R230 Owners - Help needed!

[bluesl]

Like a few others, I have problems with the PSE pump which performs the central locking and boot lid self close and I’m looking for someone with an R230 with a healthy PSE pump to do a short test.

After the boot lid has been pushed shut, the pump starts to replenish the pressure in the air manifold and if this takes too long, the circuit is disabled from further use to protect the pump. Question is, how long is too long?? Mine takes 14.5 seconds and seems to be on the edge of the time limit because sometimes it works, other times it doesn’t and it may be temperature related.

To test, all you have to do is open the boot, press the latch to the first click, you’ll see it pulled to the second position and you can hear the pump whirring away to the left of the boot area at the bottom. How long does your pump run for??

After you’ve tested, just release the latch with the boot handle and close the actual lid normally.

Thank you for your help...

 

[Wighty]

Like a few others, I have problems with the PSE pump which performs the central locking and boot lid self close and I’m looking for someone with an R230 with a healthy PSE pump to do a short test.

After the boot lid has been pushed shut, the pump starts to replenish the pressure in the air manifold and if this takes too long, the circuit is disabled from further use to protect the pump. Question is, how long is too long?? Mine takes 14.5 seconds and seems to be on the edge of the time limit because sometimes it works, other times it doesn’t and it may be temperature related.

To test, all you have to do is open the boot, press the latch to the first click, you’ll see it pulled to the second position and you can hear the pump whirring away to the left of the boot area at the bottom. How long does your pump run for??

After you’ve tested, just release the latch with the boot handle and close the actual lid normally.

Thank you for your help...
View attachment 60638

There aren’t many with SL55’s , hopefully someone will be along soon

 

[Wighty]

@neeklaus has one as does @SL55 Mark

 

[bluesl]

Doesn’t have to be an SL55, all R230s from the 2002-2006 era use the same mechanism, so SL350s and SL500s will be welcome. What is so infuriating is that it works some of the time but not all of the time.

 

[00slk]

When we bought our first r230 the soft close never worked, never even knew it had soft close until the inside boot release button on the door stopped working. Only discovered it had one when we went to remove the mechanisms that we heard a click. The plug going into the boot catch wasn't making a good contact, thos was fixed by a cable tie which put former pressure at the connection, everything worked fine after that. My r230 boot soft closed stopped working and I never bothered to check out why. We were doing a scan on the car for another reason and we cleared all faults and after that the soft closed worked, up until June this year and has stopped again. I can't remember it taking anytime between opening and closing the boot lid 3 or 4 times which is quite often the case when the Missus keeps coming out with another item to put in the boot after I thinks she can't have any more stuff

 

[LostKiwi]

Just tried it on mine - 2 seconds tops.

 

[bluesl]

Thing is, if the soft close isn’t working, the car doesn’t think the boot is closed and you get the message in the instrument console. Slamming the boot may work but it’s not what’s intended. Also, if the car thinks the boot isn’t closed, the roof won’t go down.

 

[bluesl]

Just tried it on mine - 2 seconds tops.

Thanks, that does suggest my pump is on the way out.

 

[LostKiwi]

You can get rebuild kits. Frankly I'd check and recheck for leaks in the boot circuit.

 

[bluesl]

Thanks, the rotor is fine and the pump is developing 3 bar; if I disconnect the yellow hose from the boot latch and block it, the results are the same. Might be the hose of course. Next step is to block it at the PSE. Strange thing is, the same connection is used to open the boot and the pump stops quickly when you open the boot. What a nightmare this car is!!

 

[peterws1957]

Thanks, the rotor is fine and the pump is developing 3 bar; if I disconnect the yellow hose from the boot latch and block it, the results are the same. Might be the hose of course. Next step is to block it at the PSE. Strange thing is, the same connection is used to open the boot and the pump stops quickly when you open the boot. What a nightmare this car is!!

Have you checked the voltage of the consumer battery- this can lead somehow to the soft close not working correctly. If this is OK , your symptoms would suggest a common problem with the plastic boot locking mechanism leaking, due to cracks in the case. There's a detailed photo thread on this on MB World. Can sometimes be cured by epoxying the cracks over. Easy job to remove the lock to check.

 

[bluesl]

Thank you, yes the consumer battery is fine, I’ve had it on trickle charge using a CTEK charger because the car is not being used and the battery would certainly have run low with the repeated testing I have been doing. There is no sign at all of a leak in the latch. I’ve seen the epoxy fix but I think it would be easy to detect air escaping and there is none. My current thought is that the solenoid valve feeding this circuit is sticking open or may be leaking. Both actuators in the latch (unlock and soft close) remain extended after their job is done for much longer than I would have expected which suggests the solenoid valve is not closing to isolate the feed and the pump is taking a long time to restore the manifold pressure. If it is the solenoid valve, it might be mechanical or electronic but I need to find out how the valves work. Thanks for your reply.

 

[ajlsl600]

Thanks, that does suggest my pump is on the way out.

as LK, most likely leaks seat move this stresses pipes, no leaks. Pump likely. Also check leaks, cracks in manifold.

 

[SL63 Mark]

Sorry I'm a bit late for this one,

As above, 14 seconds is way too long, my boot pulls closed in 2 secs.

I fixed a major leak in the boot soft close mechanism on the SL55 with epoxy, it works fine now. Basically, listen for the hiss of leaking air, that should help you find the leak.

There are fix it guides all over the internet, YouTube etc, apparently this is a very common problem, especially in the States with hot dry climate the plastic cracks.

You have to take the lock out to fix it but it is well worth doing, the part from MB is £500 !!!

 

[bluesl]

Sorry I'm a bit late for this one,

As above, 14 seconds is way too long, my boot pulls closed in 2 secs.

I fixed a major leak in the boot soft close mechanism on the SL55 with epoxy, it works fine now. Basically, listen for the hiss of leaking air, that should help you find the leak.

There are fix it guides all over the internet, YouTube etc, apparently this is a very common problem, especially in the States with hot dry climate the plastic cracks.

You have to take the lock out to fix it but it is well worth doing, the part from MB is £500 !!!

 

[bluesl]

Thank you, the boot self closes in a couple of seconds but the pump continues to run for much longer than expected and sometimes has a second attempt. There is no sign at all of escaping air from the boot release and I have pressure tested it. It’s possible the yellow air line is leaking but most likely is one of the solenoid valves is sticking open or not sealing. The pump spent six months over the winter encased in the foam which it turned out was damp though not wringing wet and while there was no water ingress, it may have affected it.

Rather than pay thousands to have this and a starting problem (car always starts on keyless go, rarely on the key) fixed by an ignorant dealer who runs on educated guesswork, I’m just learning to live with these faults - keyless start only and boot out of bounds. Sad to say, the car is perfect mechanically, it’s all this other electronic, hydraulic and pneumatic stuff which spoils the party.

I also have the beginnings of the shift lock problem where you can’t take it out of park. Especially when I park on a slope, I’m being careful to let the parking brake take the strain. It’s that pesky plastic lever in the shift lever which is difficult to remove and risks leaving you stranded if you mess it up.

 

[Wighty]

Thank you, the boot self closes in a couple of seconds but the pump continues to run for much longer than expected and sometimes has a second attempt. There is no sign at all of escaping air from the boot release and I have pressure tested it. It’s possible the yellow air line is leaking but most likely is one of the solenoid valves is sticking open or not sealing. The pump spent six months over the winter encased in the foam which it turned out was damp though not wringing wet and while there was no water ingress, it may have affected it.

Rather than pay thousands to have this and a starting problem (car always starts on keyless go, rarely on the key) fixed by an ignorant dealer who runs on educated guesswork, I’m just learning to live with these faults - keyless start only and boot out of bounds. Sad to say, the car is perfect mechanically, it’s all this other electronic, hydraulic and pneumatic stuff which spoils the party.

I also have the beginnings of the shift lock problem where you can’t take it out of park. Especially when I park on a slope, I’m being careful to let the parking brake take the strain. It’s that pesky plastic lever in the shift lever which is difficult to remove and risks leaving you stranded if you mess it up.
View attachment 61508

You could do with a decent Specialist rather than an “ignorant dealer “ buddy

 

[bluesl]

You could do with a decent Specialist rather than an “ignorant dealer “ buddy

Yes, you are right, I sent an email to two specialists who I could not contact by phone and neither replied or called me back so I might try again. I had a very bad experience with a “specialist” last year so it pays to pick and choose carefully.

The problem with the dealer is they are totally believing of what the Star diagnostics say. My dealer quoted £1200 to replace the shift lever without any guarantee that it would fix the starting problem but that it was best next step...

 

[Blobcat]

Yes, you are right, I sent an email to two specialists who I could not contact by phone and neither replied or called me back so I might try again. I had a very bad experience with a “specialist” last year so it pays to pick and choose carefully.

The problem with the dealer is they are totally believing of what the Star diagnostics say. My dealer quoted £1200 to replace the shift lever without any guarantee that it would fix the starting problem but that it was best next step...

Problem with emails is that decent indies are busy enough already with regular customers and work that they haven't the time to respond.
Phoning them up or calling in to see them is the best way (social distancing and all that jazz taken into account)

 

[SL63 Mark]

Thank you, the boot self closes in a couple of seconds but the pump continues to run for much longer than expected and sometimes has a second attempt. There is no sign at all of escaping air from the boot release and I have pressure tested it. It’s possible the yellow air line is leaking but most likely is one of the solenoid valves is sticking open or not sealing. The pump spent six months over the winter encased in the foam which it turned out was damp though not wringing wet and while there was no water ingress, it may have affected it.

Rather than pay thousands to have this and a starting problem (car always starts on keyless go, rarely on the key) fixed by an ignorant dealer who runs on educated guesswork, I’m just learning to live with these faults - keyless start only and boot out of bounds. Sad to say, the car is perfect mechanically, it’s all this other electronic, hydraulic and pneumatic stuff which spoils the party.

I also have the beginnings of the shift lock problem where you can’t take it out of park. Especially when I park on a slope, I’m being careful to let the parking brake take the strain. It’s that pesky plastic lever in the shift lever which is difficult to remove and risks leaving you stranded if you mess it up.

If you can't hear a loud hissing, then it is possibly the PSE pump at fault, especially if it has been encased in wet foam for six months. Mine was replaced a couple of years ago, it used to run all the time, as you describe, pulsing on and off constantly. After it was replaced, there were no more problems, but yes, it was about £1,000 fitted from MB as I recall. It may be possible to find them cheaper than that.

Yes, what you need is a good independent specialist who really know these cars and who you can Trust. I use Ian at Star Motors in Reading. Not particularly close to me, but well worth the trip. Ian does not like spending your money, unless absolutely necessary, and he really knows the R230.

I think this needs fixing, I would not just live with it personally, you will enjoy the car more if it is working properly.