W461 lights suddenly non-operational
Looking for help! Last week I woke up to find my batteries drained. A mechanic came out and charged them up but now I discover that my lights don't work, headlights or turn signals, yet all the fuses check fine. I have disconected the batteries for now, wondering if here is a connection between the lighting fault and the battery drain. I asked for help on a facebook G-owners group and some talked of the stealth driving mode which switches off all lights, but despite having the original military-style switch I have never been able to access positions S1, S2, or S3. I have removed the switch and there is no sign of burning or damage, and all connections appear good, it was replaced about a year ago. Any ideas?
I had almost the same thing happen last week with my W460 280GE. No high beams. no low beams, no parking lights, no rear tail lights. But the blue high beam dash light worked and the registration plate worked. The turn signals worked as did the off-road driving lights.
I spent hours tracing and checking everything after colour coding the wiring diagram with a CAD overlay, and finally thought to make sure I was getting power to the actual lights. Imagine my surprise to find out I did... and every bulb in the front was burned out. Now to make this even more odd, the car had been inspected in the morning with certification that everything, including all the lights, worked. But that evening, nothing worked except the off-road driving lights which got me home.
On the rear, replacing the bulbs did not work, and we eventually discovered there was no ground (earth). Not sure why, but mine is a 1982, so it's time for a refresh.
So, before looking for something in the wiring make sure the bulbs are not blown. If they are, the next question is why?
I don't have an answer yet, but I did discover the alternator wires were corroded and one fell off when I touched it. I presume the bulbs were blown due to a voltage surge.
The other variable was the fact my W460 was at the mechanic's workshop, and they may have done something and not told me. In your case, the battery was charged. Would it be possible he used an industrial strength charger? Years ago, I had a Bristol 411 in which a new Webasto sunroof had been installed. The shop use a battery charger or jump starter that fried the electronics.
Without knowing the age or model it is hard to be specific
Assuming its an older 461 that is based more arounf the 460 series
And it has the ceramic fuses in the long fuse board under the steering wheel with the plastic cover
Check all fuses are seated correctly
With ignition OFF
Remove each fuse in turn and tweak the fuse holder gently together and replace the fuse
Repeat for all 12 paying particular attention to fuse 12
If the prongs that hold each fuse have stretched slightly and are not gripping the fuse tight this can lead to power diverting thru other circuits, especially high load ones
Happens a lot on 460 series cars
...The shop use a battery charger or jump starter that fried the electronics.
That was my thinking here too.
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