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  • Soggy Sam

    My Roadster has developed Soggy SAM Syndrome. I was driving to work last week and suddenly had a cascade of weird electrical issues which culminated in the immobiliser being set and nothing electrical working (lights, wipers, boot release, indicators, horn...). My local garage were able to confirm the diagnosis (severely corroded SAM PCB) and seal up the wiper bucket properly, but the car has had to be trailered to MB Darlington for a new SAM to be fitted.

    I am annoyed as I had been checking for water ingress and was convinced that the wiper bucket seal was OK on my car. Hey ho, let this be a lesson to all Roadster owners; spend the money to get the seal done properly now (if you can't do it yourself) and save the cost of a replacement SAM later!

    And to cap it all, it appears that there are no new SAM units available to buy at the moment, and the next delivery at MB Germany is "middle of July"!

    Seems I will be driving the wife's MR2 for a few weeks then...

  • #2
    Originally posted by mocelet View Post
    My Roadster has developed Soggy SAM Syndrome. I was driving to work last week and suddenly had a cascade of weird electrical issues which culminated in the immobiliser being set and nothing electrical working (lights, wipers, boot release, indicators, horn...). My local garage were able to confirm the diagnosis (severely corroded SAM PCB) and seal up the wiper bucket properly, but the car has had to be trailered to MB Darlington for a new SAM to be fitted.

    I am annoyed as I had been checking for water ingress and was convinced that the wiper bucket seal was OK on my car. Hey ho, let this be a lesson to all Roadster owners; spend the money to get the seal done properly now (if you can't do it yourself) and save the cost of a replacement SAM later!

    And to cap it all, it appears that there are no new SAM units available to buy at the moment, and the next delivery at MB Germany is "middle of July"!

    Seems I will be driving the wife's MR2 for a few weeks then...
    The other available options are sending away for repair (To BBA Reman or ECU Doctor) or sourcing a used one and having it virginised (restoring to factory settings) and reprogrammed to your car using your existing sams vehicle data and copying it over.. I know if BBA Reman can't repair the unit they will supply a reconditioned sam unit and therefor no need for main dealer programming.

    I have seen this done a a C Class rear sam which had shorted out and couldn't be repaired and a recon unit with transferred data was supplied for £350 with a lifetime guarantee (not against water ingress)

    Comment


    • #3
      Greetings, if you're looking at buying a new one, why not remove your's from the car? Disconnect the main battery first though. You might need a chiropractor to put your back, back in its proper order but what the heck, it's worth a try. Evil or fq have the details I think of pulling the SAM apart, then inspect it with a magnifying glass, clean it, leave it in the hot water cupboard for a week to dry it out and then seal the circuit boards with a suitable electronic board sealant, put it back in the car then go to the chiropractor again. It may just be a case of dirty pins sockets?? Cheers, Ian.

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      • #4
        The garage has taken it out and dried it at my suggestion, and it still didn't work. Dismantling it revealed that the corrosion is such that some of the tracks on the PCB are now missing.

        I _could_ take it into work and attack it with the surface mount soldering station, but there is a fair chance that there is more damage than what I can see.

        Apparently the new SAM might arrive in Friday this week, so hopefully it won't be long now until I am back on the road!

        Comment


        • #5
          Greetings, OK, there I disagree with you. I'd compare it to say somebody that's had a heart attack. You may not know what to do but if you do nothing they won't survive. On the other hand if you do something, you may change the course of history. They may survive and go on to invent a better Smart or SAM. Back to your SAM, what have you got to lose? It's dead Jim but not as we know it. Breath some life into it - it may work and you won't have to spend dosh on having the new one programmed, if so, you'll have a spare to use in another car. Never let the sods get you down. Cheers, Ian.

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          • #6
            Sorry to hear that you've ended up with a soggy SAM mocelet - "luckily" mine is still driveable but the weird electrical issues are doing my head in and so I've been thinking of getting mine replaced.
            So you've ended up having to wait 4 weeks for a new SAM in the end? Can I ask how much they are wanting for these from MB?

            Cheers

            T/O

            Comment


            • #7
              The wait (still waiting...) is apparently for a new batch to be made as there are none available anywhere worldwide.

              I am having it fixed at an Indie that is somewhat confusingly named "MB Darlington". The costs are (ex VAT):
              SAM £376
              SCN Code £90
              Key Code £60
              Labour £69 (1 hour I guess)

              The part prices should be similar at a dealer, but the labour will be £120/hr, and they might charge more than 1 hour.

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              • #8
                this is why i try and sell fully loaded sets if i break down a car

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                • #9
                  when looking to buy a roadster, could an obd reader be plugged in to check the sam? if so which is the best obd reader/ scanner?

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                  • #10
                    The only thing that will properly check the SAM will be a STAR machine.
                    They cost about £20,000 from Merc (or some similarly huge price tag).

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Cheers for the info Mocelet - its nice to have an idea of figures rather getting worked up on unknown but 'extortionate' prices

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                      • #12
                        Picking it up tomorrow, nearly 6 weeks after the breakdown. And they found that both front springs had broken as well, so they only lasted 3.5 years... What is another couple of hundred pounds at this point in the proceedings?

                        It is lucky that I really like this car!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Got the car back now, it was a bit odd driving it after 6 weeks in the MR2, but re-acclimatised now. The only thing they missed was TANing in the

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                          • #14
                            Got the car back now, it was a bit odd driving it after 6 weeks in the MR2, but re-acclimatised now. The only thing they missed was TANing in the cruise control, so I have to take it back for that...

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