Servicing the electric rear blind in 2018

[TerryA]

I came up with a simple and elegant solution -- NEVER use the rear sunshade.

Jamie,

You’ve paid big $$$ to replace it. It should be good for another 20 years.

What’s the point of not using it?
Are you saving it for the next Owner?

Mine still works after 26 years. It does not seat properly and I don’t force it when it starts to click.
Most shades are broken by continuing to run the shade after the gear starts to click. DONT DO THAT!!

Unless you have a collector quality museum piece and you want Canepa to sell it for a $100K drive your car and enjoy it.

Drive it, keep up with maintenance and repairs. When you do decide to sell someday hopefully you will be rewarded for your conservation efforts.

PRESERVING your E500E for the “NEXT OWNER is NOT YOUR MISSION!!”

lol

 

[linjam]

Jamie,

You’ve paid big $$$ to replace it. It should be good for another 20 years.

What’s the point of not using it?
Are you saving it for the next Owner?

Mine still works after 26 years. It does not seat properly and I don’t force it when it starts to click.
Most shades are broken by continuing to run the shade after the gear starts to click. DONT DO THAT!!

Unless you have a collector quality museum piece and you want Canepa to sell it for a $100K drive your car and enjoy it.

Drive it, keep up with maintenance and repairs. When you do decide to sell someday hopefully you will be rewarded for your conservation efforts.

PRESERVING your E500E for the “NEXT OWNER is NOT YOUR MISSION!!”

lol

Lol.

Terry, it was broken when the car was 7 years old. Between that and the stories I heard, I trained myself to forget it exists!
J

 

[gerryvz]

I use mine (including just yesterday) but most of the time I keep it in the UP position - particularly when I lived in Texas. It doesn't like to fully retract the last half-inch into its slot, so the switch is not depressed that allows the rear headrests to deploy downward unless I "help" the sun-shade the last 1/2" with a light push on either end.

 

[nocfn]

I must say that I wish I had one still, but the 90% UV block film I put on my C126 windscreen 2 weeks ago will go on the E500 Windscreen and Backglass when I replace them. This stuff is legit, I don't even use a sun screen anymore.

 

[linjam]

I must say that I wish I had one still, but the 90% UV block film I put on my C126 windscreen 2 weeks ago will go on the E500 Windscreen and Backglass when I replace them. This stuff is legit, I don't even use a sun screen anymore.

Nocfn, you have a link for that?

 

[nocfn]

Www.gcautoshield.com

 

[sheward]

With the help of this thread, my sunshade is on my workbench and I'm in the process of correcting some issues. I'll post additional tips and pictures when I'm finished. The most helpful bit I can add for removal has been mentioned. I removed the entire package tray / sunshade as one piece. I believe this is the way it was initially installed.
Removal of the headrests in the 036 with the 90l tank took lots of time on my back... in the trunk... without good light... cussing. I now know how to do it. More to come.

drew

 

[Jimbo]

Nice Drew but shoot man, I have brand new beige one in the box !

As you now know...its a royal PITA job to get it out....

 

[sheward]

Actually, I have been wondering if you still had that. The problem with mine is not the motor or the gears but the hex fitting, which I believe I have repaired. I'm going to talk with you thru a PM.

Drew

 

[sheward]

The roller blind in these cars is a very impressive assembly.
Since my blind shows evidence of possible previous work, can anyone look at my pictures and verify all parts are present? The round area of the casting that supports the underside of the metal gear, as a female bushing, seems unusual as the hole is the same diameter as the gears' shoulder which only sits about 1mm into the hole. The remainder of the gears' shaft is smaller as if there where a missing bushing. There is also a small hole in the gears' shaft that aligns with a hole through the the outside of the casting. This is blocked when the casting is mounted on the blind.

There is nothing present to keep the large metal gear from raising 1 or more mm up and becoming unseated as it has 2 or more mm vertical play with the casting cover installed. I've remedied this with copper washers of the correct thickness to remove any play between upper gear shoulder and cover. If you look closely you may see where the hex end of the shaft and the rotating arm plate are buggered. The screw that holds these two pieces together was not tight. This was the only problem with my blinds' operation.

Also, the spring that resides under the gear provides tension to RAISE, not lower, the blind. The retraction of the blind is assisted by a spring in the roller itself and the weight and mechanics of the levers. I do not yet know why the blind makes the clicking noise at either end of it's run up or down. My own blind was doing this even though the blind was not even moving. There does not appear to be any switch that tells the motor to stop when either up or down. I'll find out when I reassemble and test.

BTW... The long thin carpeted blind cover slides easily out of the aluminum fixture. This means when hunting for a replacement blind one need not be concerned about interior color. There is also a small piece of fabric on the reverse side to prevent rubbing which is glued on to the fixture. Not easily seen however this could be simply dyed.

drew

 

[TerryA]

The roller blind in these cars is a very impressive assembly.
Since my blind shows evidence of possible previous work, can anyone look at my pictures and verify all parts are present? The round area of the casting that supports the underside of the metal gear, as a female bushing, seems unusual as the hole is the same diameter as the gears' shoulder which only sits about 1mm into the hole. The remainder of the gears' shaft is smaller as if there where a missing bushing. There is also a small hole in the gears' shaft that aligns with a hole through the the outside of the casting. This is blocked when the casting is mounted on the blind.

There is nothing present to keep the large metal gear from raising 1 or more mm up and becoming unseated as it has 2 or more mm vertical play with the casting cover installed. I've remedied this with copper washers of the correct thickness to remove any play between upper gear shoulder and cover. If you look closely you may see where the hex end of the shaft and the rotating arm plate are buggered. The screw that holds these two pieces together was not tight. This was the only problem with my blinds' operation.

Also, the spring that resides under the gear provides tension to RAISE, not lower, the blind. The retraction of the blind is assisted by a spring in the roller itself and the weight and mechanics of the levers. I do not yet know why the blind makes the clicking noise at either end of it's run up or down. My own blind was doing this even though the blind was not even moving. There does not appear to be any switch that tells the motor to stop when either up or down. I'll find out when I reassemble and test.

BTW... The long thin carpeted blind cover slides easily out of the aluminum fixture. This means when hunting for a replacement blind one need not be concerned about interior color. There is also a small piece of fabric on the reverse side to prevent rubbing which is glued on to the fixture. Not easily seen however this could be simply dyed.

drew

@sheward,

Drew, I see the screw drive off of the motor and assume it turns the large half gear cog wheel. How does the small gear wheel work and what is it's purpose? Could you take a pic of the two gears in there correct positions (outside of the casing) from both sides. Just curious how they interact.

Is it possible that the clicking noise is the screw drive coming to the end of the half gear cog? (In both directions / up or down)

Also, Can you confirm there are no plastic gear parts? Everything appears to be metal.

Thanx

 

[sheward]

I've already reassembled things, but I may have pics of what you mention. The smaller gear is just a reduction gear. The worm gear on the motor turns the large end of the reduction gear and the small end of the reduction gear turns the larger gear that in turn pulls the arms. The larger gear only rotates about 180" It stops at a limit screw. Power is reversed to the motor and it goes back. The worm gear on the motor is brass, the large gear is a finely machined alloy, and the reduction gear is phenolic with a second brass gear. Everything is turning in bushings , except the bottom of the large gear which rests in the casting. The two tube arms even have brass bushings in the ends. The phenolic reduction gear is the most likely to fail and there are plastic replacements available. Jlla posted info on where he got them.

drew

 

[TerryA]

I've already reassembled things, but I may have pics of what you mention. The smaller gear is just a reduction gear. The worm gear on the motor turns the large end of the reduction gear and the small end of the reduction gear turns the larger gear that in turn pulls the arms. The larger gear only rotates about 180" It stops at a limit screw. Power is reversed to the motor and it goes back. The worm gear on the motor is brass, the large gear is a finely machined alloy, and the reduction gear is phenolic with a second brass gear. Everything is turning in bushings , except the bottom of the large gear which rests in the casting. The two tube arms even have brass bushings in the ends. The phenolic reduction gear is the most likely to fail and there are plastic replacements available. Jlla posted info on where he got them.

drew

Thanks Drew, My shade does go up and down but I to have the clicking on the down side. I make sure to stop it when the clicking starts. On the up side I stop the shade about an inch short of full extension. So far it's been working OK and I wouldn't take it apart for this issue.

Also, only once did it not go down and I was a Cars & Coffee and a friend helped me get it down. When I got home I sprayed a Teflon Spray in the tracts and have had no more problems since. I recommend the Teflon Spray in the tracts if you can find it. Mine is a very old spray can. It also works great on window tracts.

 

[sheward]

Lubrication is key. With the unit on a bench it's easy to clean and lube both the sliding arm channels (a Q tip works perfectly for this) as well as the pivot points at the opposite ends of the arms. These rotate on nylon washers and are only accessible with the unit removed. It made a big difference in my unit as well.

I'm recovering the headliner so it made sense to do the incrementally more work to get the blind working. I really like the blind when driving after dark and was determined to have it working. I'll say again, it's not that difficult of a job if you take the entire package tray out.

drew

 

[DarkStar]

I found if you use a minty vac Mityvac at the valve under drivers side rear seat it makes it easy to override the vacuum lock and drop the headrests.

I have not been able to pop off the plastic trim covers on the headrest posts. I am terrified to break them. Not sure how / where to pry on the cover (top, bottom, side). It bends but doesn’t pop off. im using the HF yellow pry tools.

 

[sheward]

Those headrest trims take quite a bit of force to release. You can see the robust clips on the bottom of the trim in this picture. The broken one. Push / pry on the sides, right and left. Not the ends, fore and aft. Use a trim tool the full length of the trim if you have one. Pushing from underneath may give better results with an 034. The larger fuel tank on the 036 makes that difficult.

These pieces as well as other plastic pieces can be brought back to color by using steel wool. It also removes the shine which makes the parts look softer and richer in my opinion. You can see the seat trim on the right for comparison.

drew

 

[DarkStar]

Thank you! Helps tremendously to see the trim and where the clips reside! It appears that the clip is more central than I expected.

good tip with the steel wool! Which grade 00?

 

[sheward]

I used course. I even began some pieces with 100grit sandpaper. Pieces like the headrest trim I sandblasted. This may sound extreme however the shape and condition made handwork very tedious. There are other methods such as Hydrogen peroxide and if you are trying to achieve a perfect original finish you may want to go a different route. Mercedes was trying to achieve a look of leather by molding in grain but could not produce a matte finish. For me, the matte finish looks nicer. I had even better results on other pieces not shown.

drew

I

 

[DarkStar]

I have attempted removal of the headrest trim several times with no success. I fear my headrests are going nowhere and my shade will sit on the back shelf wrinkled forever.

 

[sheward]

If you are referring to the headrest trims... there are 2 left for sale on Ebay as of last night. I purchased 2. OEM new, gray in color.

drew

 

[sheward]

If you have your headrests out all that is necessary to remove the entire package tray is to remove the C pillar trims and the rear seat back (3 bolts).

You can then access the trims from below. I have not tried, however you may be able to pry the trims up from the bottom with a long screwdriver or other item.

drew

 

[Whitemamba23]

Recently completed removal of the rear parcel shelf, including the electric blind. I found that it is best done as a 2 person job.

For the head rest trims, have someone in the trunk pinching the 4 tabs together while someone else uses a trim removal tool to pry up, removing it from the parcel shelf.

After that, move onto removal of the head rests. Person in the trunk holds down the tabs to release the head rests, and person in the cabin removes the head rests while the release tabs are held down.

For removal of the shelf and electric blind, remove the side pockets, rear seat bottoms and seat back. Next, remove the C pillar trims and all bolts holding the seat belts to the body. You’ll find that removing the seat belt all together will allow you to remove the rear shelf without catching on the metal bracket that holds it in place. Slide the 3rd brake light out.
Remove the 2 screws located inside the emergency kit area. Then, go back into the trunk and unbolt the 4 nuts holding the blind to the body from inside the trunk.

You can now remove the rear shelf WITH the speaker covers in place. If you attempt to remove the speaker covers, you will snap one of the plastic legs that is held in place with a metal ring (I learned the hard way). Luckily, that piece is easy to fix and the speaker cover is held in even without it.
Lift the parcel shelf up from the front and begin to slide out towards the front of the car. You’ll find that the bolts that hold the sun shade to the body might snag onto the rear speaker tweets. You can pull them above the tweets by lifting the entire shelf up to avoid bending/cracking of the shelf.

You may or may not have to remove the 3rd brake light base first, I can’t remember.

 

[DarkStar]

Had a chance to spend time on my shade.
Motor doesn’t seem to operate at all.
Took the gearbox apart just to determine if things were stuck. Grease was like glue. A bit of WD40 and soak for a few minutes cleaned up things.

Need to debug motor.

Also I’m puzzled as to how the sunshade retracts? Mine doesn’t appear to roll up.

Having it in the 3/4 up position made removal really fun.

Micro switch picture / pn for reference

I do have a tool I made to facilitate the headrest trim removal… will share that shortly.

 

[DarkStar]

Can the end caps of the roller be removed?
It appears the rivets need to be removed.
Is there a spring in each endcap?

 

[sheward]

I never went further in disassembly as my blind spring was working. I have not read any info here either that outlines spring repair. You may have to remove the rivets to learn how the spring works

 

[sheward]

After doing some reading from the beginning of this thread it occurs to me that the issue could be lubrication of the blind shaft and not the spring itself. You may want to try getting some lubrication into/onto the shaft first

 

[DarkStar]

If it’s lubricant was anything like the gearbox, it’s turned to glue. I’m not certain where to apply the lube and will try to avoid getting it on the screen.
I just had a thought about old home window shades of yore. They had some sort of internal spring inside the roller and a flat end to slot into the frame so that pulling them down would wind the spring. So it could be internal.

 

[sheward]

Like everything on the package tray the blind is subject to excessive heat. The grease in my cars' blind had turned to near solid as well. Take a look at the photos in post number 5 in this thread for an idea of where you might be able to introduce lubrication. Does pulling the blind all the way out expose the axle?

 

[DarkStar]

I extended the blind as far as I could but it stopped turning and still seems to have a wrap of fabric.

 

[sheward]

Have you tried spraying some WD40 or solvent thru a nozzle straw into the end caps and allowing gravity to take lubricant inside the roller? If that doesn't get things moving, you may have to forge ahead and find where the spring mechanism is located.

A final last resort idea. If the problem is indeed solidified grease, immersing the entire roll end of the blind (without the motor) in vinegar may be helpful. Vinegar is acidic but generally non harmful to fabrics and most materials. Rinse with water and dry with compressed air when finished.

 

[DarkStar]

After a good cleaning and regreasing of the gearbox, I tested the motor with a 12v battery and it runs fine. The gears look ok but the large gear has two teeth that are chipped.
The unit has a set screw that limits gear movement on the large gear to 120 degrees. I’m not certain if the damaged teeth are limiting movement as well.

Not sure if this gearbox and gears are used anywhere else but I may need to look for spares.

Still no movement on the shade roller. Soaked it good on both ends with WD40 overnight.
Tried to use my fingers to force roller to retract , but no luck so far.

Next step will likely be to remove an end cap.

 

[DarkStar]

Does anyone know if the blind or motor parts are shared with an S-class of similar model year?

 

[DarkStar]

The roller blind in these cars is a very impressive assembly.
Since my blind shows evidence of possible previous work, can anyone look at my pictures and verify all parts are present? The round area of the casting that supports the underside of the metal gear, as a female bushing, seems unusual as the hole is the same diameter as the gears' shoulder which only sits about 1mm into the hole. The remainder of the gears' shaft is smaller as if there where a missing bushing. There is also a small hole in the gears' shaft that aligns with a hole through the the outside of the casting. This is blocked when the casting is mounted on the blind.

There is nothing present to keep the large metal gear from raising 1 or more mm up and becoming unseated as it has 2 or more mm vertical play with the casting cover installed. I've remedied this with copper washers of the correct thickness to remove any play between upper gear shoulder and cover. If you look closely you may see where the hex end of the shaft and the rotating arm plate are buggered. The screw that holds these two pieces together was not tight. This was the only problem with my blinds' operation.

Also, the spring that resides under the gear provides tension to RAISE, not lower, the blind. The retraction of the blind is assisted by a spring in the roller itself and the weight and mechanics of the levers. I do not yet know why the blind makes the clicking noise at either end of it's run up or down. My own blind was doing this even though the blind was not even moving. There does not appear to be any switch that tells the motor to stop when either up or down. I'll find out when I reassemble and test.

BTW... The long thin carpeted blind cover slides easily out of the aluminum fixture. This means when hunting for a replacement blind one need not be concerned about interior color. There is also a small piece of fabric on the reverse side to prevent rubbing which is glued on to the fixture. Not easily seen however this could be simply dyed.

drew

Sheward,

Do you recall how much tension you added to the coil spring when you reassembled?

When I disassembled the gearbox the medium size gear came out spinning quit fast as I tapped it out upside down. Kind of like a spinning top.

 

[sheward]

I responded to the best of my memory in a pm, which I saw first. Short answer, not much tension. From memory, the way the spring fastened prohibits any real "winding". I had no trouble reassembling, unlike a small engine pull recoil.

The light tension may have just spun the gear without interference causing it to spin like a top when it popped out.

 

[sheward]

It just occurred to me it's likely the reason the coil spring was under pressure was that you removed the blind halfway up. When the blind is retracted the spring will have little to no pressure

 

[DarkStar]

I found replacement gears on eBay and it seems they are common to a BMW unit as well.

 

[maw1124]

I found replacement gears on eBay and it seems they are common to a BMW unit as well.

I bought those same gears, IIRC... but my guys advised against taking it apart, lest some NLA part break and not be able to replaced, etc., etc. So I still have the gears for later. Please keep us posted how the repair goes.

PS, when I bought them they were $40.

maw

 

[DarkStar]

I bought those same gears, IIRC... but my guys advised against taking it apart, lest some NLA part break and not be able to replaced, etc., etc. So I still have the gears for later. Please keep us posted how the repair goes.

PS, when I bought them they were $40.

maw

They’ve doubled and then some.

I will post my thoughts after I work through it. Definitely have some some tidbits I wish I’d known.