear) battery and terminal 30a (on the right in blue) is connected to the starter battery via a 100A fuse (this is famous for blowing and causing a red battery light, it's located underneath the passenger footwell).

This is what I found today...

It looks like one of the MOSFETs inside the BCM has blown up! I've found a repair service on eBay so will give them a go and report back.

 

[BeansMeansCLS]

Has been sent off to a PCB repair specialist today, will report back his findings and if any good drop their details here for others in case they run into similar issues in the future

 

[peterws1957]

Has been sent off to a PCB repair specialist today, will report back his findings and if any good drop their details here for others in case they run into similar issues in the future

Good bit of diagnosis there! The annoying thing is that the MOSFET will be bobbins to buy and it's a 5 minute job to desolder and solder in the new one.

 

[BeansMeansCLS]

Update: BCM repaired and on it's way back to me, hopefully it works now! Took the opportunity to replace all capacitors at the same time.

This was the company I used:

Electronic repair service in Newcastle Upon Tyne

For top-tier electronic repair services in Newcastle Upon Tyne, look no further

npe-uk.com

Really friendly and helpful, would have got repaired sooner but he was waiting for the MOSFET to come in, total cost £150 which isn't too bad.

I think I'll refit it with the fuse mod (will explain more when I do it) to prevent it sending up the whole car up in smoke if it shorts again!

 

[Blobcat]

Update: BCM repaired and on it's way back to me, hopefully it works now! Took the opportunity to replace all capacitors at the same time.

This was the company I used:

Electronic repair service in Newcastle Upon Tyne

For top-tier electronic repair services in Newcastle Upon Tyne, look no further

npe-uk.com

Really friendly and helpful, would have got repaired sooner but he was waiting for the MOSFET to come in, total cost £150 which isn't too bad.

I think I'll refit it with the fuse mod (will explain more when I do it) to prevent it sending up the whole car up in smoke if it shorts again! View attachment 89430

Great idea to replace the electrolytic caps, they dry out in ~5yrs, rarely do they get replaced these days.

 

[BeansMeansCLS]

UPDATE
BCM reinstalled and it's fully working (from what I gather), front battery is charging at a steady voltage now (before it would fluctuate/not work at all) - highly recommend the company I posted above - no fault codes on the module anymore.

NEW PROBLEM
I fixed my PSE pump (common graphite impeller break) and reinstalled it (bench tested fine) but it doesn't seem to be getting any power, I can't communicate with it either via diagnostics - strange. I've also noticed that I'm getting an error with the overhead control panel/dome light, have checked all fuses and they look completely fine. Any idea if these 2 could be related?

There's definitely something wrong with the overhead control panel as non of the lights work anymore and the car thinks that the roof is open! (the OCP reads the signal from the roof closed switch)

 

[BeansMeansCLS]

Update - PSE Pump turned out to be a loose connection.....DOH

Overhead control panel still looks borked, not sure if it's worth buying a second hand one or trying to diagnose further?

 

[BeansMeansCLS]

UPDATE - FITTING THE BCM WITH FUSES
I promised I'd do a bit of a write up/show and tell on the common fuse mod as there doesn't seem to be much info out there. Essentially, the point of the fuse mod is to add 2 inline fuses to the connections between the BCM and each of the batteries so if the BCM shorts, it doesn't then short any of the batteries and take the whole car out in a fire (protecting the main battery is the priority here)

I chose to go for these type of inline fuses as they could be fitted with the correct gauge wire either side. You can get inline pre-made fuse holders that house common automotive fuses however they come with quite skinny wires that I wouldn't trust with up to 30A.

More info on this thread on why I went with 30A (I may reduce this to 20A and see how I get on):
https://www.benzworld.org/threads/f...hic-fire.3129614/?nested_view=1&sortby=oldest



I used flexible silicon 8AWG wire and made up the end ring connections myself (requires the right bits and crimping tool), the complete cable ended up looking like this (there were 2):



Decided to route the cables neatly behind the BCM (there's space for the fuse boxes) and made sure I wrapped everything really well in heatshrink, electrical tape and loom wrap for an OEM look







The finished product with everything back together, I may try and find a better way to mount the fuses behind the BCM holder but in 2 minds, looks very close to OEM which I'm happy about



Took it for a test drive, left it running for while I can confirm that everything seems to be working perfectly, no fault codes on the BCM, both batteries seem to be happy and charging - will leave all the trims off for a few weeks whilst I drive the car around and then refit when I'm happy....now to fix the dome light module!

 

[BeansMeansCLS]

Replaced the dome light module with a used one, works great now and my remote fob seems to have started working!

Likely due to the fact that the OCP is connected to both antenna modules...the temp sensor of the used unit seems to be playing up so will have to look and see if the thermoster is broken (easy cheap fix )

 

[BeansMeansCLS]

UPDATE - documenting all my fun in case it helps anyone else in the future

After fitting a used dome light today, everything seemed to be okay (apart from temp sensor) meaning the old one must have had a fault on the board...now there are 2 problems:

The first is the previously mentioned onboard temperature sensor showing a strange value? I've checked the thermistor and it's showing 10kOhm which I believe is correct (goes up and down with temperature changes). Climate control seems to be working ok though? Not sure what this means.



The second is that I now get an error B1643: Component B38 (rain sensor) communication error or circuit fault and my auto wipers don't seem to be working (tested with water spray)

Any ideas?

 

[BeansMeansCLS]

Update
Temperature sensor was fine , (read in AC control module). For some reason reading it in OCP module always shows 0.25C, this was even after I replaced the thermistor.

The rain sensor I will look at tomorrow, no more fault codes but the wipers have a mind of their own!

I do now have a new error that pops up about 45 mins after driving:



Starter battery is strong and shows it's charging when I measure voltage. Any ideas? This is accompanied with the red battery light. After I clear the code it goes away for a while until I continue driving and it pops up again.