Zenshin
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2011
- Messages
- 9
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Bristol, UK
- Your Mercedes
- 2004 E270 CDI Estate
Hi,
This is my first post, so I apologise if anything goes wrong :Oops: (or if I go into too much detail)
4 weeks ago I purchased my 2004 E Class 270 CDI, which is a dream to drive, and pretty much since I've had it, I've had the same recurring problem...every now and again (typically in the middle of the night) the alarm goes off.
Now, I've narrowed it down to the tail gate being the culprit, as I've also had a number of occasions where I'm happily driving along, and all of a sudden the warning "Tailgate open" appears, I stop get out, open and close it, and on some occasions it happens again 200 yards down the road. Also, the first time the alarm went the rear cover had risen as if the tail gate was open.
Today I went to see a local specialist, who informed me that the problem, in his opinion, was that the "soft close" wasn't engaging, and he was right, each time the boot slammed shut with a fairly solid thump, which I thought was normal, I didn't even know it had "soft close", but whether you used the button on the tailgate, or the mark 1 human arm to close it, sure enough it thumps shut. However, he couldn't with the time available outright diagnose the exact cause/solution.
Having read a number of threads on this, I tried using the button on the tail gate, and just before it closed, added slight resistance, and after 4 or 5 attempts, sure enough the tailgate slowed, and was pulled closed, amidst whirring noises finishing with a satisfying clunk, as opposed to a thump.
After all this, my question is, would this be a sensor failure, not telling the motor to slow, or is the speed that the tailgate closes too fast, not giving the "soft close" a chance to engage, if so, is there a solution, slowing the door manually (a bit hit or miss) seems to work, is there a method of slowing the tailgate operation mechanically/electronically????
Many thanks for any suggestions.
This is my first post, so I apologise if anything goes wrong :Oops: (or if I go into too much detail)
4 weeks ago I purchased my 2004 E Class 270 CDI, which is a dream to drive, and pretty much since I've had it, I've had the same recurring problem...every now and again (typically in the middle of the night) the alarm goes off.
Now, I've narrowed it down to the tail gate being the culprit, as I've also had a number of occasions where I'm happily driving along, and all of a sudden the warning "Tailgate open" appears, I stop get out, open and close it, and on some occasions it happens again 200 yards down the road. Also, the first time the alarm went the rear cover had risen as if the tail gate was open.
Today I went to see a local specialist, who informed me that the problem, in his opinion, was that the "soft close" wasn't engaging, and he was right, each time the boot slammed shut with a fairly solid thump, which I thought was normal, I didn't even know it had "soft close", but whether you used the button on the tailgate, or the mark 1 human arm to close it, sure enough it thumps shut. However, he couldn't with the time available outright diagnose the exact cause/solution.
Having read a number of threads on this, I tried using the button on the tail gate, and just before it closed, added slight resistance, and after 4 or 5 attempts, sure enough the tailgate slowed, and was pulled closed, amidst whirring noises finishing with a satisfying clunk, as opposed to a thump.
After all this, my question is, would this be a sensor failure, not telling the motor to slow, or is the speed that the tailgate closes too fast, not giving the "soft close" a chance to engage, if so, is there a solution, slowing the door manually (a bit hit or miss) seems to work, is there a method of slowing the tailgate operation mechanically/electronically????
Many thanks for any suggestions.
