Reputable Dealer: Problem with car

bcmf

In late December I bought a Merc E280 mid 00's reg from a very reputable dealer who are around a long time.
So far it has been absolutley flawless and I love it. Everything works except the a red battery symbol shows up and visit workshop message appears which I can cancel.
I brought it to a mechanic who has worked on Mercs (owns one and isnt a cowboy) to try and clear the fault.
Long story short we found a problem with the relay/fuse box under the spare wheel and then found a what I can only describe as a workaround on the main fusebox in the boot.
There is a wire wired into a relay position on the fuseboard with a fuse attached to the wire. Strange thing is when you remove the fuse then put it back in there is a 2 audible 'beeps'.Not relay clicks but beeps.
The mechanic just stopped there and said he doesnt want to dig any deeper as he has never seen this before and hasnt a clue what the relay is for.He warned me against trying to source a secondhand fuse board as every fuse board is different due to the amount of 'extra's' that can be ordered.
As it has been less then 4 months since I bought it form the dealer do I have a comeback?
I have added a towbar onto the car by a professional fitter but the problem has predated this.

Any Thoughts on what to do......

Oh and I wont name the dealer!!!

MuppetCheck

Have you been in contact with the dealer?

colm_mcm

What does your warranty cover?

I wouldn't expect a bumper-to-bumper warranty on a 10 year old car

Stheno

Is it possible the dealer didn't even know it was there?

bcmf

MuppetCheck wrote: »

Have you been in contact with the dealer?

Not yet as we only discovered this this eve

colm_mcm wrote: »

What does your warranty cover?

I wouldn't expect a bumper-to-bumper warranty on a 10 year old car

3 month engine and gerbox

Stheno wrote: »

Is it possible the dealer didn't even know it was there?

The mechanic reckons yes but not definitive. He also reckons possiblity of electrical fire ,part of the reason why he stopped working on it

bcmf

Stheno wrote: »

Is it possible the dealer didn't even know it was there?

And by yes I mean he reckons the dealer knew.

colm_mcm

Engine and gearbox warranty won't cover that to be fair.

I don't know how the mechanic would know if the dealer was aware of this though.

bcmf

colm_mcm wrote: »

Engine and gearbox warranty won't cover that to be fair.

Yeah I know. I still have the receipt so will wade through that.

Stheno

bcmf wrote: »

And by yes I mean he reckons the dealer knew.

It sounds a bit too he said/she said. Your warranty is up, and if the dealer claims they were unaware of it I don't think there is much you can do

bcmf

Stheno wrote: »

It sounds a bit too he said/she said. Your warranty is up, and if the dealer claims they were unaware of it I don't think there is much you can do

yeah. mechanic says/dealers says.......

Stheno

bcmf wrote: »

yeah. mechanic says/dealers says.......

Was the warning light there when you bought it?

ironclaw

By any chance does the Merc have a third party alarm system? Or a tracker? If you follow the wires, where does it lead? The beeps you are describing sound familiar, are they close together? Or about 30s apart?

bcmf

Just as I drove out Yes and was acknowledged by the dealer.
It is usually a simple fix (Aux battery) so let it slide.

bcmf

ironclaw wrote: »

By any chance does the Merc have a third party alarm system? Or a tracker? If you follow the wires, where does it lead? The beeps you are describing sound familiar, are they close together? Or about 30s apart?

Alarm seems to be Merc and 2 beeps very close.
Havent followed the wires yet.

bcmf

Both batteries are full, charging and holding charge.

Stheno

bcmf wrote: »

Just as I drove out Yes and was acknowledged by the dealer.
It is usually a simple fix (Aux battery) so let it slide.

Ah so they acknowledged the fault was there ref the warning light. Did they offer to fix it at the time?

I'm confused as to why your mechanic thinks it could cause an electrical fire while he's working on it thoig?

bcmf

Stheno wrote: »

Ah so they acknowledged the fault was there ref the warning light. Did they offer to fix it at the time?

I'm confused as to why your mechanic thinks it could cause an electrical fire while he's working on it thoig?

No offer to fix but said it was an easy fix.

He dint think it would go on fire while he was working on it but said that there was a potential firerisk as there was a fuse wired into a relay point and was not interfering with it so I couldnt blame him if it did go in fire

pablo128

Did you do a cartell check, or similar? Maybe it is wiring for a taxi meter or something?

Stheno

bcmf wrote: »

No offer to fix but said it was an easy fix.

He dint think it would go on fire while he was working on it but said that there was a potential firerisk as there was a fuse wired into a relay point and was not interfering with it so I couldnt blame him if it did go in fire

Ah ok. I'd go back to the dealer and explain its rather more co.pled than first thought and see if they willwill do something out of goodwill

bcmf

pablo128 wrote: »

Did you do a cartell check, or similar? Maybe it is wiring for a taxi meter or something?

Yep. Cartell. Hackney ie no meter.
Complete full service history for whatever thats worth.

Stheno

bcmf wrote: »

Yep. Cartell. Hackney ie no meter.
Complete full service history for whatever thats worth.

Does the service history reference any work that might have resulted in this funny wiring?

One car I had hard the alarm deactivated as it was draining the battery but it was in the history

bcmf

Stheno wrote: »

Does the service history reference any work that might have resulted in this funny wiring?

Not that I recall but will double check.

Odelay

A hackney of that eara would have had a two way radio fitted.

bcmf

hmmmm.......maybe.

pablo128

TBH I would be out now rooting to see where the cable went out of curiosity. However I'd have a good idea what I'm at, and there's no harm having an expert take a look if your unsure about it. I removed a car kit from my car when I got it. It was kinda obsolete and wouldn't suit a modern phone. Mother'a'jaysus there was feckin yards of wiring all over the place. Took me ages to put it back properly, rejoining wires securely etc.

bcmf

pablo128 wrote: »

TBH I would be out now rooting to see where the cable went out of curiosity.

Thats the weekends work...

bcmf

goochy

you need it bring to merc specialist . is it a diesel?

Stheno

goochy wrote: »

you need it bring to merc specialist . is it a diesel?

The mechanic is supposed to be a merchant specialist

bcmf

I think I need to get to a really decent auto leccy.

goochy

i think i know who the dealer is , they are decent enough but these days deal in older more affordable cars where there would not be making big profits so might not give any leeway on warranty but its worth a try

bcmf

goochy wrote: »

i think i know who the dealer is , they are decent enough but these days deal in older more affordable cars where there would not be making big profits so might not give any leeway on warranty but its worth a try

Yep.
Was kinda surprised to see some less bargy type cars in there.

goochy

yes dont know what made them stop dealing in late model relatively high value vehicles and uk imports that they used to sell but dont think its a bad thing (plenty of other dealers selling those vehicles) provided their stock is decent and they stand over cars - not big into selling vehicles with FSH though.

would be surprised if they knew there was problem in car - they sell some of their slow movers through Merlin so could have passed your car there rather than retail

ourheritage

Very important question. What is the mileage on the clock?

bcmf

Approx 234kms

ourheritage

I read an article about buying a used Mercedes E class of that era (W210) that to be careful about buying ones with over 100000 miles on the clock as they can cause problems. I normally stick with miles rather than kilometres, and I worked out that yours has done around 145000 miles. Certainly if I was looking at a W210 I would be hesitant about buying one with 145000 miles on it after reading the article. The best advice I can offer you is to put it up for sale, and buy another one with less mileage on it. Best of luck.

bcmf

Is mine not a W211

v240gltse

hi

as pablo128 says i would be looking to see where the cable goes . from the photo it looks like the connection is taking a voltage to feed something else.

My questions would be


1. find out where that cable goes I am surprised mechanic wouldn't/couldn't trace it. ( remove trim without disturbing wire and work backwards )

2. if you disconnect it does the car run and all options work ?.

3. where are the beeps coming from ( it cant be that difficult to find ) ?

I have removed yards and yards of cables from various cars i bought over the years and there is usually a logical reason for them been there.

put your mind at rest and follow the cable.

bcmf

I think I may have it figured out but won't know till I get home to try it out.
The guy who fitted the towbar fits them with an audible indicator beep when there is a light board plugged in so that could explain it.
Will just need to find someone with access to full 'Star' diagnostic's to get rid of the Battery warning

Bio Mech

bcmf wrote: »

I think I may have it figured out but won't know till I get home to try it out.
The guy who fitted the towbar fits them with an audible indicator beep when there is a light board plugged in so that could explain it.
Will just need to find someone with access to full 'Star' diagnostic's to get rid of the Battery warning

That's the case on the mondeo I have. There is a special relay fitted for the tow bar which emits a beep when a light board cable is plugged in and you are indicating. In case you forget you are towing like

To look at it without knowing what it is you would worry because the guy that fitted it wrapped it all up with electrical tape to keep it up out of the way so it looks a bit rough. Tough it was professionally fitted.

9935452

bcmf wrote: »

In late December I bought a Merc E280 mid 00's reg from a very reputable dealer who are around a long time.
So far it has been absolutley flawless and I love it. Everything works except the a red battery symbol shows up and visit workshop message appears which I can cancel.
I brought it to a mechanic who has worked on Mercs (owns one and isnt a cowboy) to try and clear the fault.
Long story short we found a problem with the relay/fuse box under the spare wheel and then found a what I can only describe as a workaround on the main fusebox in the boot.
There is a wire wired into a relay position on the fuseboard with a fuse attached to the wire. Strange thing is when you remove the fuse then put it back in there is a 2 audible 'beeps'.Not relay clicks but beeps.
The mechanic just stopped there and said he doesnt want to dig any deeper as he has never seen this before and hasnt a clue what the relay is for.He warned me against trying to source a secondhand fuse board as every fuse board is different due to the amount of 'extra's' that can be ordered.
As it has been less then 4 months since I bought it form the dealer do I have a comeback?
I have added a towbar onto the car by a professional fitter but the problem has predated this.

Any Thoughts on what to do......

Oh and I wont name the dealer!!!

first thing that strikes me when i read this is airbags.
When an airbag light or similar comes on or doesnt come on and there is a problem with the airbag and the owner doesnt want to pay for a fix, it has been known to wire the airbag light into a delay relay to pass the nct.
Switch on ignition, relay switches on turning on airbag light, after a few seconds the relay switches off turning off the light and car pass the visual for nct.

The beeps might be a fault on the relay or an overload

bcmf

bcmf wrote: »

I think I may have it figured out but won't know till I get home to try it out.
The guy who fitted the towbar fits them with an audible indicator beep when there is a light board plugged in so that could explain it.

^^^^
This.
Plugged in the light board and switched on indicators and got the beeps.
Pulled the fuse and lost the beeps.
Mystery solved.
So anyone know a good indy with access to Star in North Dublin/Louth/Meath.

ourheritage

bcmf wrote: »

Is mine not a W211

The W210 was launched in 1996 and was replaced in 03 by the W211 which was made for six years. As yours is a 00, it would be the W210

bcmf

ourheritage wrote: »

The W210 was launched in 1996 and was replaced in 03 by the W211 which was made for six years. As yours is a 00, it would be the W210

Nope. Mine is mid 00's ie 2005.

R.O.R

Hmm - we've a customer who wires in his own audible beep for the tow bar. Must check if he used to have an E280 before going over to 5 Series.

Got his 2011 520d back last year - he'd also fitted an internal knock off switch just under the leather in the middle of the back seat. Hard to find unless you knew it was there.

Had no issue with him doing this as he's a head engineer for a major multinational electronics company, so probably knows what he's doing better than most Tow Bar fitters.

ourheritage

bcmf wrote: »

Nope. Mine is mid 00's ie 2005.

Might be an idea to put that in the next time instead of wasting other peoples time. Over and out.

pablo128

ourheritage wrote: »

Might be an idea to put that in the next time instead of wasting other peoples time. Over and out.

It's in the first post if you bothered to read it right.

ourheritage

RUDE PEOPLE AND TIME WASTERS GET BLOCKED

goochy

then you should definitely be blocked ! if u have nothing decent our heritage to say why say anything !