R230 sl500 soft close boot issue

H24k

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Hi guys, I had a problem with my central locking not working which ended up being the motor had failed in the PSE pump so had that replaced and now central locking is fine, however the soft close feature on the boot doesnt work!

I read some posts about this being a common issue with the little pipes that house the ball bearings cracking and leaking air, so I followed instructions and took my lock apart and sealed the pipes with epoxy, however i can still hear the same air sound when i press the lock mechanism to the first click and it still doesnt work!

Just wondering if anyone had any idea what else it could be?
 

alexanderfoti

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There must be another leak if you can hear air hissing. Try blowing smoke up the pipe from the pse pump end and see where it leaks from.
 
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H24k

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Thanks for the reply, do you know which pipe it is, should i disconnect it from the pse pump?

Thanks
 

alexanderfoti

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Ill have a look when I get a chance.
 
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H24k

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After looking at the mechanism again today, i can hear the sound of the air but not sure if there is a leak or its just the normal sound you would get when the latch is clicked to the first position! but it defo doesnt close the boot, and I was wondering if theres anything else that would stop it working as i heard something about the actuator in that pulls it getting stuck and needing to be reset?
 

LostKiwi

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Disconnect the pipe and blow/suck through the pipe. It should be sealed.
I don't hear anything air from ours when I unlock/lock/close it.
 

SRE

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Same here... All I hear is the creak of the boot lid pulling down tight on the rubber seal.
 
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H24k

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Same here... All I hear is the creak of the boot lid pulling down tight on the rubber seal.

So you shouldnt hear any air sound from the actual lock mechanism? If thats the case then there defo must be an air leak somewhere, I will look at it again tomorrow or Thursday, Problem is this nasty weather but i think Thursday is meant to be bright with no rain, even though still freezing!! lol
 

SRE

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I would definitely check for an air leak although I must admit to wanting to hibernate right now!
 

c270 cdi

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Hi, sorry to jump in on this one but was your PSE pump replaced or did you have it repaired?
I had mine reconditioned buy a guy that advertises on eBay and he did a great job on it (complete rebuild with new motor etc) and it all works fine now. Except for the boot soft close - he explained to me that in order to protect the motor from premature failure which these pumps are prone to he dropped the voltage (or something like that) on it, the result being that everything will work fine apart from the soft close - I'm ok with this, for all the pain a knackered pump was causing me I'm happy to shut the boot lid myself!.
There are probably some guys on here who are a bit sceptical of having the pump rebuilt but it cost me less than £450 all in (delivered and returned) and he guarantees his repairs for 6 months, and having spoken to him at length I'm very confident he knows what he's talking about - he even put my repaired pump on his own SL to make sure it was all working correctly before posting it back up to me.
 

ajlsl600

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Same here... All I hear is the creak of the boot lid pulling down tight on the rubber seal.

same as that....
 

peterws1957

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Hi guys, I had a problem with my central locking not working which ended up being the motor had failed in the PSE pump so had that replaced and now central locking is fine, however the soft close feature on the boot doesnt work!

I read some posts about this being a common issue with the little pipes that house the ball bearings cracking and leaking air, so I followed instructions and took my lock apart and sealed the pipes with epoxy, however i can still hear the same air sound when i press the lock mechanism to the first click and it still doesnt work!

Just wondering if anyone had any idea what else it could be?
Sounds like you still have a leak if you can hear air escaping from the lock. There are 6 of those small ball bearings to seal - did you get them all? With the lock connected but out of the boot lid try spraying lightly with a mixture of water and soap you should get bubbles appearing where the leak is. You may have found it already but there is a very detailed thread on MB World under the SL section showing you where to glue. Once sealed sometimes you have to disconnect the rear battery to reset the E fuse which disconnects to protect the pse pump when air leaks from the soft close mechanism. Might also be worth checking the fuse for the soft close (I think no. 70 in the fuse box behind the drivers seat). It's rated 20 amps but apparently the circuit can draw more than this and some owners have uprated to 25.
 

burystedmunds

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My PSA pump packed in on my SL500 2002, losing hood opening and all central locking. Apparently this is a common problem as the pump can suck in damp air from the boot which corrodes the internal parts. The replacement cost was going to be of the order of £700 from MB. I sent it to the chap advertising on EBay

  • Mercedes R230 SL PSE Central Locking Pump Repair Service

He did an excellent job for less that half the price of a replacement pump and he also fixed a battery drain problem with the pump. Ive had it back in the car now for a few months with no problems. Highly recommended. ps I have no interest in this except to help other members keep their cars running without breaking the bank.
 

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