Sl500 ABC fault plus central locking fault!!!

John Laidlaw

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^ glad you're sorted...
The moral and essential part of this story is you've found a new best friend in your Indy- priceless!
ABC 'can' be worked on DIY style but you really need to know what you're doing and IMO it's not worth it because boy when it goes wrong it goes wrong...kaching!
Ok letting that pass the SL500 is a great and rewarding machine when it's all going well, not much to touch it as a super cruiser, so now enjoy - in this weather they are unbeatable
Oh and which Indy did you settle with? Not much knowledge in your location so always good to hear personal experience
 
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Craiglxviii

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As John, great result and very glad to hear it! Now we want pics and tales of wafty enjoyment...
 

Mic

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Just as an aside to these later Posts it should be stressed that the car needs to be on perfectly level ground for all four measurements to be equal (the car will self level). I would also suggest that the better measurement is from the centre of the wheel centre cap, rather than the ground, to the TDC of the wheel arch. This eliminates possible additional variables such as tyre pressures and an imperfect ground.
Good result though.

Mic
 

John Laidlaw

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Good point. Even tyre wear. Even the method above can be variable due to panel fit though I guess?
I'm probably being pedantic now! In an ideal world a level workshop floor with equal tyre pressures would be best.
 
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Craiglxviii

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Good point. Even tyre wear. Even the method above can be variable due to panel fit though I guess?
I'm probably being pedantic now! In an ideal world a level workshop floor with equal tyre pressures would be best.

Don't forget you're measuring wheel arch clearance rather than absolute strut position... in an ideal world every panel would be at 0.00mm +/- in XYZ... ;)
 

John Laidlaw

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Don't forget you're measuring wheel arch clearance rather than absolute strut position... in an ideal world every panel would be at 0.00mm +/- in XYZ... ;)
Yip but....this is Mercedes world not Sunderland Craig ;)....(where I suspect the panels may be close to that tolerance)
 

PHUNN

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ABC.?... OK :I think. There is zero prospect of me 'taking up the tools' on the topic. To coin a phrase, I stopped all that when engines became 'pointless'. Loti, Elan and Seven and maybe a late Mini, convinced me that it was better that I should restrict myself to driving, doing the necessary checks and writing the necessary cheques...
On the ABC matter, this is, after all, my first experience with a car that levitates! I suppose I should tear myself away from enjoying the driving experience and read some more of the manual, particularly the section about the buttons abaft the gear shift (how about that for mixing Cornish nauticese and Yank terminology).
The small voice which whispers 'if it ain't broke...' increased volume to a scream when I (in experimental mode) hit the ABC button and later alighted from the car to find that it had re-donned the stilts! So for now the ABC button remains unpressed and unlit, and the car rides at a height which is all right by me!
The tape measure has therefore stayed indoors for now, because actually driving the car (sedately, as befits my newly designated 'senior member' status) feels pretty well the same (and fine) whatever the ride height. Measuring from the hub sounds like good idea. Is it just a case of subtracting the radius of the wheel (plus the thickness of the tyre) from 70 cm to arrive at what that distance should be?
I have now invested in some new (blue) wheel centre badges to replace those faded, plastic, peeling items which came with the car. Well, 'invested' may be a bit pretentious, particularly as I actually paid about six quid on eBay for some more of the same. Anyway, whenever I get out of the car and find the badges are still there it comes as a small and gratifying surprise.
By the way, where does all that ABC fluid go (having left the struts) when the car sits lower? Are there, perhaps, two reservoirs?
The 'dip stick' (next to the power steering fluid reservoir) indicates a happy state of affairs but my curiosity was aroused.
The 'Indy' who worked the 'Star' for me was SK Automotive Ltd. Swansea SA6 8PZ. An unusual setup but I experienced sterling service.
I have mentioned elsewhere on our forum that during the ABC fixing process the Indy discovered a fault which turned up again when the car received a Sat Nav (and firmware) update at the Merc dealership (which was also user friendly).
The latter gave me, on request, a copy of their, 'Diagnosis Assistance Printout' showing, amongst all the gratefully received ticks, a 'Fault in CAN communication with control unit XALWA-R'. They told me this is the headlamps not speaking politely to one another. Any thoughts on the matter dear reader?
I also confess to incompetence regarding navigation of our esteemed members' forum because I had not realised there had been more (and, as usual, useful) comment on this topic/area.
So in the delayed response time, 'pics and tales of wafty enjoyment' have taken a backwards step along with the weather out here in the Wild West.
Is there perhaps an efficient way to set up a 'prompting' email 'nudge' process that I could use to tell me there was updated comment on a topic of interest?
 
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