Sprinter Van swivel seat: Seatbelt/airbag wire repair
Vložit
- čas přidán 26. 03. 2020
- If you have a Mercedes Sprinter van with swivel seats, you might want to inspect the wire that connects your car's computer with the seatbelt/airbag. Ours got crushed in the swivel mechanism. Our neighbor came to the rescue and repaired it and shared his story about an Audi dealer that charged him $700 to repair the wire harness on his Audi.
Humble Road Swivel seat installation, part 1: • INSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS ...
How to Repair and Protect Automotive wiring: • How to Repair and Prot...
Links to items mentioned in our videos (and my camera gear) can be found on my
Amazon Storefront: www.amazon.com/shop/fromshetome
As a participant in the Amazon Associates Program we earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you, when you shop from this Amazon portal.
Music in this video is from a subscription with Epidemic Sound.
We had a similar issue with a 2017 cutaway MB chassis on our 2018 Leisure Unity. The drivers seat has a similar wiring harness and was cut with the swiveling action. The MB dealer and Leisure blamed each other but fortunately the Mercedes dealer did not charge me and said they would work with Mercedes to resolve the payment. It was approximately $650.00 to replace the sensor/switch on the drivers seat. Ultimately I added a couple of zip ties as in the video to hold the cable in place and I regularly, as in every time I swivel the seat, check that the cable is not at risk of being damaged. I have warned a couple of owners of MB motorhome to be on the lookout for this issue. Thanks for videos. We both enjoy your travels as we are fulltiming in a 25 foot Leisure Unity. Best of luck and stay safe.
Thanks for sharing all the info. I hope you have found a place to land for awhile. I think about you full timers all the time.
You're fortunate to have such a handy neighbor. Good Job
What a nice neighbor you have!
What a nice neighbor you have. Love the music and the ending. Stay safe and well.
We are glad that you and John are home. Thank you for the tip. I had to go out and check our own van. We are also at home trying to get videos up. All the best.
I was Director of Quality for one of the world's largest airbag manufacturers for a few years prior to 2002. So this information I am about to give is that old and airbag circuitry designs could have changed since then. But at that time, all the airbag functional operations were powered through the clockspring wire harness and not through the seating wires. Those airbag wires under the seats are merely for the weight sensor which deactivates the airbag if the seat is unoccupied. But the default mode for that circuit is a failed-safe condition, which means that if the seat wires are cut, then the airbag circuitry assumes the seat to be occupied and the airbag is still functional. So all that would have happened in an accident is that the airbag would have been deployed regardless of whether anybody was in the seat. --- Enjoy your time off. We'll be here whenever you decide to post again.
Thanks Gary. Good info. Sure is hard to get any good dope on line.
Great video, thanks for sharing the fix to your problem. We can’t wait to get out and about when this is all over.
I always enjoy your travels, but especially your tips, mods and fixes videos. Thank your neighbor for me for the soldering and shrink wrap lesson. I used the Audi method to wire in new speakers in my vehicle and will now go back and properly solder the wires. I didn't realize it was that easy.
Be sure to check out this video because it offers additional tips for wiring: czcams.com/video/WlReovGlzx4/video.html
And check out Eric Olsen's comment below for his thoughts on the subject. Good luck!
Really a very well done video, and glad you have a neighbor that is handy with the soldering iron and heat gun. I was happy to see how to properly splice, solder, and heat shrink the repaired wires. It is always good to learn something new, and seems when owning an RV this type of skill is necessary. Thank you. BTW, my wife is a nurse and is working extra right now to take phone calls from people who are nervous and scared about the unknown issues surrounding the coronavirus. You are smart to stay home for the time being, and you are setting a good example for the rest of us to follow. Good luck to you and John.
Kudos to your wife! Stay safe!
Tks Debra great as always. Stay well👍
Thank you for your video, and your neighbor for showing us how easy it is to repair. We have a 2017 MB Sprinter RV and went to the dealer when the passenger side airbag light stayed on even with a passenger in the seat. They discovered the driver side seatbelt wire was cut in two. Their fix was to order a new part at the cost of $400. That didn’t include fixing it. We will have our son in law fix it tomorrow with the help of your video. Many thanks and safe travels to all.
OMG! That's outrageous. Let me know if you are able to get it fixed.
Gotta love a helpful neighbour! Thank you for the information and a reason to go sit in the van tomorrow. Sudden subject change: love your shirt! Take good care.
REI in swim department.
Thank you for your important information and the beauty at the end of your video! Blessings🌷💕
Excellent video as usual! Glad you brought attention to that issue that many of us must have already had. Agree it should be a recall. Nice job, neighbor! *Mercedes of Boerne is the bomb, btw!
Interesting. Glad you had a lovely person to help you. Stay safe and be well. Let’s all hope this passes and we can get back out there and enjoy. We are missing a rally in Florida. P.S. your cheesecake recipe has been wonderful through being isolated in the house. Thank you for sharing it. Loved the scenes at the end of the video! 🤗
Beautiful ending to a great video.
Thanks for sharing
I watch a LOT of CZcams videos during this lockdown. I so enjoy your videos, especially the DIY.
I'm hooked on CZcams. I have learned so much from so many channels.
Hi Debbie, thanks for bringing this issue to everyone’s attention. I always look forward to your videos. The PWRVCW Rally has been postponed to Oct 5-8. Would love to go to the Rally by the Sea, hopefully next year. Enjoy your time at home.
Hope to see you in October!
Stay well.
Not only a great PSA but also tutorial. Break, break...here's a lesson-learned from my last trip: As part of my de-winterizing checklist, I've added the following: "Ensure ALL mousetrap glue plates have been removed before loading the cat in the van." Eeesh, what a mess, and the poor guy has been permanently traumatized. Not to mention, he now sports a very modish new style in cat grooming.
Don't you wish you had the camera running for that one!
The recommended electrical splice varies from application to application. Wire nuts for household wiring, soldering for electronics, and crimp connectors for vehicles. Soldering is not the recommended splicing technique for vehicles because it makes the wires stiff and more likely to break instead of just flexing at the soldered connection when there is movement. Crimp connectors in this application (connections subject to motion as in a car or boat) allow the wires to flex more without breaking. If you check the type of connectors used for the wiring to your motor and battery, you will see they are crimp connections not solder connections.
Thanks for the info. I've been binge watching "Chris Fixx" and others to learn more about cars.
Very helpful video, and your neighbor did you a solid! He really knew his stuff.... If you had just driven to our house we could have done the repair ... oh right, you aren't next door.... :) Stay well and grow that garden! BroD
I had the same thing happen in our 2018 MB 3500 Sprinter RV! Wire was severed and the SRS warning appeared on the message display.
Stay safe & healthy! Syracuse is hunkered down, along with the rest of NY state. Everything but grocery stores, banks, is closed.
Thanks for the information. I had to have Mercedes fix mine and will appeal to Mercedes as you suggested. This is clearly a manufacturers defect.
I’m sure it has happened countless times.
Great instruction. TY. I believe we spoke with you at RVillage Rally. Didn't know about your videos then. We are two grey haired ladies in a 1992 Ford Econoline. We, too, were surprised with the showers, however we were in horse camping. LOL
I’m not much of a promoter of my channel. Glad you found us.
Yes Mam!! We have had the SAME EXACT THING !! Thank you for your post 👍🏼😀 we have a Leisure Travel Van. Btw I got a dash code SRS
Thanks for sharing. Ours didn’t completely sever which may be why we didn’t get a code.
Happened to us in our 2017 Plateau XLTD.
Just checked my 2017 SS Agile from Roadtrek. The underseat wires were cable enclosed and zip tied .
Enjoy your time off!
Do your seats swivel in either direction? If so, are there mechanical stops to prevent full rotation? My seats will twirl a full circle and you have to be real careful!!!
Thanks for the video and the repair work. Yes, a recall is warranted, but as I mentioned I am not a fan of Mercedes after my 2008 Mercedes issues that they never owned up to fixing. Sorry that your plans are in flux and we are about to cancel/hopefully move our few Alaska reservations to 2021 soon. Stay safe and thanks again for the videos.
I’ve thought a lot about you guys and others regarding their Alaska trips. Take care.
@@FromShetoMe We are and just working from home, tinkering with the Lexor, and all is good. Oh, taxes, got to get them done so they are out of the way!
Be safe, be well, and this too shall pass. See you whenever things change.
Yes. it has happened to me in my 2017 Sprinter drivers side. I can see the break its severed.
I can see the severed break but can not see where it broke off. I will go back out since watching to find and fix. Thanks to you!
Me! Just did a full rewiring
Thanks for your video. - In all my driving life, I have had only two German cars/vans: a VW Bus T3 Multivan 4x4 and a VW Bus T4 Multivan 4x4, originally equipped by VW, and those had their problems, tables were blocked, fridges emptied the battery too fast, ... . Mercedes in those days was not better either. I still find German price-quality-service relation totally inadequate - at least here in Germany. - My 7-year-old FIAT campervan fully does its purpose and the HYMER furniture is excellent. I had ordered the van with the least amount of electronic/digital equipment. No naviceiver. I can read/understand roadmaps and a simple cheap Garmin is good enough etc... A cheap AM/FM radio for € 49 was built in, good enough for traffic radio. I am sure nobody would break in and steal those ... - Greetings from Bavaria, Germany.
The last VW we owned was a 1984 diesel Rabbit. I think they called it a Golf in Europe. It was our 6th VW. And we had a 1966 912 Porsch that had awful brakes. I still have nightmares about that car not stopping. But it had a gorgeous red paint job.
We had the same problem back in May of last year .. The Mercedes dealer blamed pleasure way and pleasure way said it was Mercedes. They had our van for 3 weeks ! They had to call a corporate tech in Germany because they could not figure it out. Our warning light did come on too. I can't remember the code. They couldn't clear it because they could not figure it out. They finally gave us a rental so I could pick up my Dad and Sis at the airport. June 20.. My Dad was so excited to see our van and we finally picked it up on the 22nd of June. The experience was terrible to say the least .. We've had several others too Lol. Tough first year but we still love our Luna
Wow. So the question really is, who installed it, Mercedes or the upfitter? Obviously they both know about the issue. If/when things return to normal, I'm going to keep looking into this to see if we can get some resolution.
@@FromShetoMe Yes... It was not a good experience at all. Electrical harness should not have been such a major issue. Got to wonder how many others have had this same issue 😣
Great video very informative. I have a 2021 Winnebago 24d on the Sprinter vs30 chassis. When swiveling the driver's side seat for the first time Received an airbag fault. I discovered as you did, the wiring harness was impinge by the swivel mechanism. Can't believe Mercedes engineered this extremely poor and dangerous design. This is an unsafe condition and it can impede the deployment of the airbag.
Hi Debbie. We have a 2019 Pleasure Way Ascent on a 2018 Mercedes chassis. I noticed a passenger seat code display several months ago and checked underneath the seat and found a fractured connector. I fixed the connection but the code persisted. I researched this on-line and found that the Mercedes dealership had to reset the code. I took the Sprinter into Walters Mercedes Benz in Riverside, CA and the fixed it, no charge. Still under warranty. Probably my storing several items under the seat in that box had something to do with the broken connection which I told them about, but they fixed anyway. I believe this is a fairly common problem and that's why they promptly repaired the wire. Anyway, that's my experience. Stay healthy. Gary
Thanks. I wonder if a code reader like BlueDriver could clear that code.
@@FromShetoMe Don't know, but I believe it takes a computer input to clear the code. If you have the code displayed Mercedes should clear it for you for liability purposes.
I saw today that Forest River is recalling these on their 2020 Sprinter Vans. Not sure why not on earlier models. It's Mercedes Benz issue.
Thanks for the info. I got to check out a 2021 PW plateau a few days ago and there was no wire coming out from under the passenger seat so they must have re-routed it.
Happened to me😊
I have a 2015 Navion I had it happen in the first couple of months and had it repaired by Mercedes under warranty.
Good to know. Thanks.
Mercedes has issued a recall for 2019 Sprinter concerning the seat wiring harness, “the electric cables in the seat wiring harness could become jammed and damage in the swivel seat frame”. The date on the initial recall campaign notification is dated June 16, 2020.
LOL, thanks for letting me know. Makes me wonder why there was always finger pointing between PW and Mercedes. Somebody wasn't telling the truth and it now looks like it was Mercedes. Shame on them. And why does the recall not include earlier models.
I have a 2016 Mercedes Navion Winnebago that the rotating seats have also broken the wire 😳
Thank you for all you do for this PW fan and hope to see you at the Oct Rally! Do we need to use or do you use a trickle charger to charge the MB chasis battery if the van will be parked for a while? Thanks!
I don’t know about the Mercedes but on our Subaru John disconnects the battery. Our neighbor once told us that he uses a trickle charger but you need to get the right one. Sorry I can’t be of more help. I’ll add it to my list of questions to ask viewers.
What was the video you mention where an owner shows the battery disconnect?
I'm not sure which video I was referring to but I show the battery disconnect in this video: czcams.com/video/O2kFikIkLms/video.html
This happened to our driver seat, i called our dealership and they referred us to a Mercedes repair facility. I called the service center and was told it is not covered by the warranty because it was modified by Winnebago. I called Mercedes and Winnebago about the issue with the wire not installed properly. Mercedes agent said the seat was modified by Winnebago because their seats do not swivel. He was very polite and explained why it was not covered. Winnebago's agent told me that they would cover the repair because it was their outfitter that did the seat modification. They ask me to have Mercedes service tech to take pictures of the damage and for me to take the pictures and invoice to our RV dealership. The dealership would have to file a claim for us to receive our refund.
What a pain. Another viewer told me they got the run around from both Mercedes and the up fitter. Another viewer told me Mercedes fixed it for them. Either way, IMO, it isn't the users fault. We are using the equipment as intended. Bad design.
It is disturbing that a company that prides itself on its workmanship would not have already voluntarily recalled regarding this issue. It seems a rather dangerous issue... could the air bags deploy by accident while you were driving??
And I still can't get over Mercedes only having a 36,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. They are well made and should be able to cover more mileage. It would be a great selling point and blow everyone else's warranty (Dodge and Ford) right out fo the water!
Do you know if their powertrain warranty also only 36,000 miles?
2016 sprinter warranty: Powertrain is 3 years/36k, anti corrosion is 3 years/unlimited miles, diesel emission warranty is 5 years/100K, California has its own which is 7 years/70k miles, engine itself is 5 years/100k miles.
We had same issue. Mercedes dealer charging $500 to repair.
"Don't burn me!" 😂
He did a good job. Mercedes wouldn't of done it any better.
Tim, outstanding repair on the Mercedes Sprinter wiring harness passenger side seat. I work in engineering test for 40 years for a leading Aerospace company. Your repair technique in that application out was outstanding.
Just happened to us under driver' side - smashed all our electric seat wiring - ugh 2023 RT Agile
Have you beeen to grandpa Ron,s web sit. He has over 60 upgrades and mods on his sprinter. He has had similar problems withn the refrigerator and other, similar to you.
I have. Love his channel.
Very tough times for everyone right now, stay safe! Have you thought of taking the van for day trips in local areas that aren't very populated? Doing a ton of cooking and baking here, will weigh 600 lbs soon lol. Still to cold out to do any gardening. My favorite cooking website is Once Upon a Chef, you should check it out.
Yes, thought about a local trip just yesterday and just last night got a text from a viewer who was parked looking out at the beach. Need to find some good spots. Thanks for the channel tip; will check it out.
Wow a full 6 minutes of ad's I have to watch to see your blog! CZcams is no longer free Darn.
That's why I have a premium account. If you get a family account, you can share it with 5 members of your family. And you can download video to watch on the road. It's about $16/month.
My 2020 sprinter has been in the shop more than on the road 😰
Is it a camper van? Is the Mercedes side the problem?
Debbie and John,
You can check here for recalls, or to submit a safety complaint. It helps to have your VIN number handy.
www.nhtsa.gov/recalls
Thanks. I'll do that!
While I was watching him repair the wire I could see the air bag go off if he messed up.
MY relatives in Florida are concerned that so many people heading to FL or already here due to snow-birds -- WELL With this virus attacking people they feel it will put a strain on healthcare facilities and staff ---what is your thoughts??
I think people who have a home should go home so that, at the very least, those who are full timers can figure out where they can safely hunker down. My daughter-in-law just told me that South Lake Tahoe is giving people from out of town tickets. Small towns are not equipped for an influx of medical emergencies. For example, Mammoth Lakes has only 1 ICU bed. But I haven't heard of people heading to Florida. Especially with hurricane season only 2 months away.
Stay safe. Now it's time in your next video to show people how to make home-made masks.
It's a airbag related wiring. I can tell from seeing the connector color, which is yellow. Not try to be mean but your lovely neighbor's soldering skill is just not qualified for this kind of job, get a real auto tech to get it done properly. If something goes wrong with your airbag later and they find out that isn't dealer or dealer authorized repair shop's job, they will pass the buck. - Tip from a auto tech.
10:04 it's probably not gonna come off if it is a appliance in the house. But in a vehicle, which it would suffer from daily temperature changing, vibration on the road? ? I am not saying it is gonna come off by time, but my instructor would definitely slap on my wrist if I did a job like this, on soldering part. Heat shrink part is greatly finished by your warm hearted neighbor.
Thank you! Appreciate the advice.