Restoring my R230, please community contribution welcome Thanks for reading.

[LearnAsIGo]

2003 SL500R with glass top R230 Chassis of course

Vin # WDBSK75F83F022501

113,900 kilometers

No service history

 

[Blobcat]

Hello and welcome

 

[LearnAsIGo]

2003 SL500R with glass top

R230 Chassis of course



Vin # WDBSK75F83F022501



70,800 miles

113,900 kilometers



Purchased vehicle



3310 USD

4400 CAD



Cost 2600 to reigster it my name here in Canada. Gotta love the government!



No service history, if one was generous to provide a service history I wouldn't say no..



Here's everything I have ran into with having an SL500 parked in my driveway for a year and a half. I have little to no mechanical knowledge but I like to challenge myself with this car.



Its a huge post, forgive my ADHD, well.. because yeah. If you read it, you'll get it. Im really hoping the time I spent being all over the place helps all the other SL owners that bought their car as a project in hopes to be riding in style one day. I really hope the community benefits from the discussions and different trouble shooting methods, how issues relate and how the systems function and how to test them.. I'm all over the place tackling numerous different elements with this car. Most would cut ties but I want to learn and this is all a DIY in the end under the circumstances that Star/sds/DAS may be required.. because of our lovely friend SAM



I bought the car at good price, not knowing what can of worms I'd be getting into. I've done pretty basic stuff with my own daily driver but the engineering with these vehicles I actually really love and want to understand more. I find the more I figure out how to take it apart and stuff and trouble shoot the electrical and look at the different harnesses and SAMs, central locking pse vacuum systems, the hydraulic pump and lines along with all the different roof cylinder locations. I want to learn it all. I will mention it is exhausting though not having appropriate reader which I have a Foxwell NT 530 coming which has the Benz specifications. But also the electrical side of things and understanding wiring diagrams and schematics and how circuits and grounds and stuff work, I lack in that area. So understand CAN bus and stuff it's a little outside my knowledge. That's where I turn to the internet.



I have an intermittent HID currently and replaced the ignitor but the plastic is quite brittle on the red connector ordered the replacement and when connecting the two little claws that twist into the bulb broke again. I'm going to switch ballast from my passenger to check and see if its that. If the ballasts functions in the opposing side I presume issue will be solved. I do notice a fair bit if corrosion on external casing but internals look new with no visible damage. I'm also experiencing an issue on passenger side, the indicator bulb harness has been updated since there was a shorting issue inside the housing so Mercedes opted for this external harness as a solution. So they removed a wire from factory harness repinned in a new connector with external ground. It's weird though, my left SAM module will recognize the driver indicator bulb being removed but does not see any issues on the passenger side regarding the fact its not functioning. I also didn't have the side marker bulb working either on passenger side. Once I get organized I'll add power and see how things function. I dropped the bumper today and plan to do and thorough inspection on the harness leading up to the passenger SAM.. Fingers crossed the ballast solves my issue with the faulty low beam. The HID bulb is new and it just flashes about 10 times and remains out after start up. Previously I noticed issues with it being intermittent and that is when I opted for an ignitor. Had I known I was going to get this involved I would have tried passenger ignitor on that side as well.. and now that I am thinking I will try that if the ballast switch fails.. In addition to my passenger side issue with side marker and indicator bulb I also have no fanfare horn at the push pad but from the passenger side engine fuse panel if I remove the relay and push in the contacts it will sound the horn, so this tells me that the horn and wiring and relay are good, also tried a new one, no luck, but when I push the pad it doesn't engage the relay contacts. Some say clock spring.. I twisted the wheel while holding the horn, it's not intermittent but I'd consider the fix. But one thing to mention there was a bit of a rodent nest up under the dash and I was trying to trace a wire because I was told horn and passenger blinker are on the same SAM and if the wire leading from harness that plugs into it there may be a break in the line.. It is a possibilty as the little bugger chewed my fiber optic cable and knocked out my audio, what fun it was disassembling entire interior looking for faulty modules within the fiber optic loop.. and I will say, I cut out the chewed section cut them nice and straight, added a 50 cent butt connector for regular wiring and it restored it.. I will aim for a permanent fix but that was a great success as I never imagined pulling the interior out piece by piece.. Thanks to youtube I learned a lot..I'm going to access the steering control module and see what data is provided. I'll probably need some guidance with that though. But back to the topic of the wire. I'd love to see how I could see that running under the dash.. I couldn't see it with the stereo out nor the bottom plastics of the dash looking up on the underside.





I'd love to get my horn working and my blinker and a consistent HID working, I believe and hope this will get me inspected and on the road. I do have a white service brake visit workshop light. Once I can get inspected I'd like to rule out all my battery draws because there seems to be a parasitic draw and it's most likely the PSE pump which has also been a huge focus for me learning about the system.. My issue is I always blow fuses because the pump keeps running and then eventually shorts internally and blows the 20 amp circuit which is the fuse 71 for central locking, controlling various features such as lumbar support, glove compartment and center console and rear storage compartment access, it also controls the ability to open your gas cap door, soft close on your doors, soft close on your trunk, your door locks and even the communications between the two pumps, vacuum pump and roof pump.. if there's issues there the roof wont operate.. I know for a fact I have a leaking hydraulic cylinder in the rear shoulder roof lift cylinder and perhaps additional ones but the interior head liner is still holding at this point.. I'd hate to spend the money to send and get the quick connects from top hydraulics.. but I want everything in the car to work as it is supposed to.. I also have ABC issues and the front suspension components sag after a number of days sitting, I do hear some hissing from time to time and when idling the car will sink, not sure if that's just a benz feature to relieve the system when sitting for long periods or not.. That's also something I'd like to keep OEM if I can keep it at a decent repair cost and if it fails completely later on I'd probably do the swap to coil overs with appropriate guidance. Sadly I also have to do my valve cover gaskets and rtb the breather covers. I'll most likely do plugs while I am there as well.. If any tips or suggestions on that, thatd be amazing. I hope that the head gasket is good. Thatd be really disappointing. I had an issue with trans fluid wicking through the harness up to the TCM due to a failed pilot bushing on the conductor plates speed sensor connector, which are essentially a couple o rings that go on a plastic cover which is pretty difficult to line up, mine required a lot of patience and its super awkward if your just on the ground and under the car. I also replaced the voltage regulator and 100 amp fuse in passenger foot well behind the sub woofer and metal kick panel to solve a charging issue. Ill have to learn how to do a transmission flush as it seems to go into gear rough.. could also be from sitting so much, not really sure and to perform a proper oil change on it. So all in all I have a huge project on my hands and I'm okay with it if I am making progress, I will take everyone's input, knowledge and suggestions and apply them to my troubleshooting through my journey with the car.



Cheers

 

[SL63 Mark]

Welcome. Sounds like you have the usual PSE/ABC/electrical issues. Plenty of info on here, if you search the forum. I bought my R230 in 2012. I owned and cherished it for 10 years. Mine had a significant current draw that I traced to the rear window, the drains block and they fill up with water. Have you checked under the passenger carpet for water ? The heater box drain gets plugged and water leaks into the footwell and rots the SAM connectors, causing multiple random electrical faults. Leaky seals cause water ingress elsewhere and affect other SAM units including the sill. You need to get the car under cover and start drying it out. That will also help the rust. Hope that is helpful.

 

[00slk]

Hello and welcome

 

[LearnAsIGo]

Welcome. Sounds like you have the usual PSE/ABC/electrical issues. Plenty of info on here, if you search the forum. I bought my R230 in 2012. I owned and cherished it for 10 years. Mine had a significant current draw that I traced to the rear window, the drains block and they fill up with water. Have you checked under the passenger carpet for water ? The heater box drain gets plugged and water leaks into the footwell and rots the SAM connectors, causing multiple random electrical faults. Leaky seals cause water ingress elsewhere and affect other SAM units including the sill. You need to get the car under cover and start drying it out. That will also help the rust. Hope that is helpful.

Surprising I haven't dug the rear carpets out yet. Guessing it may be worth while. Does the whole seat have to come out?

 

[LearnAsIGo]

Hello and welcome

Thank you.

 

[SL63 Mark]

Surprising I haven't dug the rear carpets out yet. Guessing it may be worth while. Does the whole seat have to come out?

I never took the rear carpets out, its more the fronts where the problems are.

But yes, to dry everything properly, on the 230 the seats have to come out, plus the sill protectors and one or two other things. The carpets have thick foam underlay that holds pints of water. You've had the front carpets up then ? What did you find ? Was it wet ? did you see the "green death" copper corrosion on the SAM connectors ?

 

[LearnAsIGo]

I never took the rear carpets out, its more the fronts where the problems are.

But yes, to dry everything properly, on the 230 the seats have to come out, plus the sill protectors and one or two other things. The carpets have thick foam underlay that holds pints of water. You've had the front carpets up then ? What did you find ? Was it wet ? did you see the "green death" copper corrosion on the SAM connectors ?

I haven't had the up in the front either. I know this vehicle has signs of water ingress though

 

[LearnAsIGo]

I haven't got too far under the carpet I just lifted it in the back by the rear amp under storage and noticed some signs of water. Where are the located or do you have a video

 

[SL63 Mark]

Where are the located or do you have a video

Where are the "what" located ?

 

[LearnAsIGo]

The connectors for the SAM that get corroded.

 

[SL63 Mark]

The connectors for the SAM that get corroded.

This is a UK forum, so on our RHD cars there are SAM connectors under the passenger carpet, and in the drivers sill area IIRC. In North America where you are, I'm not 100% sure. Just lift the sill protector, and put your hand underneath then carpet to see if it is wet.

 

[LearnAsIGo]

This is a UK forum, so on our RHD cars there are SAM connectors under the passenger carpet, and in the drivers sill area IIRC. In North America where you are, I'm not 100% sure. Just lift the sill protector, and put your hand underneath then carpet to see if it is wet.

If so lift it and clean them I'm guessing