Hello all, I recently brought a 2000 E320 and I really love the car. One issue with the car is that the driver power seat and the steering wheel wont move when I use the door switch. The passenger's seat will move only in small spurts and sometimes not at all. When the passenger seat doesnt work I leave the car off for a while and when I power it up again the passenger seat works again "in small spurts". When the passenger seat moves the control box under the seat constantly clicks. Any helpful infrmation will be greatly appreciated. Tomorrow I am going to replace all the fuses in the car and see if that helps any. I am hoping someone here can give me another option that might help. Last expensive option is to drop it off to my nearest Dealer. The driver seat is stuck in a position that I cannot even try to slip into, my girlfriend is the only one partaking in driving the car. I need help. Take Care

 

I am having the same problem on my 96 E320....only on the driver side. What I found is that when I press the preset buttons, the seat will adjust itself.... Thisway, youare at least able to get in the car to drive it.Because I don't drive the car much and I don't want the expence now, that is how I have made the seat move. I have, however read on this forum once that theissue may also relate tocomputer memory.....especially if the battery have been disconnected or replaced.

Good Luck

 

Hi,

If the relays click there must be power so either as you have concluded the supply is being interupted (loose fuse, corrosion on terminals etc) OR THE CIRCUITS ARE TRIPPING OUT BECAUSE THE CURRENT REQUIRED TO DRIVE THE MOTOR IS TOO HIGH.

Sorry about the capitals!

Is it only the back and forward control that is a problem. I guess so.

If so then it is likely that "dirt" has got into the jack screws under the seat and they are partly seized causing the current to run high.

This is supported by the power off routine which is attempting to reset the current limits.

Since your friend has the seat a long way forway this part of the thread may have been "dirty" from carpet fibres etc..

Possible cure is to spray the jack screw with penetrating oil or similar as you attempt to get the motor to run. Multiple back and forth will help get the oil into the jack "nut"

WATCH FINGERS!!

If succesful relube the jack screw with grease (stays in place unlike the pentrating oil) and remove loose fibres etc from around the area with a vacuum cleaner.

Good luck.

Alternatively this is going to be a seat out job and if you can't motor the seat this procedure is also compromised!

Good Luck.

Stuart

 

The driver seat doesnt move in any direction not even the headrest or the steering wheel. I just got off the phone with a dealership service tech and he said it sounds electrical and that I will need to bring it in. Thanks

 

The LH and RH seats and the steering column movement facilty are TOTALLY different to one another with the exception of the CAN (digital message highway) that carries the signal from the control switches to the ECU module.

If ALL have gone bad at the same time this suggests that the CAN is compromised. Corrosion/water etc across connections .
However I would have expected other circuits to also be behaving "strangely".

Need the codes to determine what might be going on.

Good luck! Let us know what happens.

Stuart

 

Thats the weird part, there are no malfunctions reported from the computer. The only malfunction I get is when i turn on the fog lights and I think that is because one of them is out. I also have to replace an O2 sensor after the Cat doing that this week. The seat problem is driving me crazy so I am going to take a day next week and drop it at the dealer. I will let you guys know what I hear from them and the sting of the price.

 

So you have had it connected to Star already?

I suspect you will encounter a Uxxxx code.

Note: Not the Driver Computer readout.

Stuart

 

Actually I dont even know what Star is! Please inform me. I saw that that the check engine light was on so I went to a friends shop and used his Sanpin Scanner. I connected the MB connector and pulled up the error codes. Thats how i found out I needed an O2 sensor. Where and If can I find the Star that your talking about and where do I connect it?

 

Hi,
STAR is Mercedes Benz own diagnostics equipment and is superior to most other equipment in that it can do things which other equipment can't because MB won't release the necessary information for other manufacturers to achieve similar results. This sort of equipment is available in all Mercedes authorised dealerships.

From about 1996 auto manufacturers have been compelled to standarise their diagnostic system for engines and transmission linked to the Check Engine Warning Light CEL (now known as OBDII - Google this for more info) and it is for this reason that you were able to access the engine (O2) code.

Other codes giving info regarding Body Electrics, SRS (Air Bags) ABS (Brakes) Navigation etc etc are all proprietary to MB and can't be read by most scanners. Some manufacturers have invested in order to reverse engineer scanners but this sort of equipment is VERY expensive.

The additional code information is available from the same On Board Diagnostics plug socket but connects to different pins for different on board computers.

Solving digital connection problems on cars of this sort can be very difficult (if not impossible) without the correct scanner since you are shooting in the dark.

Hope this helps.

Stuart

 

Good news one my neighbor's brother is a MB Tech. Praise GOD. I went over to his house this weekend and he had that Expensive Star Tech machine that speaks to every part of your MB. Well it seems that there is a communication problem between the Seat control module and the ICAN "Dont know if I am saying that right" I was there for at almost three hours going over my car and any problems that need addressing. He is going to get me another Seat control module and test it out and if its not that he is going to have to trace the wiring to the seat. The great part about it is that he didnt charge me for yesterday and he is going to get my parts at discount and hardly charge me for labor. I thnk I just had a miracle. Saved my wallet from pure annihilation.