My silly dad went out and bought an accident-ed E200 Mercedes while I was away from the country. What he bought was an officially imported E200 model that's identical to the European version (this is in Hong Kong, btw).

The funny thing is that the on dashboard "EC" button does not function and the A/C remains on all the time. I find this very weird and unlikely but the local mechanic says a E200 is like that.

Having no way to find out about it I resort to asking you guys here. As E200 models were not sold in Canada/USA I cannot find out about it otherwise.

What has happened is that the A/C pulley has semi-seized up and the belt squeaks like hell every time the car starts from a stop. I reckon it's due to the fact that the electric clutch (I can see its existence, which raises more of my suspicion that it's just a malfunction of the EC switch) has failed to release the compressor at startup, and some monkey of a mechanic has hard wired the compressor to run always, causing excessive wear on the belts and other systems.

Please let me know if you know about this.

I've never heard that about E200's but it could be true. I'd think it would be more likely to not have AC, rather have it switched on all the time? As you stated, we never got the combo in the US.

I'm sure the guys on the UK forums could answer that question.

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Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

09' E320 Bluetec 77k (USA)
09' Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel 48k (S.A.)

The "AC" button is an "off switch" rather than the other way round as in previous models.

You will find you need to "activate off" every time you remove the keys from the ignition (if you don't want the AC on).

The idea being is to keep the interior at a correct "filtered climate level" which helps keeps the windows clear during adverse weather conditions.

Just another feature that MB decided you should have.

My W210 E240 and W209 CLK 240 had the same "feature".

yes the "off switch" should be function in case that I decided that I don't want my A/C I have a "choice" of switching it off. That's how it works on my W202 C36 but apparently not so in a W210 E200...

In a W202 if you turned the ignition OFF while the EC LED is on, it actually will restart with EC led on next time. Which means the A/C will stay off by default.

I find that a lot more intuitive and reasonable than a vent system that runs A/C 24/7 unless blower stops.

It's just really annoying. Also I cannot operate the vehicle when the A/C pump fails this way because 1 belt drives A/C, waterpump, alternator and power steering, if the A/C suddenly decides to completely seize in you end up with a real problem since the A/C clutch cannot be disengaged manually. I suppose when it does do that Mercedes expect you to drive the car to the dealer with no blower and suffocate in one of the most polluted cities on the planet.....Good grief.

Actually it sounds like a malfunction - there is no Hing Kong version of the climate control option. You can verify hoe it should work by visiting a dealer and checking out some of their used W210's.

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Prost!