Returning after holiday...

[db1]

Hi,

After returning from 18 days away I tried starting the SL. Started fine, but a warning came on saying "Electrical Consumers Offline". Is that something that needs to be reset after a time or is it something that will reset automatically after the battery recharges...

thanks

DB1

[Satch]

Hi,

After returning from 18 days away I tried starting the SL. Started fine, but a warning came on saying "Electrical Consumers Offline". Is that something that needs to be reset after a time or is it something that will reset automatically after the battery recharges...

thanks

DB1

It has just shut down the non essentials. Should be OK once battery regains charge

[marcos]

It has just shut down the non essentials. Should be OK once battery regains charge

My W211 does silly things like this sometimes too, as Satch says once the batterys charged it should be fine.

[Brian WH]

My W211 does silly things like this sometimes too, as Satch says once the batterys charged it should be fine.

Only on the W211 it is the second battery that needs recharge for the auxiliaries. :D

[jimmy]

Just been speaking to my dad tonight, he has had problems with his 2004 E320CDi estate, if he leaves the car locked and un-driven for more than a week the battery is dead. Local MB dealer told him that it was because of the central locking, he now leaves the car unlocked :crazy: all be it in a locked garage, he said MB cant fix it!!!

I told him to insist they fix it, what if you left it at an airport car park for 14 days?? He also said he has had other minor electrical problems, occasionally the Command DVD player will just start playing on it's own, even when driving.

He has also contacted DMS about tuning :devil: Why???? :crazy:

Any thoughts on that one Graham? ;)

[jaymanek]

[QUOTE=jimmy]occasionally the Command DVD player will just start playing on it's own, even when driving.QUOTE]


Could this not be the reason the battery is dying when left standing?

[C240Sport97]

I agree that this is something they MUST fix. It is ridiculous that he's has leave the car unlocked .. which probably invalidates his insurance.

If MB can't fix the problem, then they should give him a new car that he can lock.



Just been speaking to my dad tonight, he has had problems with his 2004 E320CDi estate, if he leaves the car locked and un-driven for more than a week the battery is dead. Local MB dealer told him that it was because of the central locking, he now leaves the car unlocked :crazy: all be it in a locked garage, he said MB cant fix it!!!

I told him to insist they fix it, what if you left it at an airport car park for 14 days?? He also said he has had other minor electrical problems, occasionally the Command DVD player will just start playing on it's own, even when driving.

He has also contacted DMS about tuning :devil: Why???? :crazy:

Any thoughts on that one Graham? ;)

[jimmy]

I agree that this is something they MUST fix. It is ridiculous that he's has leave the car unlocked .. which probably invalidates his insurance.

If MB can't fix the problem, then they should give him a new car that he can lock.

I agree 100%, trouble is both my parents will not complain, if they go to a restaurant and have a crap meal they wont say anything, they have both had minor health problems and I feel they have been badly treated by their doctor but they just shrug it off as the doctor must be busy!!! I wouldnt stand for it.

I have told him to take the car back to MB and not take no for an answer.

[C240Sport97]

As a loving son, you could do the complaining on their behalf ...

[glojo]

I agree 100%, trouble is both my parents will not complain, if they go to a restaurant and have a crap meal they wont say anything, they have both had minor health problems and I feel they have been badly treated by their doctor but they just shrug it off as the doctor must be busy!!! I wouldnt stand for it.

I have told him to take the car back to MB and not take no for an answer.

Hi Jimmy,
I can understand what you are saying about your parents, but if you look at the specification of our estate you can see that it is quite 'electricity hungry'. It has only done 5000 in 12 months and we have just returned from our Christmas holidays having left the vehicle unused for approximately ten days.

The car was left locked and inside our garage, but started without any problems. If either you are your parents want to ask any questions openly or via pm\e-mail then please feel free to ask.

Regards,
John

[jimti]

if he leaves the car locked and un-driven for more than a week the battery is dead. Local MB dealer told him that it was because of the central locking, he now leaves the car unlocked :crazy: all be it in a locked garage, he said MB cant fix it!!!
I had this problem with my 190E a few years ago, I disabled the alarm/ immobiliser and the battery didn't go flat after leaving the car for 3 weeks..So the fault could be there rather than central locking, which should be inactive once it has locked the car...
The job I do means that my car is ofter left un-driven for between 2 & 4 weeks at a time and it always starts without any problems,(touches large piece of wood) taking into account that it is a diesel car and has to preheat the engine before starting, I can't see why your Dads car is having a problem unless there is an underlying fault with it

[jimmy]

MB Exeter, told him that it was caused by the central locking pump, nothing they can do it's a feature of the car!!

Yeah, right!! I will tell him again to take it back, thanks for the replies.

[jimti]

Why not set up a poll on this site asking owners of this model of Mercedes if they have this built in "feature" then show the results to the stealers

I can't see there being many who have

[glojo]

MB Exeter, told him that it was caused by the central locking pump, nothing they can do it's a feature of the car!!

Yeah, right!! I will tell him again to take it back, thanks for the replies.


Jimmy,
As we speak, my car is at MB Exeter!! your comments do not instil me with confidence :) on the upgrades they are doing.

Are we related?? :)

On a serious note I have just noticed what they have blamed. I have been told that my estate has pnuematic central locking but others on this forum claim there vehicles have electrical systems?

They are usually pretty good and they certainly shown a lot of patience when dealing with me.

Regards,
John

[Pietre]

Are you sure its not you who have shown patience when dealing with them?

[Pietre]

I get less bull and better overall service from my BMW motorcycle dealer, and the paint doesnt chip!

[glojo]

MB Exeter, told him that it was caused by the central locking pump, nothing they can do it's a feature of the car!!

Yeah, right!! I will tell him again to take it back, thanks for the replies.

Hi Jimmy,
I have just been speaking to Mercedes-Benz at Exeter to find out about the central locking 'pump'.

I had also been told that my vehicle had pnuematic central locking, but no, it does not.

The air pump that some 211's have is for the dynamic seating? So if your parents car has dynamic seats then it will indeed have a pnuematic pump. If not then there will not be any pump.

Regards,
John

[RichardM]

Hi,

After returning from 18 days away I tried starting the SL. Started fine, but a warning came on saying "Electrical Consumers Offline". Is that something that needs to be reset after a time or is it something that will reset automatically after the battery recharges...

thanks

DB1
I've had this message too after leaving the car unused for 10 days. The car started, but I noticed the parking sensors weren't working. All seemed to correct itself though after a couple of minutes.

[stwat]

Im sorry, am i missing something here? How can a central locking pump flatten the battery??? It only works, once to open the doors, and then once again to lock them. Its not like its running all the time the doors are locked. It locks the doors and then unlocks them again, thats all it does :confused:

[fuzzer]

Just been speaking to my dad tonight, he has had problems with his 2004 E320CDi estate, if he leaves the car locked and un-driven for more than a week the battery is dead. Local MB dealer told him that it was because of the central locking, he now leaves the car unlocked :crazy: all be it in a locked garage, he said MB cant fix it!!!

I told him to insist they fix it, what if you left it at an airport car park for 14 days?? He also said he has had other minor electrical problems, occasionally the Command DVD player will just start playing on it's own, even when driving.

He has also contacted DMS about tuning :devil: Why???? :crazy:

Any thoughts on that one Graham? ;)


Rubbish , our 211 was locked for 3 weeks in the driveway outside the house while we were in the US . Came back started first turn without any of that no consumers.

p.s. brian , the w215 has a second battery too ;) im sure

[toby]

On my E320CDI the COMAND system occassionally will not switch off, meaning that the relevant fuse has to be removed... Perhaps something else is consuming the power while the car is off. It certainly doesn't seem right that the battery is flat after such a short period of time.

[jimmy]

I know, I agree with you all. He is being palmed off by the dealer. What amazes me is that he seems to be happy to leave the car garaged but unlocked rather than make a fuss!!!!!!

[Brian WH]

On my E320CDI the COMAND system occassionally will not switch off, meaning that the relevant fuse has to be removed... Perhaps something else is consuming the power while the car is off. It certainly doesn't seem right that the battery is flat after such a short period of time.

My understanding is that you should remove the CD/DVD for Sat Nav when you leave the car for a long while as the Sat Nav will drain the Battery.

[JFerguson]

I got back yesterday after 4 weeks in Australia and USA. My E320 CDi started immediately and no problems with any devices. Got the car in September and it has 3900 miles on it.

[RichardM]

I got back yesterday after 4 weeks in Australia and USA. My E320 CDi started immediately and no problems with any devices. Got the car in September and it has 3900 miles on it.

Out of interest do you have command? That seems to be blammed as being the cause of flat batteries.

[glojo]

I got back yesterday after 4 weeks in Australia and USA. My E320 CDi started immediately and no problems with any devices. Got the car in September and it has 3900 miles on it.

Hi,
Has your car got the COMAND option?


My understanding is that you should remove the CD/DVD for Sat Nav when you leave the car for a long while as the Sat Nav will drain the Battery.

Hi Brian,
I understand what you are saying and must confess to not reading the COMAND manual from cover to cover. Where abouts does it give the advice about taking out the DVD?

It will certainly be awkward for the boss.

Regards,
John

[Shude]

Where abouts does it give the advice about taking out the DVD?
On this forum!

Sadly one of the things that manufacturers tend to forget about when designing a car is the possibility of it being sat in a garage for months rather than being driven!

[JFerguson]

Out of interest do you have command? That seems to be blammed as being the cause of flat batteries.

Yes. it does have COMAND Sat Nav. It came with software version3 although I have now upgraded to version 4 when I got back.

[GrahamC230K]

On this forum!

Sadly one of the things that manufacturers tend to forget about when designing a car is the possibility of it being sat in a garage for months rather than being driven!


Yes, but the advice for removing CD from Command related to older models - surely thsi was seen as a design fault and resolved in the lates 2004/05 DVD Commands?



Just been speaking to my dad tonight, he has had problems with his 2004 E320CDi estate.........

He has also contacted DMS about tuning :devil: Why???? :crazy:

Any thoughts on that one Graham? ;)

DMS have a good rep. regardless of my experience and will probably achieve good results on a TD. I received my refund eventually, after delays due to Christmas break.

[Shude]

Yes, but the advice for removing CD from Command related to older models - surely thsi was seen as a design fault and resolved in the lates 2004/05 DVD Commands?
Firstly the newer comand is made by a different manufacturer so it's unlikely that any "evolution" really went on between models, and secondly the "design fault" was due to the navigation module continuing to interpret the radio signals from the satellites in order to know all the positions for when you want to navigate again - no waiting for it to sync. It is entirely possible that new ones do this as well!

[glojo]

DMS have a good rep. regardless of my experience and will probably achieve good results on a TD. I received my refund eventually, after delays due to Christmas break.

Morning everyone,
I hope I am not intruding into a personal conversation here, if I am then please accept my apology, but what is 'DMS' and TD.

My only reason for the question is concern for the battery drainage query.

It would be annoying if the COMAND is trying to receive a signal when the vehicle is parked in a garage where it cannot possibly receive satellite signals? I wonder if this is a modification that Mercedes-Benz have considered.

John

[Shude]

It would be annoying if the COMAND is trying to receive a signal when the vehicle is parked in a garage where it cannot possibly receive satellite signals? I wonder if this is a modification that Mercedes-Benz have considered.
They have basically two choices:

1. Don't keep track of the satellites and have people whinge about it taking 5 minutes for satnav to work because it doesn't know where the satellites are when you first turn it on.

2. Keep track of the sats but endure a small battery drain.

I think on the W202 the alarm stops flashing the LED on the dash after 2 days to prevent battery drain (possibly other systems as well). Why couldn't it tell comand to stop tracking the sats? They can't just cut everything off though because then you'd have to re-programme your radio station selections or whatever into it and half your car would need a reset.

[glojo]

They have basically two choices:


Morning Shude,
I think we might have started something here. Have they just two choices?

I am certainly NOT disagreeing, I am asking what options could they have?

Could they possibly after a set period 2hours? 4 hours? put the system into 'sleeper' mode and as soon as the car is unlocked activate the system. The same as the SBC systems activation.

There is obviously also battery drainage from the alarm system with all the different options. I have no idea whatsoever what the power consumption is for COMAND, alarm systems, Tracker, clocks and the other items that I have no doubt forgot, but it must surely all add up.

As my Rabbi always tells me, "Look after the pennies, and the pounds will look after themselves."

Regards,
John The miser