Warning light on dashboard

[rallen]

This has happened twice now, the triangle with exclamation mark lights up on the console. Switch off and then on and it goes away. Any ideas?

E320 petrol W210 estate year 2001

 

[SLinKyjoe]

i assume its the yellow one you are on about.

does this happen when you are pulling away. fastish? if so, its the traction device warning you it is operating. the light is to tell you you are driving the car beyond the limits of adhesion.

if it is coming on and going off while you are cruising, then i suspect an intermititant fault is occuring.

 

[julie Martin]

you should probably call MB Bd service and may be able to give you an indication as to what the prob could be! number 00800 1 777 777 7, might be worth a try!

 

[LAMAR]

Most comman cause is a intermittant fault with the brake light switch on the brake pedal.

 

[jberks]

Any other warnings besides the triangle? - Anything on the computer display?
The brake light switch normally causes the thing to light up like a christmas tree - BAS, ABS, ESP etc. The triangle normally only lights up on its own (and stays on) if you manually switch off the ESP.
If you just get the light and no warnings, this would indicate that the system has shut down without a fault being detected - override switch perhaps?

You didn't have a small child on the front passenger seat did you!?

 

[rallen]

There were no warnings indicated.

The triangle came on once with me after starting the engine, it stayed on, then I switched off and on and it went away.

It then happened another time with my wife (who usually drives the car) while she was driving (although it could have come on from the start without her noticing). She switched off and on and it went away.

She usually has kids in the car, they sit all over the place even in the boot seats.

The ESP switch activates the triangle, thanks for the tip! She will now check it next time it happens to see if it is this causing it. It may be the ESP button was accidentally pressed.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

 

[300ceguy]

i have seen that before. are you head lights ok.
my head light was loose and would turn on and off while i was driving, causeing the yellow triangle on the dash to turn on.
all i did was change the headlight and it fixed it.

 

[jberks]

i have seen that before. are you head lights ok.
my head light was loose and would turn on and off while i was driving, causeing the yellow triangle on the dash to turn on.
all i did was change the headlight and it fixed it.

I suspect that yellow light you saw was the bulb warning light - On rallen's that's been replaced by a message on the computer display. This light he is concerned about is a triangle in the centre of the speedo. It flashes when the ESP cuts in and stays on solid when the ESP is deactivated.

 

[television]

ESP light

You do not have to worry about it. The ESP shares some components with the ABS. You have revolution counters built into each wheel. When I leave my garage I have a small ramp and have to turn the wheels slightly,that is enough to trigger the ESP circuit sometimes, normally when cold, as you say ,just turn off and on and that's the end of it.Its nothing to do with lights or anything else. When driving in the rain if your right foot is to heavy and you spin a wheel the ESP lamp will light for a moment, and then go out when it has checked the driving wheels, with most of these systems there can be the odd time when one of these lamps come on and stays on,but when this happens I just turn off and on at traffic lights. Malcolm

 

[dogsbody]

I posted a similar problem on an E320 a couple of weeks ago. All hell had broken loose with yellow card and computer indicating that ABS/ ESP and cruise control were all "Malfunctioning".
The brake light switch cost me £7.57 plus VAT, and that was the cause. Why the failure of the brake light switch would cause two safety circuits to be switched off is a complete mystery to me and says nothing for the software engineers who set the system up in the first place.
To replace switch .. a quick look at the Kama Sutra may help!

 

[ruairidh11]

where is the manual ESP switch located in a C320 please?

 

[Alex Crow]

it is the switch with "ESP" written on it.