KevinJ

Dear all

I have been reading through many posts and hopefully it seems my problem is 'merely' the battery.

I got into the car at the weekend after 2 weeks of not driving it and noticed as I turned the key, the brake pedal moved down and locked into position under my foot with the BAS and ESP failure - visit workshop messages appearing on the dashboard.

So I took the key out, got out, locked car and started again. This time no BAS or ESP messages but the car did not start at all and the dashboard flickers, the starter motor or something clicks and then the dashboard 'resets'? (i.e. makes a winding sound and flickers again). The ABS lights seems to stay on.

Looking in the owners manual it suggests that if the battery drops under 10 volts, the ABS etc will not work and possibly the car will not start either.

As I say, reading through the many similar posts, most people call a Mercedes Benz dealer out to them, getting the battery changed and the system reset using Star Diagnostics?, but my car is now stuck in a tight fitting garage with access to the battery in the rear, being restricted.

I also read that jump starting a S Class W220 is bad?? Is this true?

What would you do? Would a UK Merc service dealer come out to a home address to change the battery and have a portable Star Diagnostic PC to reset the ABS, ESP & BAS errors??

I cannot clear the BAS & ESP messages since I cannot start the engine in order to turn the steering wheel, plus it is hard work trying to move 245 18"s manually...

Thanks

Geeman

Kevin,

Best to get the guys out to come and check it over - I had the service guys to come and check my car (S500L), because at some stage the battery had gone flat, the car had to be 'reset' - i.e. reset the window sensors, reset the air suspension, wiper settings, air vent settings, steering angle sensor settings - all of these were shown as failures because the battery went down.

All were reset and checked - no failures since!!

If you go to MB garage, they will probably see this as a list of faults and try and charge you to replace them. The engineers come out under the mobilolife guarantee - give him a drink and he'll do it for you.

Hope this helps

Geeman

KevinJ

Many thanks for reply.

Have just spoken to Service Assist (Mobolife) but as my car is a damm import, it is not covered free of charge for the call out. They want £184.00 just to come out.

I now have 2 options in my eyes :-

1) Call them out and they can fix, costing £184.00 + Battery + Reset + Labour.

2) Purchase battery, install myself and drive to MB Garage, costing Battery + Reset. But reading your reply, I could have a whole host of errors whilst driving, especially airmatic problems.....

???????? Help ????????

bamberger_1

Get yourself a battery charger and charge it for a few hours and see what happens. Can you make a volt measurement of your battery? If it is low (< 12V) you know what it is.
How old is the battery? If it +5y you may need a new one anyway soon, just replace it.

Geeman

Kevin

Whereabouts do you live - I live in East London, if you live nearby i may be able to put you in touch with the guy who did my car. Moreso, if he ends up in your 'hood maybe he can check it for you then?

Geeman

p.s. The errors are stored in memory - and do not actually come up when the car is running - but when they put the star diagnostics on, the list comes up then. For example, the car was not sitting level (!) when the battery was reconencted - they reconfigured the airmatic and all was okay - this did not affect the way the car drove.

Hope this helps!!

KevinJ

Mercedes Service Assist came round yesterday afternoon around 5pm and sorted it.

They checked the battery, alternator and everything to be fine. Their explanation was that because I only drive it short distances, especially in the last few weeks due to my girlfriend acquiring a car, the drain on the battery was high due to the many checks the car does with SRS, BAS, ESP etc etc etc.

I do also remember starting the car lots of times a couple of weeks back when I cleaned it.

Runs like a dream now, I swear it starts quicker...?

I find it strange that if you don't use the car enough (i.e. at least 20 minute proper drives), the battery suffers, I guess in laymans terms the battery was not getting enough time to recharge from the alternator especially with all the electrics and checks going on upon start ups...

They had to reset everything including airmatic?, but my radio, command etc stayed but I had to reprogramme seat memory settings.

I am happy now.........

Geeman

Good News Kevin!!

I do understand the battery bit - on starting the car, the battery takes a big hit - nearly 60-70% load, which will take about 10 minutes driving to get back to that level.

Glad all is well.... enjoy the ride!!

Gee

Vijay

Hi to all... I just registered and a mercedes mechanic for quite a while. While most of know that the S class is a flag ship model, its however designed for use and not storing. I would advise for all owners to install a volt meter ( digital ) at the battery terminal for the first thing to check before attempting else. A tight parking situation.? If the car can be jacked in front, then one can get to the auto transmission and un-hook the connecting lever and move the gear level on the transmission 2 clicks ( it will only move one direction ). Then down the jack and roll the car outwards. appy to see you all have solved the problem. Resetting is however required upon any battery changes in the case of a flat battery, but no resetting is required if you just unplugged the battery for some other reasons ( engine repairs or component replacements ) have a good time bro..