Originally Posted by
yellowhammer
After replacing 2 bad relays (air pump, fuel pump) in my RCM works great now, I bought a brand new Mercedes OEM RCM as a spare. The new RCM had a manufacture date of 4/2015 so I opened up the new one and it had the same bad 3 solder joints. Repaired the new RCM and use it as a spare. The new RCM that I bought did not have upgraded solder joints. I wonder if the bad solder joints cause relays to over heat and fail, going to see how long the Repaired RCM lasts with the 3 bad solder joints repaired.
Excellent point. I was thinking the same thing. If the bad solder joints caused the relays to open and close at a much higher than expected frequency and created more heat, then maybe that caused premature failure of individual relays. If the solder joints are robust at initial installation, then maybe the relays, and thus the RCM, would last indefinitely, which would be great news!
I am assuming your new RCM is manufactured by Stribel? Does anyone know if any other manufacturers actually produce a comparable part? I've never seen a stock photo or physical specimen that was not Stribel. You'd think that at some point they would correct their product defect. But then again, since it's no longer used by the OEM, they get to keep a steady revenue stream. Realistically, there should be/have been an outright safety recall on these RCMs.