I think this type of problem is due to the cycle of high humidity + heat and the drop in ambient temperature. Then a little tiny bit of condensation here & there and repeating this over the years, plus a bit of dust, it resulted in this type of corrosion. What if as a PM, on your other circuit boards, you clean it up it with alcohol. Soft dried at 110 F max using a hair dryer. Then spray a layer of urethane made by CRC for coating circuit boards. Air dry it for 1 hour before soft dry it again with hair dryer?. Is it likely that PCBs in old Mercedes, or even the newer one, are not provided with a layer of protective coating?. Regards
Man I was jealous earlier when I saw the rear window curtain pop up never seen one of those. You got a god dam swimming pool. I got a two foot by two foot shower. Good video once I finally calmed down to watch it.
There's another video where someone cleaned corrosion off the front PCB SAM module (under the hood) using stiff brushes and Isopropyl Alcohol and it fixed the problem. As long as corrosion doesn't short out components or damage any electrical traces it could be salvaged.
Thanks for this fantastic video. I have the exact same rear SAM on 2003 W211 (E320) and cannot figure out how you removed the cover that protects the circuit board components (the one that’s on your table in the background). The cover that holds the fuses and relays came off easily but now I’m stuck. Can you help me?
09 e350. Do you think replacing this SAM would fix my left rear brake that is not illuminating when I apply brakes. Iv'e installed a new bulb assembly and still the same issue so i figure it is not the bulb.
How did you manage to take the front cover off this rear sam? The side where the capacitors and mosfets are soldered? I have all the other plastic casing off my module but can't seem to get that front side off.. I already removed the 7 screws that hold the board in place but it still seems stuck on there and I don't want to break or damage anything..
Nice follow-up. Was it discovered how moisture got in there? I've heard water can flow down radio antenna wire route from rear window but curious to know if taillight seals are also a potential source like in Tuscaloosa built ML & GL SUVs.
I've heard that the MLs are notorious for having water get in through the rear lights -- but mine is an E Class -- different beast. I think that some water was coming through where the GPS antenna came through the body -- I put some silicone in there to try to seal -- but never confirmed dampness and I've never seen water in trunk
On my 09 e350 water seeps in through the left drain channel that goes around the trunk lid . It is the channel that routes water from the bottom of the windshield and circles to the left and right of the rear quarter panels and end by the tail lights. On my 09 what holds the plastic trim piece are some pins that are pushed in to secure the panel and those pins have rubber washers that degrade with time and cause water to seep in. And guess what? one pin in particular is located just above the rear SAM. The fix is once you have installed new pins , is to smear some sealant over the pins to make them more water proof. I think water getting in through tail light assemblies would only create a humid condition in the area but getting in above from the leaky pin assembly , the drip is directly unto the SAM
