superfast

I had to replace the battery on my 02 CL500 as it could no longer hold charge. I had a battery tender hooked up to the battery terminals but it came off during the removal process so it lost all the memory settings. I followed the resetting procedures for the ESP, ABC, ABS, windows to clear all the warning lights & everything is working except I've noticed the left rear wheel is sitting higher than the other 3 & the car is soft & bouncy all around when I do a push test at the front & rear bumpers. I had replaced all 4 accumulators with genuine MB parts last month & everything was working fine prior to the battery replacement so I know it can't be the accumulators. Car is drive-able with no warning lights. Does anyone have any idea why & is there a procedure to reset the ABC to make it firms again? Thanks for your help in advance.

vmystikilv

I would try disconnecting and reconnecting the battery one more time...Or could be a weak battery or one that's not strong enough in your case. Is it a OEM battery?

superfast

Yes, I was thinking about disconnecting the battery & doing another reset. Battery is brand new, top of the line deep cycle Bosch AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat).
Btw, I've noticed I couldn't de-activate the ESP when I pushed the button to turn it off. The ESP icon on the instrument panel should be turned on but it doesn't. Not sure if it has anything to do w/ the soft ride.

awiner

Any malfunction messages on the dash ?

superfast

Nope. Zero message.

awiner

Strange. Soft and bouncy usually indicates that the ABC system has gone into lockout mode.

When this happens you will undoubtedly get a ABC error on the dash, which if you have not is strange.

I would have the system scanned and see what stored and current codes may be to start.

superfast

Awiner- I've an Innova 3130c OBDII scanner & did a scan this morning but it's clear, no error codes. I'm about ready to disconnect the battery & repeating the reset procedures again. If it's still soft & bouncy, I'll take it to a shop & have them perform a rodeo. Can you think of anything else?

awiner

Does the Innova 3130c OBDII scanner scan the system ABC control unit ?

superfast

Not 100% sure but I know it scans every parameter an OBDII scanner normally do. ABC maybe beyond the scope of the scanner???

awiner

Yes, generally ODBII only scans the engine control unit, ABS and SRS in some cases as well as a few other areas such as AC circuits, etc.

Mercedes uses a central gateway to access a ton of other components such as ABC.

I would get your car scanned by someone with a factory SDS unit.

superfast

Disconnected battery & went through the reset procedures again last night. No change. Since I had replaced all 4 accumulators last month, I went ahead & flushed both ABC, Power steering & installed new filters but car is still soft & bouncy but no messages nor any warning lights. It's really weird.
I can't turn ESP on & off with the button neither. I'm wondering if the low voltage from the faulty battery that triggered all these ABC, ESP, ABS warning lights in the first place (that's how I found out the battery was bad) keeps these functions in lock out mode even with new battery. Perhaps the reset procedures do not cover the ABC & ESP???

awiner

Disconnecting the battery and leaving it disconnected for 30 mins should reset everything.

What part of SoCal are you in?

superfast

Adam, I had the battery disconnected for about 3 hrs. I live in Cerritos, by the auto mall. I've noticed, you're also in southern cal. Hope you're nearby so perhaps I can stop by & chat w/ you. Thanks, John

superfast

Adam, yesterday I was driving south on the 405 Freeway, all of a sudden the right rear brake started to bind up. I smelled brake burned, pulled over & noticed the right rear wheel got hot. I let it cooled off, managed to get home & jacked up the rear to inspect. Right rear turned fine by hand w/ no friction. Put car in drive while both rear wheels still off the ground, they both spin, gave it a little gas then heard noise coming from the ABS pump module (the one right next to the ABC reservoir) like it's running dry or have air in the system then all of a sudden fluid started coming out of the ABC reservoir via the dipstick. I immediately shut off & lower the car. Both rear wheels were in the wheel wells & ABC message "car too low" popped up on the display. I worked the up/down button then car's back to normal & the ABC message went away. Not sure how ABS tied to ABC but brake is fine now, car is driven fine but it's still soft & the left side is still 1/2" higher than the right side. Also, not sure what caused the ABC to compress the rear struts which caused the overflow while both wheels were off the ground or do you think one or more of my newly installed accumulators have popped? Should I pull & check the new accumulators, one by one? Do me a favor, when you get a chance, please see if you can toggle your ESP on & off by pushing the button. I never used mine ever since I bought the car about 4 years ago so I don't know if it was already like that or it was due to the recent faulty battery. Thanks.

awiner

The two systems (ABC and ABS) are not related so that is strange. Coincidence I would assume.

Is it possible the suspension got too low and the tire was rubbing in the wheel well causing the sound and smell ?

The overflow via the ABC Dip stick generally happens when accumulators are blown. The over pressure can also be caused by other things too. All of which is a hunt in the ABC system.

It wouldn't hurt to check the accumulators, although my guess is they will be fine.

ESP is able to be tuned on and off via the switch (well at least partly off as you can't fully turn ESP off without going into Dyno Mode).

At this point I would highly suggest having the entire car scanned with the workshop computer. It will be the easiest way to start to discover what may be going on in the various systems.

I am in Ventura County, just north of Los Angeles.

Dr Matt

If you run the car with the rear tires hanging the ABC computer tries to correct the rear ride height by dumping pressure to the rear struts because the sensors are telling the computer the rear suspension is too high. When you set the car back down there is no pressure in the struts so the car squats. A simple push of the ride height button will wake it back up as you found. This is normal and has nothing to do with your ride quality issue.

Wish I could help more, but at least I can give you that info.

superfast

That's exactly what I was thinking & that's what caused the reservoir to overflow when the sensor mistakenly telling the ABC to adjust/correct the ride height. In regards to the ABS, there was definitely a problem as there was plenty of clearance in the rear wheel well when I pulled over after I felt the pull & smelled brake burnt. By lifting the rear wheels, put car in drive & hit the brake a few times may have fixed the problem as car is driven fine now. I still need to understand & find out why car is still soft, bouncy & the left side is 1/2" higher than the right side. I'll pull & check the accumulators one by one before I bring the car to a shop for ABC, ESP, ABS codes & possibly a rodeo. Thanks for your inputs.

superfast

I've been so busy at work so haven't pulled the accumulators to check yet. I may just take the car in so they can run a Star Diagnostic check & possibly rodeo. Just wondering how much it costs to purchase the Star software & tool for a DIY? Will it cover the rodeo & what the procedure is like?

superfast

I've brought the car to an indie shop a few days ago. They hooked up & ran a diagnostic test via Autologic Mercedes software version (not sure if it's the same as Star Diagnostic) & it came up with 3 pages of fault codes on Electric Transmission Control, ABC, ESP Traction Control & front/rear signal acquisition, ect... The shop cleared all the codes, performed a rodeo, re-set the car height back to specs & kept the car for a few days. So far, none of these codes have popped up again so it appears all these codes were triggered by the low output voltage from the faulty battery. The driver side has come down a little but it's still about 1/2" higher than the passenger side. The shop owner told me he doesn't know why but he said if I can't stand it, he'll make an appointment for me to take the car to the dealer for an adjustment. I think I will live w/ it. Anway, I'll drive the car for a few weeks then bring it back to the shop for another scan. Hope all goes well.

superfast

Latest update: Last week, I took my CL back to my indy shop for a re-scan. Vrooman's Automotive in Artesia, Ca. Mike is the owner of the shop & a very nice gentleman. Anyway, everything is fine, no error codes. I've decided to fix the height as I can't stand the look of it. Mike doesn't have the level ramp so he made an appointment for me at a local MB dealer, House of Imports in Buena Park, Ca. While I was there, I talked to the service adviser that the height sensors are in need of recalibration & told him I also want to drop the car another inch. They kept the car for a day, got all 4 corners leveled & dropped the car to the lowest height while still meeting MB specs. With 18" CLS stagger wheels, my car looks sick. The gap went from 3", 3.5" down to 1". I love the aggressive stand & the ride is great now. Thanks to Mike Vrooman & the House of Imports.

tusabes

How much did it cost for the mb dealer to adjust it ?

superfast

I also had them inspected my suspension while at it. Total bill $180. Not bad especially coming from a dealer.