Feature
Wiring & Function Diagrams & Descriptions
December 2016
This focused tour of the Wiring and
Function Diagrams, and Function
Descriptions found in STAR Wiring
and WIS will help you use this
resource more effectively.
Unless you’ve been hiding under
a rock, or you never see electrical
problems in your shop (ha!), you’re
already familiar with the electrical
wiring diagrams found on STAR
TekInfo and in WIS. What might still
be a mystery are those Function
Diagrams found in the same place,
which are just as important to a
solid electrical diagnosis as the
wiring diagrams. Today, we’ll show
you how these, along with the
Function Description documents in
WIS (the so-called GF documents)
can help you perform a focused and
professional electrical diagnosis.
Let’s start by taking a quick look at
wiring diagrams. As examples we’ll
use the ones found in STAR TekInfo,
but the diagrams in WIS are nearly
identical, the main difference being
the way we can navigate inside these
diagrams: In STAR TekInfo, we can
use the mouse to drag the diagram
to what we want to see, while in WIS
we have to use the scroll bars at the
edge of the window.
A wiring diagram is a two-dimensional
representation of the physical wiring.
We see the components and the
wires that connect them, along with
information about those wires and
connections. For example, we might
see a wire labeled as 0.75 GNBU,
which means it has a cross-section of
0.75 mm2 (about 18 AWG) and has
green insulation with a blue marking
stripe. Note that this doesn’t mean
it is 0.75 mm in diameter – in fact,
the copper wire is just over one mm
in diameter – it is the cross sectional
area of the wire.
This section of the wiring diagram for the ECO Start system in a new Metris van (Model type 447)
shows the auxiliary battery (G1/12) that powers the vehicle for the brief moment that the main
battery is running the starter. Relay K120 switches the auxiliary battery on-line for that instant.
Only a small part of the wiring diagram is shown here.
If we look closely at the connections
to a component (including a wiring
connector such as X220), we can
see that one side of the connection
is shown as a pin (usually on the
component side) and the other side
is shown as a socket. This tells you
whether the electrical contact is
male or female, helpful when you’re
not sure which side of a connector
you’re looking at. Of course, you can
also see the component designation
for each component (such as
N10/1), along with the connector
number (B3 on N10/1) and pin
number (Pin 47 on N10/1 for the
control signal to K120) for each
individual wire connection.
These symbols and features should
be familiar, but some newer features
in WIS and STAR Wiring are worth
mentioning. In WIS, if you have a
computer mouse with a wheel, you
can use the wheel to scroll up and
down in a document, zoom in or out
by moving the wheel while holding the
key, or scroll horizontally by
moving the wheel while holding the
key. This is especially handy in
wiring diagrams. Also in WIS, if you’re
not sure which Service Group contains
the wiring diagram for a particular
system, you can now search by Option
(SA) Code. So if you need the diagram
for PARKTRONIC (Code 220), you can
search by SA Code (one of the options
in “additional” Search Mode).
In STAR Wiring, you’ll find Signal
Flow arrows. These don’t show
the direction that current goes,
Wiriing & Function Diagrams & Descriptions
but the direction that the signal
goes. In other words, whether it
is an input or an output (or both!).
Additionally, you can now find the
General Function documents (we’ll
get to those in just a moment) on the
System Information tab. These same
documents can be found in WIS as
document type “GF.”
Back to our topic. We can clearly see
that the wiring diagram is showing
the physical wiring layout in the
vehicle. It doesn’t show how long
the wires are, or where they are
located (although STAR Finder shows
component locations), so it is not
a perfect physical representation
of the wiring, but it is close. If we
wanted to check a wire, we should
have little trouble finding each end
for testing.
Until the early 1990s, wiring
diagrams were all there was, and,
really, all we needed. But then
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Mercedes-Benz
StarTuned
came networking, where a single
wire could carry a multitude of
information, with the technician
having no way to see or measure
what exactly was on that wire. Oh
sure, we can measure the voltage
The use of data networks such as CAN Bus in vehicles has definitely simplified wiring and reduced
weight, but it made diagnosis using only a wiring diagram nearly impossible. This shows the CAN
networking used in the new Metris van, a relatively simple vehicle. To understand how a signal
gets from here to there, you need to use the Function Diagrams found right next to the wiring
diagrams in STAR Wiring and WIS.
to see if the CAN Bus is working
normally, but without some kind of
specialized test equipment, we could
not, for example, tell what outside
temperature value the A/C module
was getting off the CAN Bus. Indeed,
we couldn’t even know where the
outside temperature signal was
coming from.
After Mercedes-Benz introduced the
CAN Bus for its products in the mid1990s, technicians quickly identified
the need to understand all the CAN
messages that were being sent
and received by the various control
modules. Mercedes-Benz responded
by introducing the so-called Function
Diagrams. Instead of a pure physical
layout, these diagrams show the
Diagram below: This Function Diagram shows
the components involved in the ECO Start
system in a Metris van and how the many signals
get from their origin to their destination. In this
age of networking, a wiring diagram cannot show
the information being delivered by the network.
This diagram shows exactly that.
signal flow between and among
components, particularly the signals
on the CAN Buses (and other
networks). If we want to understand
where a particular signal starts from,
or which signals are being received
off the CAN Bus, we can turn to the
electrical Function Diagram.
Taking this one step further, if we
want to understand what a system
is doing with these signals – in other
words, information on how a system
operates – we can then use the
Function Diagram together with the
General Function (“GF”) document.
In WIS, we need to search for the GF
document as a separate document
type, but in STAR Wiring there is a
direct link to this function description.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
A1/1
Vehicle speed, signal
Instrument cluster, message
Fuel pump, specified pressure
request
Fuel pressure, status
Starter circuit 50 relay, actuation
Starter, actuation
Electronic Stability Program
(ESP) control unit, status
Wheel speed, signal
Coolant temperature sensor,
signal
Engine start, request
Engine stop enable, status
Crash, signal
Fuel temperature, signal
Circuit 30, status
ECO start/stop function button,
status
Engine stop prohibited, request
Braking torque, signal
Door rotary tumbler switch,
status
Accelerator pedal module, signal
Engine speed, signal
Fuel pump with fill level sensor,
actuation
Seat belt buckle restraint system
switch, status
Engine running, signal
Automatic air conditioning (AAC)
control and operating unit, status
Engine hood contact switch,
status
Circuit 87, status
Gear range, request
Gear range, status
Instrument cluster (KI) control
unit
A8/1 Transmitter key
B11/21 Coolant temperature sensor
B37/4 Accelerator pedal module
B4/21 Fuel tank pressure and
temperature sensor
B70/2 Crankshaft Hall sensor
We already know about wiring
diagrams, so let’s take a closer look at
a Function Diagram. For this example,
we’ll use the ECO Start function from
the new Metris mid-size van, chassis
type 447, and follow two signals from
their origin to their destination.
The first signal is the coolant
temperature sensor, B11/21. Looking
at the far left of the diagram, we see
that B11/21 sends Signal #9 (Coolant
temperature sensor, signal) on a
directly-connected wire to the ME-SFI
control unit (N3/34). We could also
have seen this on the wiring diagram
for N3/34, which would include
physical details such as the wire size,
color, and the specific connector and
pin numbers, but would not tell us
CAN B
CAN C
CAN E
Interior CAN
Drive train CAN
Chassis CAN
Code, EZ7
Code, FZ5
Code, G42
Code, HH4
Active Parking Assist
ATA I, anti-theft alarm system
7G-TRONIC PLUS automatic transmission
THERMOTRONIC automatic air
conditioning
Code,HH9 TEMPMATIC semi-automatic air
confditioning
Code ZU7 Canada version
Code ZU8 USA version
G1
On-board electrical system battery
K40/10
Engine compartment fuse and relay
module
K40/10kM Starter circuit 50 relay
K40/10kN Circuit 87M relay
L6/1
Left front rpm sensor
L6/2
L6/3
L6/4
Right front rpm sensor
Left rear rpm sensor
Right rear rpm sensor
LIN B15
M1
M3/6
Battery sensor LIN
Starter
Fuel pump with fill level sensor
N10/1
SAM control unit
N118
N15/11
Fuel system control unit (FSCU)
Fully integrated transmission control
(VGS) electric controller unit
N2/ 18
Supplemental restraint system (SRS)
control unit
N3/ 34
ME-SFI [ME] control unit
N30/ 4
Electronic Stability Program (ESP) control
unit
N69/ 3
Left front door control unit
N72/ 1
Upper control panel (UCP [OBF]) control
unit
N72/ 1s5 ECO start/stop function button
N73
Electronic ignition lock (EZS) control unit
S62/ 41 Engine hood switch
S98
Air conditioning control and operating
unit
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Wiriing & Function Diagrams & Descriptions
This “bi-stable” relay is used to switch off power to some consumers when the vehicle is parked
to help reduce parasitic battery current draw. A momentary pulse to the coil switches the relay
from on to off and vice-versa without drawing any current continuously. At left, the contacts are
open, and at right they are closed. You’d never have known this relay existed if you didn’t look
at the General Function (GF) document that describes the energy management system, just one
simple example of the value of this information.
what the signal was. Of course, in this
case the signal is obvious (the coolant
temperature!), but the point is that the
wiring diagram does not tell us that.
The second signal is from the engine
hood switch, S62/41. If we look at
the far right of the diagram, we see
that S62/41 sends signal #25 (Engine
hood contact switch, status) on a
directly-connected wire to the SAM
control unit (N10/1). If we look just to
the left of N10/1, we see Signal #25
is sent over CAN B (the Interior CAN)
to N73 (Electronic Ignition Switch).
N73 then sends Signal #25 over CAN
E to N3/34. If we look closely at the
function diagram, we cannot find Signal
#25 anywhere else, so we can be
certain that no other control unit also
receives Signal #25 for this particular
vehicle function. From experience (and
from the hint “Code FZ5” at S62/41),
we can tell you that the hood switch
signal is also used by the anti-theft
alarm, but since ATA has nothing to do
with ECO Start, that information is not
shown on this diagram.
As a side note: Thin lines on a
function diagram show a direct
wired connection, while the wide
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Mercedes-Benz
StarTuned
“Bus” lines show signals carried
over the CAN Bus. Dashed boxes tell
us that the information only relates
to vehicles with the option code or
codes shown. And, as we saw, the
numbers in circles are signals, and
we can see where these signals go
by following the numbers. These
signals sometimes go to more
than one place: Signal 23 (Engine
running, signal) is sent by the MESFI control unit (N3/34) to both
N118 (Fuel system, control unit) and
N15/11 (Transmission control unit).
Sometimes it takes a sharp eye to find
all these, but the information is there
for those who look.
Getting back to the basic idea for
these: If we were trying to diagnose a
problem with the ECO Start system,
no matter how hard we looked at
the wiring diagram for the ME-SFI
control unit, we’d never figure out
that the engine hood switch was
being considered in the operation
of this system. It would be just as
hard to figure out exactly how the
engine control unit was even getting
that information. But a quick look at
the function diagram, and Viola!, the
mystery is solved in plain sight.
The ECO Start system is found in nearly
every new model. Seeing the symbol
(the “A” with the arrow around it) in
the instrument cluster display or on
a switch on the dash should alert you
that the system is installed. If you read
through the GF document carefully, you’ll
find that you should take extra safety
precautions to ensure the engine doesn’t
start by itself while you’re working on it.
So now we can see just how the
signals needed by the ECO Start
system get around, and we have an
almost fighting chance to understand
how the system works: If we start
with Signal #1 and work our way
down the list, we (almost) have
a bunch of clues as to what the
system is looking at to decide if the
engine can be shut down or not.
For example, we can see that the
A/C system (S98) has something
to do with it, as does the left front
door control unit (N69/3) and the
SRS control unit (N2/18). But what,
exactly, are these signals used for in
ECO Start?
From our knowledge of professional
diagnosis, we know that in order
to diagnose all but the simplest
of problems, we need two things:
one is an accurate idea of the
symptoms, and the other a thorough
understanding of the system and
how it is supposed to operate
— exactly how it does what it is
supposed to do (its Function). We
get the symptoms from customers
(why would they be in your shop
otherwise?) and from our own
attempts to duplicate the complaint,
while using our knowledge of how
December 2016
there must not be any Crash Signal
received from the SRS control unit.
This General Function document explains in detail how the system does what it does. See the
text for details on how this document, when combined with the Function diagram, can help you
better understand the system so you can perform a more professional diagnosis.
Even the best of the best can’t
remember everything. But all you
need to remember is how to find the
General Function document in WIS
or STAR Wiring, and you have all the
details right there in writing. If you use
this document, along with the function
diagram and the wiring diagram,
and spend a few minutes studying
the system, you will have all the
information you need to thoroughly
understand its function in great detail.
The new Mobile TekInfo website is ready for
you and your smartphone or tablet. Access to
bulletins, WebETM, manuals, WIS and much
more are available on most any mobile device.
Log in with your regular STAR TekInfo user ID
and password.
the system is supposed to operate
(gleaned from the operator’s
manual). But understanding how
the system functions is a little
more complicated. Even if training
is available, who could possibly
remember the tiny, intricate details
of how each system functions in
every car ever made since forever?
We’ve reprinted a portion of the
General Function document GF07.10S-1042TRC, which describes part of
the ECO Start function as it applies to
the M274 engine installed in USAversion Metris vans. Here, we can
see that the engine is switched off
by the ME-SFI control unit if all of the
listed function requirements are met.
One of these requirements is that
the coolant temperature is between
60 and 115 degrees Celsius, and
another is that the hood is closed.
Looking closer, we can also see
that the interior temperature must
be in regulating phase – the A/C or
heat has the temperature at or near
where it’s supposed to be – and that
As you’ll remember, we saw all four
of those signals – engine coolant,
hood switch, A/C unit, and SRS unit
– on the function diagram, but didn’t
have any real information on what,
exactly, they had to do with ECO
Start. Now, using the GF document,
together with the function diagram,
we know what they do, and can
consider what might happen (what
symptoms we might see) if these
were not working properly.
Which is the whole point: We want
to fix the customer’s car (or van) as
quickly as possible, and we want
to be certain that we really fixed
the problem. This makes for happy
customers, and we all know that
happy customers come back when
they need us again. So if we make
the investment in Mercedes-Benz
information systems, we know we’re
able to get the detailed information
we need to really understand
the system’s function, make a
professional diagnosis, and perform
a permanent repair. For sure, we
can get wiring diagrams from other
sources, but Function Diagrams
and General Function documents,
especially from The Source, can
prove more valuable than we realize.
Mercedes-Benz USA offers this
information, which is exactly the
same as what Authorized MercedesBenz Dealers get, to independent
workshops like yours because the
company recognizes that your
customers are also its customers.
No matter who services the vehicles,
every Mercedes-Benz customer
deserves only the very best, and, with
the right tools, parts and information,
you can deliver on that promise. |
December 2016
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