JensH
Senior Member
I'd been experiencing a mixture between on, off and intermittent on my ABS warning lamp over the last few weeks. Initially I thought this was down to sensor issues or the front callipers. After changing out the front O/S calliper, though, and all 4 discs, the fault persisted.
There was no apparent fault on the ABS. My regular MB garage, Autodeutsche in Camden, thought it might be down to some frayed wiring somewhere, but my own research suggested it might be a tell-tale sign that the OVP (over voltage protection) relay was defective or worn. On inspection, a couple of the relay probes were badly corroded, so I ordered a new OEM (Meyle) OVP relay online from MB Specialist, Gørløse, DK (€111 delivered).
I swapped the relays over today and the problem was immediately solved, so this might be a useful reference for anyone experiencing the same ABS warning light symptom.
The switch over is a little fiddly, but straightforward enough. To access the OVP, you have to disconnect and remove the battery and the plastic cover over the engine management and ABS ECUs, and the smaller plastic cover slid over the relay itself. All these components are right at the back of the N/S engine bay. You need to unscrew your old relay assembly to do the swap-over.
Overall, the process takes about 45 mins to an hour, allowing for a clean up of all the contacts and a vacuum out of the build up of leaves in the lower sections of the engine bay.
I am about to have my 162k service, having done 11k trouble free miles since last Summer. Allowed myself a change of auto-gearbox old when the brakes were dealt with last month, and the car has been driving like new, super smooth.
Now have a couple of cosmetic jobs (repair vandalised rear bumper and touch up front cowl in engine bay) and plan to change both front door and the sunroof seals, then the E280 should be go for another year's happy motoring, starting with the annual jaunt to the Languedoc. I've done over 30k in the car since October 2013, with no major issues.
Cheers,
Jens
There was no apparent fault on the ABS. My regular MB garage, Autodeutsche in Camden, thought it might be down to some frayed wiring somewhere, but my own research suggested it might be a tell-tale sign that the OVP (over voltage protection) relay was defective or worn. On inspection, a couple of the relay probes were badly corroded, so I ordered a new OEM (Meyle) OVP relay online from MB Specialist, Gørløse, DK (€111 delivered).
I swapped the relays over today and the problem was immediately solved, so this might be a useful reference for anyone experiencing the same ABS warning light symptom.
The switch over is a little fiddly, but straightforward enough. To access the OVP, you have to disconnect and remove the battery and the plastic cover over the engine management and ABS ECUs, and the smaller plastic cover slid over the relay itself. All these components are right at the back of the N/S engine bay. You need to unscrew your old relay assembly to do the swap-over.
Overall, the process takes about 45 mins to an hour, allowing for a clean up of all the contacts and a vacuum out of the build up of leaves in the lower sections of the engine bay.
I am about to have my 162k service, having done 11k trouble free miles since last Summer. Allowed myself a change of auto-gearbox old when the brakes were dealt with last month, and the car has been driving like new, super smooth.
Now have a couple of cosmetic jobs (repair vandalised rear bumper and touch up front cowl in engine bay) and plan to change both front door and the sunroof seals, then the E280 should be go for another year's happy motoring, starting with the annual jaunt to the Languedoc. I've done over 30k in the car since October 2013, with no major issues.
Cheers,
Jens
