E-Class Dash Illumination WDB211

Seve OB

I was recently away for just over 2 weeks
On my return Monday morning I noticed my clock had stopped, but as soon as I turned the key she whirred around to the exact correct time within a minute (never know how it knows the time, is it GPS?) - very quick

Anyway, fast forward to Tuesday evening and first drive in darkness. My lights are permanently on Auto, so when they clicked in I noticed the dash was not illuminating. Now the needles are still moving and the needles themselves are lit, but there is no background illumination. So I can't see the speed, etc.

i'm guessing the problem may have been because I leave the lights on Auto and the car was off for so long, and I also reckon that bother the clock and illumination issues are possibly linked. But, clock is fixed and i'm still not illuminated

Anyone else have an issue like this before?

This guys on youtube has same problem, but I don't understand what he is saying fixed it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPUQJ2fXCv8

coylemj

That's very low mileage for a W211! The clock time doesn't come from GPS, it's just stored internally based on a manual setting but I'm not sure why the clock stopped when you were away, it may be a battery-saving exercise.

At the very least, use the digital speedo to monotor your speed and have you tried twiddling the rotary knob on the left? It regulates the light level on the dash. Though it doesn't allow you to turn the level down to zero.

Seve OB

Jan 09 reg. I bought it April 2010 with either 14 or 17k miles on it... can't remember which!! I was looking at 2 identical cars, ex demo models. First few years I did a ton of driving, all over UK a few times and France 3 times all the way south. Lately no so much.

still its just over 10k per year on average, I bought it in the UK so all miles displayed, not KM

yes I've tried twiddling the knob, nothing. I've turned off the auto lights to see if it makes a difference, but so far not.

about to put about 1500 miles on it in the next week or so, so that might give the batteries a good chance to charge up, might help

Senecio

Have you checked for a blown fuse?

Seve OB

Senecio wrote: »

Have you checked for a blown fuse?

no, not sure how, any tips?

Seve OB

coylemj wrote: »

That's very low mileage for a W211! The clock time doesn't come from GPS, it's just stored internally based on a manual setting but I'm not sure why the clock stopped when you were away, it may be a battery-saving exercise.

At the very least, use the digital speedo to monotor your speed and have you tried twiddling the rotary knob on the left? It regulates the light level on the dash. Though it doesn't allow you to turn the level down to zero.

Seve OB wrote: »

Jan 09 reg. I bought it April 2010 with either 14 or 17k miles on it... can't remember which!! I was looking at 2 identical cars, ex demo models. First few years I did a ton of driving, all over UK a few times and France 3 times all the way south. Lately no so much.

still its just over 10k per year on average, I bought it in the UK so all miles displayed, not KM

yes I've tried twiddling the knob, nothing. I've turned off the auto lights to see if it makes a difference, but so far not.

about to put about 1500 miles on it in the next week or so, so that might give the batteries a good chance to charge up, might help

LOL, just realised you were referring to the Video... which is not mine!!!

I got 107k miles on mine now. barely ran in. I'll get another 100 out of her before I'll look at trading it in

coylemj

Seve OB wrote: »

about to put about 1500 miles on it in the next week or so, so that might give the batteries a good chance to charge up, might help

You'd be inclined to think that it's a battery issue but I doubt it - if you can start the engine then the batery is fine and there isn't going to be a problem lighting up the dash because the alternator will supply the power.

ohnonotgmail

https://forums.mbclub.co.uk/threads/04-w211-dash-display-blank.197905/

Post #19 here suggests basically turning it off and on again.

I'm a spannerman - I can use a multimeter and read a circuit diagram, but that there electrickery is not my forte - so I disconnected both batteries and set about removing the cluster. Then it occurred to me: what do you do when your computer freezes and nothing works? Force a reboot by turning off the power. The cluster chip/ECU is I suppose a (very simple) sort of computer, so - nothing to lose - reconnect batteries, ignition on, and Houston, we have lift off! The display is back to normal. :bannana::bannana:

The clock went to 12 o'clock, then after a few minutes reset to the correct time as the stored data was downloaded from the ignition switch module. I surmise/hope that it was not a hardware problem at all, but a software glitch. I have no idea what caused it in the first place, but rebooting seems to have reset everything and cleared it.

Seve OB

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

https://forums.mbclub.co.uk/threads/04-w211-dash-display-blank.197905/

Post #19 here suggests basically turning it off and on again.

Looks like he has disconnected the battery somehow.
I'll have a look, might be better off getting someone else to do that for me

Seve OB

I meant to update here for anyone who may find themselves in a similar situation
after about 2-3 weeks, the lights just came back on themselves.
I didn't unplug batteries or fuses or anything.
been going fine ever since