In my friend's 2003 E320 wagon, her door locks will suddenly open and the interior lights will come on while driving. More specifically it happens when turning. I adjusted the 2 rear adjustment blocks on the tailgate thinking it was a body torqueing issue but it still does it.
bingo....i concur with your assessment as a great first look, because it is also
the cheapest and one that has high failure rate. it may simply need adjusting
outwards (away from the frame) or has failed and needing replacement (< $20).
during rides, the road undulations induce door movement....just enough to elec-
trically close the switch and turning on interior light. the PSE pump unlocks the
door as well.
the driver side switch seems to fail quicker...possibly a result of it
being used more.
you can test by taping a small coin directly opposite the door switch/plunger
and then close the door. take it out for a ride. if the unlock/light symptoms
disappear, focus more on solving for this switch.
I had the same thing happen in my 99 E320. It was the right front (passenger) door switch. The interior lights would come on as I drove and my wife was in the pass. seat. It usually only happened when going around a left curve... my wife tends to lean on the door... that would turn the lights on. I thought of the switch and sprayed contact cleaner into it. I then pushed the stalk of the switch in and slipped my finger off of it so that it would snap back out fast. I kept doing this... 50 times or so... to work the cleaner in. It worked like a charm. Hasn't happened since. I have found (like many others) that contact cleaner is an important tool to have for these cars. Hope this helps.
Peter
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