BAS ESP ABS Brake pad wear indicator lights on + various other problems :|

punittailor

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Below is a copy from all my posts on another forum regarding my problem
Car with the problem:
2003 Black Mercedes A170 CDI Elegance Auto

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hi,

The BAS ESP, ABS and brake pad wear light turned on.
The car only drives in first gear.

car was "repaired" by a recovery service, they reset the errors.
But the car has developed the fault again.

been on star machine - merc specialist garage said needs new abs control module - fitted it - did not work. now they can not find out what is wrong. i think by the recovery service resetting errors it has caused another fault or tricked the car.

the merc specialists are not struggling to find out what is wrong, they said they have 3 cars with similar problems. please can someone suggest what is wrong. i really need help

Everything else seems normal.

Thank You
Please let me know. Any help would be appreciated.

Kind Regards

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I have a new update on this matter, car was taken to another merc specialist they deleted some errors but need to look into it more. 1 hour check = about 7 errors - this is weird as the car drove totally normally before the lights came on. They say there is MORE errors? as above this does not make any sense! - can this serious happen to a car with such low mileage for a diesel?

they will be looking at the car on 30th september. the car was driven locally today.

After driving for about 5 mins suddenly ALL THE EMERGENCY LIGHTS ON THE DASH FLASHED TWICE,

adding to that once most turned off the HAND BRAKE LIGHT STAYED ON when the cars hand brake was down/off.

ALSO after that the speedo mph reading went to 0 - even though i was obviously doing approx 20mph.

once i got home i turned the car on and off. then it returned back to only one error (BAS ESP) the speedo went back to normal (proper readings).

I Think the cars computer is faulty/needs replacing or reinstalling all data, what do you guys think?

please help,

i think this problem is very rare. I seriously think the problem is with the car computer and it does not have 7+ error faults.

I need serious help people, car has now been off the road for 1 month

thank you for your responses!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

hi the car is still not fixed

Today another merc specialist garage tried another ESP Control Module (slightly different number i was told - but they said should work)

Should the module be exactly the same. and i have done some research and found similar cars with the ESP Control Module fault who have experienced most things i have done (said in an above message).

please help as now it is coming upto 2 months since this error occured! :/

thank you for your support.


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Thank you for taking you time to read this
 
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Frontstep

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Faults sound very random to me has the basics been addressed such as mucky connectors, earths and shorts.
 
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punittailor

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i do not know, i would think so. As the car has been to 2 mercedes specialists so far.
the 1st thought it was the ABS control module (which it was not)
the car is currently at the 2nd merc specialist who have tried to fit an ESP control module but have had not luck so far, but will be continuing to try tomorrow.

As above - this issue is on another forum. One user on that other forum (MBClub) has said:

"I have had this fault in my workshop recently.

The car needed 3 new wheel speed sensors and the plug to the ESP control unit needed new pins in the plug."

What do you guys think?

thanks
 

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First what is the car please,, if the ABS,ESP and BAS lamps are on then there is a fault with a wheel sensor, as the car sticks in 1st gear, this should be a front wheel with the speed sensor, the gearbox is locked into 1st or second gear as it does not know what to do without a speed signal.

The ESP and BAS run within the ABS, no ABS and these systems cannot work
 

Alex Crow

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we would love to help, you are in the best place for advice on this one, but we need those fault codes.

also i for one am not clairvoyant - what car is it!!!
if it is a c-class w203 my first guess is front sam unit has had water in it, but please give us the above details to make a start.

also, where are you based? i suspect a third opinion would help, i know several not-so-special mercedes specialists...
 
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punittailor

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deeply sorry totally forgot to provide car details

its a 2003 Black Mercedes A170 CDI Elegance Auto 55,000 miles

I am in Bradford West Yorkshire

thank you
 
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Alex Crow

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thanks for that. have you any idea about fault codes at all? they really will help point us in the right direction.

no, the car will not suddenly manifest 7x seperate faults. in all probability all the problems are linked to one thing, could even be a dodgy relay or ignition switch believe it or not.

who do we recommend in the bradford area people?
 
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punittailor

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hi, thank you alex. Sorry i do not know the fault codes. but i was told a lot of fault codes came up. I will inform them regarding your opinions.

The car is currently at Merc Care Pudsey (Leeds). They seem to have a very good customer service, but i'm not too sure on how good they are at diagnosing problems.

Is their any sort of single issue that can cause all the above to happen. It was very weird how once the hand brake light stayed on when it was off (this occured after all the dash board error lights flashed) it disappeared once the car was turned off and on. Do W168's have Sam Unit's?

Thanks
 

Alex Crow

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Is their any sort of single issue that can cause all the above to happen.

It was very weird how once the hand brake light stayed on when it was off (this occured after all the dash board error lights flashed) it disappeared once the car was turned off and on. Do W168's have Sam Unit's?

Thanks

yes, a couple of examples of possible single causes were listed in my previous post.

the w168 does not have sam units as such, but the tasks taken on by sam units on other cars are integrated into other modules on the w168, such as the instrument cluster. i am going from memory here (tech info is at work), but i believe the handbrake switch is wired direct to the cluster, this might suggest a problem with the cluster or its power supply/earth/can communication.

i can only give an idea here, seeing the car and plugging it in is needed, or a full fault code readout from a 'star quick test' at the very least.
 

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I can do a check in the morning re the SAMs if fitted, but they must have something
 

Alex Crow

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what is in a name? a rose by any other name would smell as sweet...

the w163 has no sam units, but does have the EAM and AAM doing the same things as sama.
the w210 has the PSE unit doing the job of a rear sam.
modules like the EIS, OCP, IC etc etc are in effect similar to sam units, just different names.
 

Frontstep

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Any history of previous work done on the car ?
 
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punittailor

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Hi, i have to told it is a problem with the Gearbox Control Module/Unit or Gearbox Selector Module. They said they can only fit a new one. which is £1000 + labour (total comes to £1,500) + it needs to be taken to the Mercedes main deals for coding (£99). Would it be possible to fit a 2nd hand unit? Please advise, really worried about the cost! :(

Thank You
 
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punittailor

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Any history of previous work done on the car ?

i just bought the car at 53,000 miles. only bought it a few months ago. It came with all past MOT's and some Mercedes benz service history. it seemed the be a nice straight car with good mileage.

Kind Regards
 
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punittailor

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i am considering taking the car backing and getting the car checked again by the mercedes main dealer (bradford) do you think this is a good idea?

The mercedes specialist (MercLand Leeds) which the car is at now said they are not 100% sure it is that - so they could be wrong if that scenario happened they will make us pay the £1000 for the part from mercedes (as they can not borrow the part from mercedes).

WHEREAS the mercedes main dealer can borrow the part, so if it was not that i would not have to pay the part price if it was not that.

I am considering this as i think they have no idea what they are doing, they said they are just working down the error list. The 1st option was the ESP Control Module, this was wrong now they are on the 2nd option - Gearbox Control Module (i am not sure how many more option they have)

thank you
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Frontstep

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Working through the error codes with replacement parts is a foolish and expensive way to find and fix a fault.
Are there any receipts for previous work.
 
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punittailor

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Thank You Frontstep, i take your advice on board. I have also noticed from searching forums that usually when a Gearbox Control Module or Gearbox Selector Module is at fault you usually see a "F" symbol on the dash where the gear selected should be (D,R,P,N).

Since this fault my car has had no symbol there. Does this reduce the likelihood of the GCM or GSM being at fault?

Thank You
 

Alex Crow

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hard to see how a grm can make the handbrake light come on...

i would love to help more, but cannot think what more to add to my previous comments - we have not got enough info for truly informed opinion.
 
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punittailor

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Finally i have agreed for a repair, this will be done on Tuesday 19th Oct. The Mercedes main dealer diagnosed the problem to be with the transmission control module. Which turned out to be expensive, but at the end of the day the car is no good just laying around not working. Cost of repair below

Total = £1220 + VAT

Part : £1000
Diagnostic check: £50
Labour + coding: £170

Was actually surprised at the prices of MB dealers. They seem to have lowered prices, and have price matched most specialists. OR it may just be my local dealer.

I would just like to thank all who helps with this problem.

:)
 

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