Engine warning light

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daveaird
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Evening all,

I have had the engine light come up on my 2011 W463 350d Blutec. having run the diagnostics it is pointing to the heating element within the ad blu tank.

Has anyone else had this issue and  has anyone had any luck obtaining a replcement foc via MB UK through a technical serive bulletin?

to give some context it has only done 26k miles and FMBH bar the last which was undertaken at a well respected Indy.

Many Thanks all

 

Dave

Pistonhead
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Re: Engine warning light

You may have 26k but account to the age of vehicle there is no hope of a warranty claim. 

We have had, the heater element replaced at the garage where I volunteer at but on different models namely VW and Peugeots'. The injector nozzles in the Add Blue system may block up is another issue - overall messy stuff to work with. 

 

G-Barry
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Re: Engine warning light

Hi Dave, I have had this issue and it is a real pain.  I had my mechanic remap my G due to the Ad AdBlue heater.  I also had Nox Sensors issues.  Although the remap bypassed the Nox sensors and I get better MPG’s,  no matter what he did, the engine light kept coming back on.   So, I ended up having the Ad Blue heater replaced.  It was costly at around £700.  I find the whole thing a real a con. They should last longer than that.  It is also not like the Ad Blue gets used that often either and may be that is the reason for the failure. Mine is also a 2011.  This happened last Winter, so this must be the time that they go out.  Hope that helps.  Barry

daveaird
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Re: Engine warning light

thanks very much

daveaird
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Re: Engine warning light

Thanks Barry,

Glad its not just me! but espensive for something that really isnt going to freeze in even the worst of UK weather extremes. I'm interested to know more on the re-map did it help noticibly on the fuel consumption?

G-Barry
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Re: Engine warning light

 

Hi Dave,

I mostly had the remap done because the NOX sensors needed replacing also.  They are not cheap either.  The idea was that they would remap it so it bypassed the NOX Sensors and the Ad blue heater so I did not need to replace either.  Unfortunately, although they did successfully by bypass the NOX sensors, for some reason they could not do the same for the AdBlue heater.  Do not know why.  They tried it multiple times.  It has made a difference to the mpg but nothing to realising about. I just didn’t want the hassle anymore over the sensors and heater.

By the way, I just checked my bill and the garage did not charge me for the installation due to the inconvenience of taking it back when the engine light came back on.  So, if was £799 including vat.  Ouch, it was a real shock!  You are exactly right, I don’t think the AdBlue is going to freeze anyway.

If I were you, I would try to get them to remap your G to try and bypass both the the heater and sensors.  You may have more luck than me.  If you are going to keep you G for a long while it is worth a try.  I just didn’t want to replace the sensors and at that time in January there was none available anyway.

I am not sure if you have a plug and play engine diagnostic tool or not.  If not, they are a good investment.  You can get one on Amazon for £28.00 and up.  It plugs under the dash on passenger side.  Hope that helps.  Barry

 

 

 

Jdring
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Location: South of Oxford, UK. 87' 230GE SWB Manual, 89' 230GE SWB Auto, 2012 G350Bluetec LWB
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Re: Engine warning light

Ditto with G-Barry.

The Ad Blu system is a nice idea and it worked well, but the NOX sensors degrade to the point that the over zealous ECU thinks they need replacing, so the first fix is to upgrade the ECU which makes it more tolerant!  That will only last a while and then the NOX sensors will degrade a bit more and fail.

The Ad Blu heater is another common failure and as Barry says a pain to replace.  This is your issue.

On my 2012 G350, I also have the NOX and Heater mapped out.  The Ad Blu tank is just topped up to stop it being dry but the injectors don't do anything.  My mpg improved because of other tuning parameters.  The warning light is reset and never came back on.  2 years ago now.  I don't notice any additional fumes or soot at the rear, and the Euro-5 category of the engine is useless now anyway, even with Ad Blue, because all the congestion zones need Euro6 now.

I used a good company called RS Dynotech in Faringdon, Oxon.

 

 

 

 

G-Barry
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Re: Engine warning light

Dave, Forgot to add, like Jdring mentioned, with the Nox Sensors bypassed and also the AdBlue tank, your G will pass it’s MOT.  Makes you wonder what the AdBlue actual does and if when the vehicle passes the MOT, what the heck it is for?  I think a money making activity and nothing much more!