Unable to unlock, start or drive my Bourton

2 weeks ago our Bourton was due to go into Mercedes Truck Doncaster for finishing off  coding on a recall. However when I tried to open the cab the remote keys wouldnt work. I used the emergency key, but when I opened the cab door the alarm went off and I couldnt silence it. The ignition wouldn't  work, so I couldn't start it. I Couldn't release the parking brake, couldn't  do anything other than close the cab door and lock it so that the alarm would stop annoying the neighbours and call the emergency customer support number for Mercedes.
Only 20 mins later a breakdown technician arrived and set off the alarm again. Then he dismantled the front grill and disconnected the horn, which the neighbours appreciated.
After plugging in his diagnostics⁴ computer he identified a fault code for the EZS module, above, the main computer board which controlls all the electronics on the vehicle.
He took out all the trim in the passenger footwell area to get at it on the side scuttle in front of the A post.
Sure enough it was dead and obvoiusly water damaged
There was a slight dribble of water on the floor when the carpet and mats were exposed, but nothing significant. However this dribble was probably enough to penetrate the plug connector and blow the EZS unit.


The Bourton had to be recovered, dragged of our drive on skates as the rear wheels were locked.  Now two weeks on and there is no sign of a replacement EZS module arriving, we're in the midst of the global cpu shortage that's pushing up used car values. Mercedes  can only tell me the replacement unit is on "back order" so We can only wait and hope they get one before the spring!
Fellow sprinter owners, your main CPU/EZS/ECU is on the passenger sidewall in the footwell  and is unprotected against condensation, which can happen in a motorhome. It would be a good idea to have your unit checked and some protection against water ingress added. A new unit is around £1,500. One of the Merc service engineers informed me that the 2021 Sprinters have a non absorbent foam wrap fitted, which tells me that water ingress is a known issue.
Have any other owners experienced this issue? Please comment.
Apologies for the repeat photo's but I could not remove them once inserted.
Cheers
Boggie

Hope you get sorted soon Boggie, good luck.
Boaby

That's awful, do you know if you have a leak? I can't imagine just condensation doing that. Condensation wouldn't form a puddle. Presumably if you can prove a leak then they would pay to rectify the damage and the leak. If anyone else with one of these motorhomes is reading, it would be a good idea to undo this plug and spray WD40 or similar all over the connections, and then reposition it so it is out of the way of the waterfall.
Doesn't it make you want to go and buy an older motorhome without all the computerisation? I could buy more or less any new motorhome or car I want, but my preference is for the older ones. I don't want to turn on the heating from twenty miles away, I don't want to switch on the lights from my bed because I can't be bothered to reach my arm up to the switch. I drew the line several years ago against having anything which needs AdBlu and my car is now in the throes of having to have a new EGR valve. Grrr. I should have bought that 1968 Ex-military Mercedes ambulance I saw for sale in Germany a few years ago. It had been kept in storage unregistered and had about 50km on the clock. It was basically brand new, was about 7 metres long and would have made a fabulous conversion. And it wouldn't be off the road for lack of spares. I have never found Mercedes to be out of stock in Stuttgart for any of the pre-1990 parts I have wanted, and they take 2 days to get to my local dealer.

What age is you Bourton please?  I'll have a quick look at my cab, but as a 2011 with no issues so far I wonder if it's an issue on the later Sprinter model?

Whatever you do, don’t spray WD40 on the plug connections of an ECU. WD40 is a superb water displacing medium but it causes a high resistance path (which it’s designed to do) on the pins which in the low voltage environment of an ECU will cause problems.
Use something such as ACF50 which displaces moisture and prevents corrosion but has a phenomenally low surface tension and will not cause resistance where there is pin contact.

Thanks for your comments hblewett,
Our Bourton is a 2019, and I don't think the earlier models like yours will be affected.

GassyGassy, Mercedes have accepted that it it could be condensation, it only needs a couple of drops to accumulate in the corner of the windscreen to create the small dribble which was in fact on the floor 10cm below the EZS unit.
They have tested the new windscreen that was fitted 2 months ago and say there are no leaks and that water shouldn't  be able to penetrate the connectors. We shall see what goes down when they call me to say it is ready for pick up.

Boggie wrote:Thanks for your comments hblewett,
Our Bourton is a 2019, and I don't think the earlier models like yours will be affected.

Thanks, good news for me, sorry you have the problems and hope it's resolved without too much drama, time or cost.

Had similar problem my van was registered in 2020 so most likely 2019 build. Message came up on dash to go to the nearest dealer and not to change gear. On an automatic I couldn’t even select drive. Had to be recovered on the 1st of the month and was told it was condensation that caused the problem and a back order could take at least 2 weeks. Good news, it was repaired and picked up today. Have googled this and it seems to be a common problem, why have Mercedes not done a recall on these vehicles to avoid this as it must cost them more to replace under warranty. Anyone who is just past the warranty period it will be an expensive repair.

Hi Brian,
As my Bourton is still under warranty I have been reassured that thus will be done as a warranty repair. Having said that in a way I am reassured to hear that this is a known problem and that Mercedes have rectified other failures. As fas as AS is concerned they do not need to be involved at this stage as it is a base vehicle problem. Had we taken the motorhome to them, they would have had to send it to Mercedes anyway.

Hi Boggie
If this has been a problem on base vehicles why have Mercedes not done a recall or has it only effected Motorhome’s if so then AS should be doing something in conjunction with Mercedes to get a remedy. Considering the time taken to repair I wouldn’t like to have this happen when far from home or abroad if the problem is due to living in the vehicle and causing condensation there is nothing we can do about it. Has this been a problem in other Mercedes based vehicles and why hasn’t it been a problem in earlier vehicles.
On another point AS are promoting a subscription at £95 per year for tracking and yet the Mercedes have a tracking system built already in the vehicle.

Hi Brian,
I entirely agree, the Mercedes Tech who came out had seen it before, the recovery truck driver had rescued a motorhome with the same issue a couple of weeks ago, but the Mercedes dealer's service manager hadn't seen it before.
I'm only glad that the failure occurred on my drive and not on the road! You are right about the tracker, when I called the emergency service number and spoke to the call handler and gave him the reg number, he knew immediately my exact location.
Thanks for your comments.
Boggie.

Hi
    I also have a 2019 build Mercedes mine sits on the front drive with a heater on timer  but it still gets some condensation on the windscreen I wonder what measures I can take to stop this happening
 Regards
 Alan

Hi gemdeco


To avoid condensation problems with my NUEVO the MH heating is, during cold weather, permanently kept on at a low (around 6 degrees centigrade) setting. To date I've not seen any internal condensation or water dripping. Maybe worth doing this with your Merc. 


Graham

Hi Graham
     I have an oil filled radiator in there on a timer just now trying to get the temperature setting correct On another note has anyone checked with MB to see if any action is being taken
 Alan

Alan

A benefit of using the MH Truma Combi heating is the blown air circulates throughout the van. As I turn it on before the outside temperature drops the air in the van is relatively dry and the additional small drop in internal van temperature means little moisture is present to condense on the windows/other surfaces.

Maybe give this approach a try as an alternative to an oil filled radiator?

Graham

Hi Graham, thanks for your comments, this topic has generated more response than I expected, and It’s good to know I am not alone on this issue, so thanks to everyone who has responded.
Our MH will sit on our drive over winter when it comes home, so I plan to run a small dehumidifier off the mains. Hopefully this will help prevent a further occurrence. As of now though no news of when the replacement part will arrive

Hi Boggie
           Although a dehumidifier seems the answer, we tried one in our Gloucester and I think it was a waste of time, there are so many ventilation holes, cooker, gas fire, fridge cold damp air is constantly getting in.
  regards
 Alan

Agreed. A dehumidifier will be trying to dry out the big outdoors.

Tinwheeler wrote:Agreed. A dehumidifier will be trying to dry out the big outdoors.

I agree - a dehumidifier never worked on our Malvern.

The only solution we found to overcome any condensation issue over the Winter period was to use of a windshield cover (Silverscreen) together with an oil filled radiator set on the low.

Thanks guys for your comments about dehumidifiers, I hadn't  thought about all the vent holes!
By Coincidence i took delivery of a Silverscreens windscreen cover 3 days before the Bourton was towed away. 
I saw one on another AS MH at the Moreton in Marsh site on our October trip and liked how they fit very well. Do they work as good as they look?

Yes, they do.  

I appreciate it's been some time since the last post and as some of you may have seen I have just suffered a similar problem on my 2019 Winchcombe. The engine started but I couldn't stop it.
The van didn't come with cab blinds so I have always used a screen cover and have never suffered had condensation on the inside of the screen.  Mercedes are trying to find the cause of the water ingress but so far without success. They have asked me to approach Auto-sleepers to see if they have any ideas.
I've had no more info regarding delivery of the EZS yet.

Boggie, has yours arrived and been fitted?

Hi Dave,
Sorry to hear that you sre suffering the same problem! My Bourton has been at the Mercedes repair shop for 7 weeks now. I am glad to report that I had a call from them this morning to say that they have taken delivery of the new EZS unit for it and will be starting work on fitting it next week when they resume work.

Part of this process will be looking at an alternative location  to mount it. The original location is up against the uninsulated side wall in front of the A 
post, where up against a cold mounting point, the EZS, which will generate heat  is prone to condensation.. I will let you know when repairs are complete in a couple of weeks max.
 I have also reported the EZS failure to Auto-Sleepers in case there are any other issues as a result of the failure which might need resolving under warranty.

We are also still awaiting delivery of a set of Remis blinds after 6 months, having had a set of sucker attached internal blinds which I don't  like.
My opinion is that although the Remis blinds are a bit delicate  they at least allow air circulation and reduce windscreen condensation.
Cheers
Boggie

Hi Dave & Boggie
                      It will be interesting to see if they relocate the EZS unit and if they do a recall as I also have a new sprinter albeit a Burstner . I am going to keep the oil filled rad running a night for a bit longer, I do not seem to get any dampness at the bottom of the screen
   Cheers
   Alan