Hi. New CL 500 owner and new to Mercedes.

[bmd0]

Hi All. I am completely new here and new to the world of Mercedes. I have picked up a CL 500 at a fairly reasonable price, the previous owner seemed to have taken fairly good care of it mechanically but there are a few problems which need troubleshoot and I missed when checking the car out. Hopefully it's not a bad omen for underlying problems! Anyway, hoping someone may be able to point me towards some guides or information. Fair warning, I haven't searched for these. Apologies. It is late here and this is more of a brain dump for the bits I have come across so far.

* Passenger door does not lock / unlock with central locking. Either the button internally or remote key fob. I read something briefly about checking for a hissing noise for leaking air, but I haven't done this yet. Is this a common fault?
* The rear blind does not raise / lower. My guess is this will not be an easy fix, based on my previous experience with BMW's and how difficult this part is to access.
* The rear headrests do not raise / lower.
* Washer pump seems to not run.
* I got a dreaded ABC warning pop up on the way home. The chap I bought it from and his father both seemed pretty on the ball with the car and telling me how often I need to do oil changes for the suspension, how to maintain it, only to use Pentosin oil etc. I know it's sat for a while so hoping it just needs a top up (it was dark and I didn't have a rag to check it so will do that tomorrow). The warning was white not red.

I will spend the time researching and separating out questions into appropriate places tomorrow. But for now nice to meet you all.

 

[Blobcat]

Hello and welcome

 

[sonic]

Welcome, I think I would be returning the car to the seller.

 

[SL63 Mark]

Nice to meet you too. Welcome to the best forum in the known universe

 

[bmd0]

Welcome, I think I would be returning the car to the seller.

I'm in Dubai and that's not an option here unfortunately

Thanks for the welcome folks

 

[SmartAmg]

Welcome.

 

[dry run]

Welcome

 

[Wighty]

Welcome buddy , I think if you can’t return it then start reading about ABC systems first and maybe buy a code reader like icarsoft .

 

[bmd0]

Welcome buddy , I think if you can’t return it then start reading about ABC systems first and maybe buy a code reader like icarsoft .

Thanks. I'm not too worried about returning the car. I believe it has been fairly well cared for mechanically and I got it for a good price so was expecting a few issues.

I went out this morning and there is no ABC error, also checked PAS and ABC fluids and both are fine and if anything, possibly ever so slightly over filled. Out here a car has to have a test prior to purchase which involves putting it on lifts etc. and I am wondering if something there just tripped a sensor. I will keep an eye on it.

The only one I am annoyed about is missing the passenger door lock and from what I have read the rear headrests are also run from the vacuum system, so I wonder if that is linked. I need to start some troubleshooting there. I can hear air hissing in the boot at certain times, I heard it last night but wasn't sure what it was.

Any idea if Carly is any good for Merc's? Or does it need to be something like iCarsoft / Mercedes specific software on a laptop?

 

[Flyinspanner]

Not all headrests do not raise on the button, (it was an option) they just drop down (unlock) when button pressed.

it could just be a vacuum line off to the door lock -possibly affecting headrests if interconnected.

The PSE pump is in the boot LHS behind the side panel. Encased in foam, check that the foam is dry (DXB doesn’t suffer too much rain)

 

[bmd0]

Not all headrests do not raise on the button, (it was an option) they just drop down (unlock) when button pressed.

it could just be a vacuum line off to the door lock -possibly affecting headrests if interconnected.

The PSE pump is in the boot LHS behind the side panel. Encased in foam, check that the foam is dry (DXB doesn’t suffer too much rain)

Thanks, I've been reading up on the PSE now. I can definitely hear air from the boot so could be something bust there. Is the line easy to replace? I guess I would need connectors and replace any bits I found with cracks?

Oddy I was playing around with a dial which I later found out is the lumbar support and when I went back to the car later on I noticed a missing coming from the seat. Maybe a cracked airline there? The lumbar never seemed to change as I was changing the dial. We don't get much rain, but maybe the extreme heat causes the pipes to go brittle.

 

[Craiglxviii]

Hello and welcome! The CL500 in its 215 or 216 guise is a beautiful car and one quite unlike any others on the road. Get these issues sorted and you’ll have a beautiful drive ahead of you.

To tackle your issues in order:

Door locks and rear headrests use compressed air from the PSE system. Where the side doors hinge both the PAE line and wiring harness pass through a big corrugated gasket. It’s poor design practice and breakage is prone here. However access isn’t too bad if you know what you’re looking for; carefully unwrap the harness cover and you’ll see the white PSE line. You’ll probably find broken wires too so unless you can solder, get a competent electrician to fix this.

On the ABC... “I’m somewhat of an expert” as I’ve rebuilt the whole system on my car. Red warnings mean that the system has locked and shut down, usually caused by either critically low pump pressure (below 80bar) or critically low rise height. Mine for instance will flash a red warning after being left for a couple of days, as the lock valves leak fluid back into the header. A quick up & down on the ride height button fixes it.

Good news, ABC struts and pumps are now half the price they were ten years ago and are easily available online.

 

[bmd0]

Well, looks like I'm not the first person to get here. Tbh I didn't find out much looking at the PSE itself, but I did make a couple of other observations.

* If I have the driver bolster at max, the pump keeps trying to inflate it. I guess the bladder inside the seat is burst (air noise coming from the seatback and not the PSE line under the seat). I didn't test the passenger seat.
* For the passenger door lock, I can hear air from the lock area when attempting to lock / unlock the doors as well as when trying to use the soft close. So I assume it is the door lock unit at fault.

Hello and welcome! The CL500 in its 215 or 216 guise is a beautiful car and one quite unlike any others on the road. Get these issues sorted and you’ll have a beautiful drive ahead of you.

To tackle your issues in order:

Door locks and rear headrests use compressed air from the PSE system. Where the side doors hinge both the PAE line and wiring harness pass through a big corrugated gasket. It’s poor design practice and breakage is prone here. However access isn’t too bad if you know what you’re looking for; carefully unwrap the harness cover and you’ll see the white PSE line. You’ll probably find broken wires too so unless you can solder, get a competent electrician to fix this.

On the ABC... “I’m somewhat of an expert” as I’ve rebuilt the whole system on my car. Red warnings mean that the system has locked and shut down, usually caused by either critically low pump pressure (below 80bar) or critically low rise height. Mine for instance will flash a red warning after being left for a couple of days, as the lock valves leak fluid back into the header. A quick up & down on the ride height button fixes it.

Good news, ABC struts and pumps are now half the price they were ten years ago and are easily available online.

Thanks Craig. I forgot to check the headrests actually (I couldn't stand the heat any more and came back inside) but I'm fairly confident that the door lock problem is with the mechanism. I was reading earlier that a cap bursts or something on the mechanism? All electrics seem to work in both doors though, so that is good

For the ABC, after driving around today and learning the car I have noticed that the error appears if I am stationary for a period of a few minutes and is then cleared after turning the ignition off and on. And it is a white error, not a red one. The car raises and lowers perfectly fine and engages sport mode. Fluid levels are also good.

 

[00slk]

Hello and welcome.
You have come to the right forum for a good source information

 

[Dean Fletcher]

Hello and welcome