SL129 - Soft Top / MB Dealer Problem

[Simon J]

In order to keep the log book up to date I booked the car (sl500 - '97) in for full service at MB Chelsea (Wandsworth), it has only done 57,000 miles. (The words "fool" and "money" and "parted" already ringing true.) Previous to that the soft top was working fine, no problems. What follows is shortened version of events.

MB took the roof down as part of service (they have the service books so I'm not sure if that is part of the full service). It apparently became stuck halfway and had had to be lowered manually. After a week (and following a a visit from a specialist - which I assume is somebody who has done more training than the how to change the oil course) they still don't really know what is wrong. The roof is now up but there are still problems (alarm / flashing switch lights). MB believe the problem is with the control unit, but they don't have another one at the moment to install to check if that is the case. Apparently the control unit for this car varied from car to car / year to year (is this true?) and are not interchangeable. A new control unit from MB is in the region of £2000!!!!!!!!!

I'd like to assume that MB know of the fixes which have been helpfully posted - resetting roof / windows / checking battery on this site.

Am I being guillable in assuming MB engineers fully understand the issues with the roof? As after 10 minutes searching here I am better informed than following umpteen conversations with MB.
And has any body else had to resort to changing the control unit having exhausted the other remedies on the site?
If so how easy is the correct item to locate?
Thanks to all who have posted on this issue already, very helpful.

 

[Stuart Firth]

Soft Top Control Unit

If it helps there is a soft top control unit currently on sale on ebay.co.uk at a 'buy it now' price <£1k

Stuart

 

[joe bloggs]

I'd tell the dealer to sort it out, it was ok before.



Often the rear axle switches (for the roll over bar) can move when the car is raised on a ramp, this would account for the roll bar switch flashing, also if the car is left ticking over on the ramp while not in park or if the ignition is on and someone spins the wheels individually while off the ground the ecu locks up due to an implausible road speed signal, leave the 2 plugs out of the ecu overnight.

Before reconnecting go round with the roof spanner and make sure everything is fully locked in place, whether the roof is up or down, if any switches are not in the correct logical position relative to the current roof position the roof will not operate., also make sure the windows have been taught the up and down positions (later cars) early SL's had switches at the bottom of the doors to indicate 'side window fully open'

But the dealer that broke it should fix it.