R230 weird noise - PSE pump??

lovemerc

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Hi all,

I suspect this is the usual PSE pump connected issue but here goes:

I left my car for 10 weeks whilst away on business. Several weeks before, I replaced the PSE which had burnt out. This rectified operation of the roof, soft closing boot and door locking etc. now I have got back the doors won't centrally lock, the boot doesn't self close (and can't open without the key) and when I try to open the Vario roof the dash says ''close boot separater'' which is already closed.
Now, when driving, a noise comes from the PSE area of the boot (I think) which sounds like a knocking or rolling of something... Bop bop bop... It's like as though there is an air lock. It doesn't happen when the car is stationary so cant put my hand on the exact area.

The pump looks dry as I covered it externally with a plastic bag in the boot on top before I went away.

Can anyone advise on what is causing these issues please?

Thanks,
Mark.
 
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television

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It would appear that the PSE pump has failed again, have you tried the 20 amp fuse
 
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lovemerc

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Thanks Malcolm.

Yes, the fuse had blown. When I replace it, several times now, the central locking locks, opens and when I try to lock again the fuse blows. It also fused on another occassion when I opened the boot, although it didn't self-close.

I have also been driving it without the fuse and that weird noise is continuing intermittently.

Also today, I have removed the pump (I presume this is a pump on top of the big black box / pse) and notice there seems to have been some leakage of fluid which was residing on top of the grey foam & black box below it. This pump on top, if thats what it is, has a resevoir which looks half full. Not sure if this helps or connected in anyway??
 
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lovemerc

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Would anyone know why there is this noise and also do you think the mesasge ''close boot seperator'' is connected to the PSE suspect?

It maybe the noise is a totally different problem...?

If the 20A fuse keeps blowing, would this point to a problem with the PSE?
 
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lovemerc

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UPDATE on PSE Problem

All - An Update.

After reading a number of replies on this fab site, and some replies from some excellent regular contributors, I decided to completely dry out the foams that encase the PSE unit. This was the last resort before I sourced a new one as my PSE seemed very dry - inside and out but the lower foam was soaking.

After a 24hr seat on my house radiator it was bone dry. I reassembled everything and now today everything is working without blowing the famous 20A fuse. (or blowing a huge hole in my pocket!)
(Perhaps just the ambient moisture was causing the PSE to short and blow the fuse... it also gave an opportunity for a night to dry out the PSE fully too.)

Hope this action helps this very annoying and historical issue for some of you and it fingers crossed for me over the next few days..

Thanks for all the help.
 

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You should raise the PSE pump by standing it on something that will not absorb water like plastic about 5-6mm thick, then in water that did get in would have less chance of being soaked up in the sponge... Please note that water can get through the C pillar and run down the wire to the pump
 

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All - An Update.

After reading a number of replies on this fab site, and some replies from some excellent regular contributors, I decided to completely dry out the foams that encase the PSE unit. This was the last resort before I sourced a new one as my PSE seemed very dry - inside and out but the lower foam was soaking.

After a 24hr seat on my house radiator it was bone dry. I reassembled everything and now today everything is working without blowing the famous 20A fuse. (or blowing a huge hole in my pocket!)
(Perhaps just the ambient moisture was causing the PSE to short and blow the fuse... it also gave an opportunity for a night to dry out the PSE fully too.)

Hope this action helps this very annoying and historical issue for some of you and it fingers crossed for me over the next few days..

Thanks for all the help.

Good news - pleased for you. It would be worthwhile (if you haven't already) to "line" the frame that holds the block in place - the whole base and a couple of inches up all sides - with something completely waterproof. I used a sheet of bubblewrap - doesn't matter what you use as long as it is a single sheet with no holes as any water will get drawn into that foam by capilliary action
 
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lovemerc

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Ah, Ok David! I was thinking along those lines but thought the unit may need to 'breathe' and allow air to circulate as a compromise to gambling with the 'mercedes' showers...

Thanks Malcolm, noted too.

Do we all agree that wrapping it up as best as possible is best?
 

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Ah, Ok David! I was thinking along those lines but thought the unit may need to 'breathe' and allow air to circulate as a compromise to gambling with the 'mercedes' showers...

Thanks Malcolm, noted too.

Do we all agree that wrapping it up as best as possible is best?

only the lower half
 

television

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I will say not the lower half for if water gets in, it cannot get out, sitting on something non absorbent is fine and any water passes underneath,,,5-6 mm is the max or you cannot get the roof pump back on.

But with the boot sealed water should not go in anyway
 
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lovemerc

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Sure thanks.

I've been studying the mod to seal the boot as the first cure but I think it's beyond my layperson skills.... Not sure how I can arrange to get it done :-(
 

television

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Sure thanks.

I've been studying the mod to seal the boot as the first cure but I think it's beyond my layperson skills.... Not sure how I can arrange to get it done :-(

Maybe you can get someone to do it for you,,,, I am happy talking them through it on the phone
 
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lovemerc

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That's very kind of you Malcolm. As soon as I get a day free I would appreciate that so will give you advanced notice.

Meanwhile.... I checked the locking today and everything looked fine and all off the button. So, as I've been pragmatic, I thought I would try the self closing boot operation and hope that error ''close boot seperator goes'' when using the roof. When I allowed the boot to self close, it popped the fuse again.
I then, after questioning myself again why I still insist on owning an SL, raised the black PSE unit up approx' 6mm from the foam bed. Re-fitted a fuse and not only does the locking work again, the boot, when manually closed hard not giving it a chance to self-close this time, does not blow a fuse. I can't try it to self close as i'm on my last fuse for the day (that's if Cardiff has any left for me!!).
All of this may of course be a coincidence of timing but that's what happened.

As an aside, the ''close boot seperator'' error is obviously a red herring (how on earth did the germans get so far in the war?) and can't be relied accurately upon...

So, I suppose I will have to see how things go over the weekend. Incidentally, the pump on top of the PSE with the resoviour, the steel encased end was very cold (as you would expect for steel) but of course this then lends itself to condensation. Today, this was quite wet (possibly due to our recent large shift in day/night temperatures) and will/may add to our 'wet' boot syndrome... Think i will find a large diameter piece of rubber pipe lagging and wrap it me thinks... (or possibly the whole god damn car!!!).
 

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A hard one right now,,, the pump has to run longer to soft close the boot,, now you can hear the pump run from outside the car, so when you have some fuses to try the boot lid again, listen to see how long the pump runs for, it should cut after 3 to 4 seconds max, if the pump is running much longer and up to 15 seconds,, the lock in the boot lid will be leaking, and there is a DIY mod for that.

I would never wrap anything up in plastic,,, if water gets in it will never dry
 
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lovemerc

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Ok will try but when it happend earlier, i think it was practically immediate.
 

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