[dilsingh]

I have a Mercedes E320 Model year 2000.
I left it outside and discovered that rain got inside the car. The car is pretty old, but still a weird place to leak from (?). The car collected water on the rear RHS windscreen, which trickled past the back passenger seta and water collected where the fuses, battery and the central lock module is located. This caused the security "tow" switch to be triggered and resulted in random car alarm with sound and flashing lights at night ! The led at the middle of the security switch stays lit.

Anyway the module that is held in a highly absorbing sponge box became saturated and bey wet.
I have dried it out in an oven since then.
However I noticed that after intermittent operations of the locks from the remote, it no longer functions.

I can find a used module on Ebay but I was wondering if it needs to be programmed before it will work ? If yes, then is this only done by the dealer or does it not need programming because the codes from the remote are stored in the ECU ?
The picture of the module is attached.

 

[mrboca]

I have a Mercedes E320 Model year 2000.
I left it outside and discovered that rain got inside the car. The car is pretty old, but still a weird place to leak from (?). The car collected water on the rear RHS windscreen, which trickled past the back passenger seta and water collected where the fuses, battery and the central lock module is located. This caused the security "tow" switch to be triggered and resulted in random car alarm with sound and flashing lights at night ! The led at the middle of the security switch stays lit.

Anyway the module that is held in a highly absorbing sponge box became saturated and bey wet.
I have dried it out in an oven since then.
However I noticed that after intermittent operations of the locks from the remote, it no longer functions.

I can find a used module on Ebay but I was wondering if it needs to be programmed before it will work ? If yes, then is this only done by the dealer or does it not need programming because the codes from the remote are stored in the ECU ?
The picture of the module is attached. View attachment 2800173

No programming is needed. It is plug and play (or pray if you got it from EBay .

Make sure you identify the source of the leak and fix. Mostly clogged roof drain holes. Till then make sure you put the replacement unit in a STURDY plastic bag so it will not get wet at the bottom.

 

[dilsingh]

Matt,
Thanks for your timely reply.
Its still raining in the Bay area and more is expected soon.
Its always great to avoid the dealer when possible !

Regards,

Happy New Year !

 

[mrboca]

Hi, Happy New Year to you too. I watched the heavy rain and flooding around your area. The last week of December was unusually cold in South Florida. Definitely something is going on.

I thought you had a E430. Have you sold it?

BTW, the PSE does not have much to do with the key codes. All key codes are resolved by the EIS (driver authorization and remote lock/unlock).

 

[dilsingh]

Hi, Happy New Year to you too. I watched the heavy rain and flooding around your area. The last week of December was unusually cold in South Florida. Definitely something is going on.

I thought you had a E430. Have you sold it?

BTW, the PSE does not have much to do with the key codes. All key codes are resolved by the EIS (driver authorization and remote lock/unlock).

Thanks Matt.
I have an E320 ( MY 2000) and an S430 ( MY 2002).
I still have both and continue fixing issues with help from wonderful people like yourself.
Both drive well, especially the s430despite their age.

 

[dilsingh]

I am still waiting for the control unit -- due to arrive this week.
I left the car outside and noticed that water is still getting into it and accumulating at the base of the battery under the rear seat.
I read about clearing the drain holes in the roof. I will attempt that after work tonight.

Is there a picture showing all of the drain holes, so I don't leave any without due attention ?

 

[mrboca]

The drains are located just on the inside of the rocker panel immediately behind the front wheels and in front of the rear wheels.

with thanks to poster rshoemaker in mbworld who posted these.

Note. I would also check the front passenger side flooring under the carpet for wetness. Water from climate control system may end up in the front passenger side which then travels to the rear passenger seat bottom with slightly inclined parking. The sunroof drain cleaning is part of the maintenance anyway, even if the leak is not from there.

 

[dilsingh]

Yes, I found a few drains:
Ones by the wheels. The front right hand one allowed about 1/2 pint of water to be dissipated after I cleaned that with a plastic tube -- hoping that was the problem ? There was no water noticed when I cleaned the other three.
There are two drain holes that can be seen from the sunroof, but only towards the front of the car with sunroof retracted. I cleaned these with a long 1/4 plastic tube. ( about 3 feet).
I am sure there are two pointing towards the rear but I cannot see them.
Two of the drains at the back of the car under the trunk, are for each side of the trunk, under the lining.
I also saw two tubes that seem to be poked through the body without any grommets on the left and one on the right hand side. I could not see the ends of these except they seem to be going went somewhere over the rear tires. These may be coming from the rear of the sunroof but could not see the ends of either, leading to the sunroof. I was able to pull these from the car body and blow through them -- no restrictions found.

Anyway, things are now relatively dry near the place where the battery sits. The central vacuum module is fried and a used one ( tested) should be here tomorrow.
More heavy(?) rains are expected tonight, so I will monitor if the leak is cured or more work will have to be done. I am tempted to coat both sides ( inside and outside) of sponge holder for the vacuum module with "flex seal" when I replace or place module in a Ziplock and then in the sponge -- hopefully this will not interfere too much with the pump cooling.

Anyway, let see if more leak investigation will be needed.