Door Ajar Light

[bilgladstone 13]

My ebox was relocated & a drain/grommet installed this past november, & as luck would have it my door ajar light is glowing dimly, just noticed it last night.Any idea where it might be now?(the ebox)I'd like to try and dry it out,may be coincidental but I just installed a new battery. Didn't notice any silver box in the well, just something that looked like a Molex plug assembly.

They usually put it on the front firewall, just in front of the battery but up about 20cm.

[Guest bmurds]

Hello, I just had the same problem fixed this week.

It turned out that a wiring harness had corroded.

MB replaced all my door seals (re: door ajar) and the wiring bit and now all is well.

bmurds

[strawboss 5]

They usually put it on the front firewall, just in front of the battery but up about 20cm.

Thanks Bil, as the foam block is still out of the way I took another peek & there it was, with a bit of black foam for disguise....& the light is out for the time being.Wonder if a spritz of contact cleaner might be a good thing?

[bilgladstone 13]

Thanks Bil, as the foam block is still out of the way I took another peek & there it was, with a bit of black foam for disguise....& the light is out for the time being.Wonder if a spritz of contact cleaner might be a good thing?

Couldn't hurt OTOH, if it is buggy and you have to take it for MB warranty repair, they might try blaming you for spraying some unauthorized material...They put a patch of sticky-back foam on it to deaden the sound of relays (or whatever is inside it) I think.

[CSCORNWALL 0]

This is just a great forum! It took me 30 seconds to find this thread!I have a 2006 ForTwo Passion with the idential problems. I called my dealer (Ogilvie Motors in Ottawa) and they said that my particular vehicle didn't have the TSB for the E-Box but that there's is a "white wire" that sometimes gets wet and corroded. On the plus side he said it's a warranty issue, but on the downside he said it could take half a day for the work. I've got to take it in on Monday and I'll post a note letting you know what happens.<<Update: 3 Feb 2009>>Took the car into the dealer and they found that the wires were corroded in the E-Box. It was repaired under warranty but this is causing me some concern if this is a known fault and they don't appear to have a solution. I hope i don't have to do this repair every couple of years once the warranty expires. Does anyone know if they have fixed this problem or is there some aftermarket solution?On a another note I have been very impressed with Ogilvie Motors and would recommend them.Michael

Edited February 3, 2009 by CSCORNWALL

[strawboss 5]

Further to my dim door ajar light coming on intermittently,coincidently right after installing Smartieparts power window accessory &repairing my rear window washer..... the dome & map lights started flashing on & off & their warning chimes with the door lock feature not working, I removed the power window harness....charged a brand new battery, crossed my fingers & drove it again ....all was good.Reinstalled the powerwindow harness using a different nonswitched outlet & again all was still well.I might add the first install of the power window harness was done w/ the battery disconnected, the 2nd install was done with the battery connected....coincidence? ( maybe smarts don't like to be unplugged?)Likely culprit , the Ebox.The Ebox was moved to the firewall 3 months ago, now my 450 is out of warranty & if I get a repeat of this I will probably douse the Ebox with good shot of Contact/control cleaner & hope for the best, what's the worst to happen?MB gets one of my cheques, the best is that the solvent flush works & the Gremlins go away.

[kdubya 34]

_{So I just started having this issue. I tried to lock my doors and it immediately unlocked as though the door wasn't closed. At a red light when I take my foot off the brake it beeps until I put my foot on the fuel. This issue "went away" but the door ajar light stayed on dimly and the fuel separator light came on. Opening the drivers door when I park doesn't unlock the car, I have to pop the passenger door to unlock the car.}

_{Last night I unhooked the e-box and sprayed the plugs with contact cleaner very well and inspected it. No corrosion, no burnt pins or wires. I put it back together, the water separator light went out. The locks work. When I start the car it doesn't do the usual dinging and the seatbelt light doesn't illuminate like it should. And the drivers door still doesn't unlock the car when I open it. I blew a head light and a taillight during the same time period too. Probably unrelated.}

_{My thoughts now are : door switch of some kind that tells the car when the door is open and closed? Possibly my E-box is on its way out?}

[kdubya 34]

Now everything seems to be back to normal. Door switch works, unlocks car when I open the drivers door. Locks work. Seat belt light illuminates and dings. The only thing is the fuel separator light comes on sometimes, not others. May be that my filter actually needs to be changed. I have put on 60-70k since doing it last...

The fuel separator sensor is tied to the ebox correct?

[smartdriver 49]

Is your trunk fully closed?

On a number of occasions I have tried to lock my car without success only to find that the trunk door, although it appeared closed, was not latched

Edited February 10, 2016 by smartdriver

[kdubya 34]

The trunk is most definitely closed.

It seems to come and go. The door latch seemed to be working, but now today it isn't again. When I turn the car off, the seatbelt and fuel separator light stay on, and the door ajar light stays on dimly. Its very confusing.

[MikeT 744]

I think your Canada E box is gonzo.

[kdubya 34]

I do have a parts car. I'll try swapping the box and see what happens. Hopefully the other one is in descent shape.

[kdubya 34]

Swapped the E-Box and no difference.

Drivers door still has intermittent lock/unlock, fuel separator light intermittently on, door ajar light dimly on.....

I really thought it would work. I guess theres a chance my fuel filter needs to be changed AND the door latch is pooched.

[MikeT 744]

Weird, I hope you can find the cause. I guess the filter and sensor are next....

[marchanna 115]

Change you fuel filter every 20,000kms. For my R320 CDI, i just bought a whole case of fuel filters . . . save yourself the hassle and rule out a variable . . . this is Canadian diesel fuel we're talking about, fuel quality reporting for suppliers is voluntary!

[kdubya 34]

Every 20,000? Really? The first time I changed mine was at about 150,000 (I bought the car with 135) and it was the original filter. The sensor light wasn't on then. Not that I care about doing it, I'll change it as often as I need to. That's just the first time I ever heard such a short interval.

I guess being proactive isn't a bad thing. That way the sensor wont have time to seize in the filter again. I'll swap it and see where it gets me.

Thanks!

[MikeT 744]

No, 20,000 is monstrously wasteful in a smart.

I changed the filter on my 2005 smart once over 250,000 km. Might have done it again at 300,000 if it hadn't been written off. The flow through that HUGE filter is puny with the 450, about a third of the fat cars that Mercedes uses the same filter on. My dealer said the filter should be good for at least 100,000 km barring a water in fuel light.

Edited February 14, 2016 by Mike T
corrected km

[marchanna 115]

Sorry, I actually meant to say 40,000. Either way, I didn't realize they used the same filter. Still, I wouldn't go anywhere near 100,000; and besides, it's cheap insurance.

[kdubya 34]

Yeah 40,000 sits a little better with me. But regardless. My light is on, I just want to find out if it is, or isn't the filter itself.

[MikeT 744]

Change it for sure and be warned that you may need a new sensor (that fits in the end of the filter). And I meant to write that my dealer recommended 100,000 km, not 160,000.

I changed mine on the 2005 green cdi at about 140K.

Changed the one on the white Canada 1 in 2010 because it was 6 years old by then.

A Sprinter averages 15-20 L/100 km so that same filter is processing up to 5 times the fuel compared to a 450 cdi. An R Class is well over 10 L/100, so at least 2.5 times (not to mention the returned fuel, which will be more in the Mercedes).

[kdubya 34]

Right. When we changed it last year it was the original filter and the sensor was a PITA to get out. But we worked it for 20 minutes and got it out in one piece. I'm hoping itll be easier this time as it hasn't been in place for 9 years. lol

[marchanna 115]

I'm averaging 8.4L/100km on my R. 7.0 highway.

[MikeT 744]

Interesting. Spritmonitor lists the average of the R 320 CDI cars in their database at 11.1 L/100 km.

[marchanna 115]

Published numbers are always biased. Real world numbers speak for themselves. The Smart CDI case in point. The only time I have seen numbers in excess of 10L/100kms are exclusive city driving.

[MikeT 744]

Spritmonitor is real-world data.