R230 Roof problem.......

00slk

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...As the pictures shows, stuck in this position :(
Works fine until the load cover has been retracted and brought forward and clipped back into place, then the roof stays in this position. After 15 minutes works again fine until load cover is moved.
Code indicated a past flat battery for longer than .8 seconds, once the code was cleared everything seems to work fine.
The electrician seems to think it could have been the fault memory causing the problem :)
Suspect a faulty micro switch?? Or now fixed?

While he was here I got him to fix the power socket for the 12v charger in the ash tray on the 55 as it stopped working 9 months ago, all fixed :cool:


DSC03027 (Small).JPG
 

Mike350

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Hi 00SLK

I've just bought a 2004 350 SL - my first Merc, and have had a similar issue:

The roof would not open/central locking, seats etc, until I'd travelled for about 30 mins, then all worked well.

Saw an independent specialist who advised that the aux battery was inadequate being a standard one, replaced it with an AGM heavy duty deep cycling batt, and plugged it into a CTech battery conditioner every night, since when it's worked perfectly.

Apparently if the on board system detects a voltage drop to below 70%, this happens. So check your aux batt, and keep it topped up, especially if you're like most of us SL owners you only use the car occasionally, the complex electronics could be causing a drain on the batt, even though all is switched off.

Hope this helps

Mike
 

LostKiwi

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Hi 00SLK

I've just bought a 2004 350 SL - my first Merc, and have had a similar issue:

The roof would not open/central locking, seats etc, until I'd travelled for about 30 mins, then all worked well.

Saw an independent specialist who advised that the aux battery was inadequate being a standard one, replaced it with an AGM heavy duty deep cycling batt, and plugged it into a CTech battery conditioner every night, since when it's worked perfectly.

Apparently if the on board system detects a voltage drop to below 70%, this happens. So check your aux batt, and keep it topped up, especially if you're like most of us SL owners you only use the car occasionally, the complex electronics could be causing a drain on the batt, even though all is switched off.

Hope this helps

Mike
Different problem. Peters starts to operate then fails to complete. If the battery is low it will refuse to start putting the roof down until the consumers offline message goes away.
From the sounds of Peters issue the switch for the divider is a bit dicky. A good blast with contact cleaner may fix it.
 
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00slk

00slk

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Cheers guys, yes it looks like the micro switch in the boot load cover could be dickey, however it has been working fine since the memory clear :cool: but many thanks for your suggestion If it does it again I will get a new switch.
It was only the raise in boot assist function that was the problem, otherwise the roof worked okay.

Mike, we use our cars as everyday cars, can't afford runabouts :D But thanks for your suggestion

Peter
 

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Cheers guys, yes it looks like the micro switch in the boot load cover could be dickey, however it has been working fine since the memory clear :cool: but many thanks for your suggestion If it does it again I will get a new switch.
It was only the raise in boot assist function that was the problem, otherwise the roof worked okay.

Mike, we use our cars as everyday cars, can't afford runabouts :D But thanks for your suggestion

Peter

I assume you always run the engine when operating the roof?
At the handover for my SL500s the salesman always reminded me of that.
 
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00slk

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I assume you always run the engine when operating the roof?
At the handover for my SL500s the salesman always reminded me of that.

Never really take much notice of operating the roof with the car running, but thinking about it, sometimes it is running other times its only with the ignition on. When the electrician came we only operated it with the ignition on, did this many times and it always sat back in the boot, he even tried confusing it by manually pressing the micro switch. It knew it was trying to be tricked and would quickly stop. However it hasn't had this problem since. But if it does it again we'll fit a new switch ;)
 

star

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Looks like you have operated the load opening and the tried to close it but the boot lid is not fully up. It can drop a fraction, so the limit switch isn’t operated, then the roof will not retract from the load open position.
 
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00slk

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Yes that's exactly what was happening, though it hasn't done it since clearing the codes star. It is funny you should mention that, when wife was having trouble at supermarket carpark a gentleman came to her aid and did something to the boot lid and it worked, though she wasn't sure what he did as she was on the phone to me with her wows
He could well have lifted it slightly
 

star

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Get some new boot struts.
 
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Get some new boot struts.

Thanks star :shock::shock::shock::shock: They were new.....nearly 3 years ago :D......Hmmm aftermarket parts!!!!!!:oops:
I'll check who manufactured them when the wife gets home ;)
 
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The boot struts are genuine Mercedes, thinking about it it was the SLK ones we replaced.
However the saga continues, it done it again, wait 15 minutes and it sorts itself. Yesterday it happened with me, not good!
15 minutes again and it worked. It's only when you touch the load cover we get this, anyway got home and called the electrician, in the mean time I raised the roof out of the boot, this time it raised but that was it, it would play ball after this and would not lower. My son and I removed the micro sensor for the load cover, worked out how it works, then he took a look at the pin on the load cover and discovered the pin was very worn flat, so much so that when the cover was back in place the micro switch sensor clicked back to tell the system that the load cover wasn't in place. It was very hit and miss.

DSC03068 (Small).JPG

So he undid the screw holding this in place and spun the pin 180 degrees so that a fuller part was touching the sensor more.
It's working again, though having a close look at the pins it looks like they have had this problem before as the pin is worn flat on more than not. We are now guessing that this could have been the issue we were having. Fingers crossed.
 

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Sounds like you've found the issue.
 
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Well kind off Alistair, just got back from the auto electrician and it does point now to the boot separator micro switch. He took it apart and it is corroded, cleaned everything up as best as he could, things are working again, so he said see how you go.
If it does it again, I'll get a new switch.
The reason now that we think it is the switch is that while I was there the roof stopped working altogether :rolleyes: The only thing that would cause this would be the boot separator switch and as I said the switch showed corrosion.
Lets see how it pans out...............
 

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As a further precaution, if you’re able to garage your car, always leave it unlocked in the garage, obviously locking the garage, in that way none of the security systems are running and draining the battery

Mike
 
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As a further precaution, if you’re able to garage your car, always leave it unlocked in the garage, obviously locking the garage, in that way none of the security systems are running and draining the battery

Mike

Thanks Mike, yes it is garaged and funny you should mention keeping unlocked, my wife tends to leave it unlocked unlike who tends lock it :rolleyes:
My 55 self locks after about 15 minutes or so :( We never ever leave the keys in the ignition for this reason, got caught out when I had the Bentley, self locked and the keys were in the ignition on a forecourt! AA to the rescue :oops:
 

Mike350

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My 350SL auto locked after a few mins. I stopped it doing that by pressing the central reset button twixt the speedo and rev counter and restored to factory settings, which has stopped it happening. Hope that helps
 
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My 350SL auto locked after a few mins. I stopped it doing that by pressing the central reset button twixt the speedo and rev counter and restored to factory settings, which has stopped it happening. Hope that helps

:D:D Great mines think alike Mike, I just only this afternoon played with the factory setting and changed some of the setting. :cool:
 

Nile Griffith

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Hi there!

Have been having a somewhat "questionable" relationship with my SL's vary roof for a while now. Initial forays into it's occasionally haphazard operating lead me to replacing the rear accessory battery. Initially all seemed fine, but then last weekend whilst doing a little supermarket shopping. I was cursed with the problem shown in the photograph at the start of this thread. Roof down, load assist up and pressing the load assist button would not return the packed roof to it's normal loaded position and allow the boot lid to be shut.............. bugger. At first I was wondering if it was the accessory battery again and if it had insufficient charge to run the roof system, but after the assistance of Tesco's trolley guy and a set of jump leads, it was obvious that that the problem wasn't down to the accessory battery.

It would require a very long winded description of how, but I discovered by turning the ignition on and off and starting the car. I could get the roof panels to drop back into the boot by about a quarter of an inch each time. The issue was that this trick required a three minute wait to do the next ignition/press/drop.

In the end and some time later. I managed to get the roof panels back into the boot compartment enough for the boot lid to close and that I could safely make the drive home (albeit with my now defrosted shopping). At home I hit the next disaster. I couldn't raise the roof back to it's closed position. It was obvious that the roof panels had not returned to their fully lowered point and therefore whatever switches and relays need to be in operation......... weren't!! To annoy me further, my trick to lower the roof panels a smidge at a time, no longer seemed to work....... Thank God for the fine weather.

Now it's important to mention that the load assist button at the rear of the boot was lit and the roof separator in place. With the button lit I at least knew a voltage was getting to it, although this doesn't necessarily guarantee correct operation I know. What I had also done, was remove the cover from the floor of the boot so that I could see the PSE pump, which like earlier could be heard whining when the car was started. Out of frustration I had pressed the load assist button again, but this time I caught sound of a "Fizz". Pressed the load assist button again and that same tell tale electrical fizz repeated informing my old ears that something was up. At the end of the PSE pump closest to the rear of the car is a small black relay. A finger lightly placed on the relay casing while at the same time pressing the load assist button, informed me that this was the errant little f@cker that was giving me all the grief. The relay is a very simple one, just a single pole circuit. Unplugging the relay and then plugging it back in gave me back control of the roof panels from the load assist button (it was likely that removing the relay completely de-energised the coil). I could happily raise and lower them four or five times with no issues.

My assessment was that I have a tired relay. An energiser coil that under certain circumstances decides that it won't operate correctly or sticks (I was happy that before removing the relay it was properly inserted into it's socket), or maybe dirty or corroded contact within the relay itself.

A quick visit to my local dealers at Worcester and the loss of twelve quid saw me replace the relay. The load assist operation is noticeably more....... on the button..... pardon the pun. In the past it always felt that the button itself seemed to need to much of a press for things to kick into life. Now it's just a gentle touch and everything works as it should.

It also has to be said that roof operation has been faultless all week....... and I've been using it a lot. Though you see, just because I've said that it will probably all go wrong again.

Hope this helps someone out.

Nile
 
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Thanks for your report, there seems to be many reasons why we get these sometimes intermittent issues with electrics and quite often it is something small like a sensor or relay, mine was the micro switch on the load cover which caused our problem, it worked fine after the electrician pulled the switch apart and cleaned the contacts I'm pleased to say, so cheap fix for me......Zero money :D
 

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