gary450sl

hi ya ive just got a 320clk cabrio and i cant get the roof to work has anyone any ideas where to start looking for faults also the roll over bar does not work. when i press the roll bar swith it just clicks thats it please help me if you can

luckyjimbo1

Hi, does the electric roof button flash ? if it does, does it flash fast or slow ? Also have you checked that the roof cover in the boot/trunk is in its tracks ?
Jim

gary450sl

i have checked the rails in the boot and its all as it should be the switch light flashes slowly ( i think ) the roll over bar / rear head rests dont go up and down when i open the top the windows go down and the switch starts flashing thats all that happens ive been told there is 15 limit switches on the roof i will try to check them but i aint got a clue where they all are located ( any ideas ) thanks from gary

luckyjimbo1

Gary, when I had the flashing light problem it was the track in boot causing it, but I read that if you go over a big bump or pot hole the roll bar/head rest may need a reset (press button up for 15 to 20 seconds) but as this is unknown territory to me please check the handbook, I think its significant that your roll bars arent working, the roof wont open if the roll bar is faulty, finally I hope its not the control unit thats broke, as some people report because thats expensive. Lets know how you get on
Jim

LAWYER2

Recently, my top failed to go back out the of the blue. I checked in the trunk and there is a plastic cover that houses the top mechanisms with two clips keeping in place. One of the clips had been decompressed and the cover was hanging half on. I secured it in place and my top worked.
hopefully it's something simple, Good Luck.

gary450sl

ok thanks i will go and check it out and see if that is the problem you never know i might be lucky got a feeling its one of the limit switches or the pump itself do hope its not the pump though . ive got a brand new relay to put on it so lets see what happens of not as the case may be thanks for the advice guys good on ya from gary

bobbyjo9

The headrests and top are both pwered by that same relay. If neither are working, chances are it's just the relay. Good part is its a cheap fix. Bad part is it's going to take you a while to get to it. If you manualy open the cover and just keep the back part of the roof forward, it's much easier than going through the trunk

Andy11UK

Yes I had the same thing as bobbyjo9, to me the key thing was the head rests wouldn't work and I thought even if the roof had a bad dip switch the head rests should still go up and down, £7 relay fixed it, the relay was clicking but was all burnt inside when I took the old one apart, agree pain to get to it I've bought some trim panel removal tools so save my nails, the diag was saying low voltage then time out,

john.m.gemmell

I had the same issue, 5 weeks, auto electrician, MB mechanic and me. No luck, took it to dealer took them 3 hours. Said part of the sequencing in the computer soft wear had gone screwy, they reloaded it and reset the system on the computer then roof worked fine like magic. Moral is it may not be mechanical?????? They said it’s not an uncommon problem and just happens some times. The guy that did the job had 25years working on only MB all up the job just cost $300, so I'm happy.

Don’t get to freaked the roof is pretty simple and sometimes just needs an expert eye. Lots of **** can happen with them.

gary450sl

ive changed the relay by the side of the pump in the boot and the roof and head rests still wont work all they do is click when the switch is pressed and the roof open the top the windows go down and the switch just flashes slowly so now im out of ideas apart from checking the limit switches any idea where all 15 of them are as i can only think of 10 at best and thanks for the help sooner or later its got to work aint it !

Top Hydraulics

gary450sl,

congrats on your acquisition! I don't own a CLK (yet), but hope that a bird's eye view from knowing lots of convertible top systems will help.

By the way, it is very smart to swap the relay next to the pump, as in earlier CLK models these relays can get stuck easily and cause the hydraulic pump to burn out.

Judging from when the CLK was introduced, the windows should have a drop feature where they drop a fraction of an inch when you open the doors. That is actually implemented so that the closing door will not crush the seals above the windows. Folks, correct me if I'm wrong, please!

Assuming that I'm right about the drop feature, here is the theory behind it.
There is a "Hall effect" sensor in the window motor that counts the window motor' revolutions, and the soft top controller (which controls the windows and the roll bar as well) figures out the window position from there. That means, the controller relies on its own memory to know where the windows are at. If the battery voltage has been very low or the battery has been disconnected for much more than an hour, the controller will loose the volatile memory, which includes the window positions. Thus, you need to define a starting point after the battery has been low or disconnected. The way to tell whether the windows are in synch, again, is to see whether the windows drop a fraction of an inch after you open the doors.

Here is the window synchronization procedure for SL's, which I assume is the same for CLK's - it can be done with the top fully up or fully down.
Important:
- engine off
- both doors fully closed
- trunk fully closed (battery charger cables can mess this up...)
Procedure:
- run all windows all the way down (separately or together), hold the down buttons for a couple of seconds.
- run all windows up (separately or together) and keep holding the window switches in the UP position for at least a couple of seconds - better make that five seconds.

I hope this is a good starting point, and I hope that my statement will be corrected if I'm wrong in transferring what I know about other Mercedes convertible tops to CLK's.

Klaus

klaus@tophydraulicsinc.com

luckyjimbo1

I found this thread, alot of good information ... might help http://www.justanswer.com/mercedes/4...ock-rainy.html good luck

luckychuckie1

ok - I was bored and waiting in the car and pushed the headrest button up to see how far it would go... Well it won't go down. The light comes on and I hear a sound but it will not go down. Of course this caused the top to stop working as described in Thread. I want, I need to find this relay. Manually open which cover? Cant open the top compartment as top is down. Should I try to hand crank it open?

luckychuckie1

ok - I was bored and waiting in the car and pushed the headrest button up to see how far it would go... Well it won't go down. The light comes on and I hear a sound but it will not go down. Of course this caused the top to stop working as described in Thread. I want, I need to find this relay. Manually open which cover? Cant open the top compartment as top is down. Should I try to hand crank it open?

ozyael

I had the same problem.
And I thought like you. (Played with headrest)
Your problem is that pump oil
But now you're in trouble, because you can not open the roof manually when the headrest up so you can not reach the pump. Try to play with the button at the end of the headrest may be dropped
Apparently you disassemble the headrest includes a back seat manually open the roof, then you will have access to check oil pump
Successfully.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w208...roblems-3.html

bobbyjo9

Do you have access to the trunk and tool to manually operate the top? You can remove the plate covering the pump with the top stowed but it will be very tight for space! Best to manually raise the top and access the the pump cover plate from the top through the top cover opening.

bobbyjo9

You dont need to even touch the back seat or headrests to check the pump. Access is in the trunk area NOT from inside the cabin area

luckychuckie1

I followed the link and it was a great phot documentation to hydrolic pump. Do I have to use Mercedes Fluid or can I get at NAPA auto parts? Is that the relay that may be burnt out on the pump? If fluid level is ok and no go... should I try to replace relay? I have a 12 volt tester. Any way I can test if the pump is bad if all else fails?
Thanks for the great trouble shooting information! This is a great message board. If I could change one thing and it's not this board it's MB. It would be exploded diagrams. You can get an exploded diagram down to each screw for BMW online.

Top Hydraulics

luckychuckie,

you MUST use Mercedes approved fluid, and you will not find it in your local parts store. The type of fluid used is "ZH-M".
Here is an excerpt from our FAQ page http://www.tophydraulicsinc.com/en/content/6-faq:
Mercedes approves only two types of fluid be used for its hydraulics system: Mercedes Hydraulic fluid, which you can purchase from your local dealer for about $20 - $25 per quart. And Ferdinand Bilstein (Febi) Power Steering Hydraulic fluid is the only other fluid approved by Mercedes-Benz for its top hydraulic systems, plus some other manufacturers in non-US countries. You can order it online from www.autohausaz.com (about $11 per quart). For ordering, the part number is 02615.

The top hydraulic fluid is specially formulated for fairly even viscosity over a wide temperature range, it has no additives that will damage the OEM seals in your cylinders, and it makes any water in the system collect on the bottom of the hydraulic fluid reservoir. Top Hydraulics' seals are not sensitive to water, but the OEM seals fall apart quickly once you get too much water in the fluid (picked up from humidity and condensation in the reservoir). That's one reason why hydraulic fluid should be flushed every 3-5 years.


On early model CLK's (1998-~2001), it is fairly common that the relay next to the pump gets stuck in closed position, meaning it keeps the pump running. As a result, the pump motor can burn out. That would be your worst case scenario, and hope it isn't the case. The relay could also be defective and not close, thus keeping the pump from turning on. In either case, while you are going through the trouble, you may want to get a new relay from the friendly dealer - they don't cost much, and the newer ones are better than the old ones.


-Klaus

ozyael

My answer was only if the headrest stuck up.
That you can not open the roof when the headrest up.
Aain ability to log into the trunk from inside.
I had the same case, and that was the only solution open the roof

luckychuckie1

Klaus,
Again, thanks. Sadly I remember that after pushing the button for the headrests to go up I heard the sound of a small electric motor continue to run for about 5 mins. That sounds like a stuck open relay. Only possible saving grace is the clicking noise I hear from the back when I push the head rest down button.
So whats the cost of a junkyard,rebuilt, or new hydraulic pump motor go for these days assuming I can install it? BTW how difficult is it to install?

Top Hydraulics

Did you smell anything burnt? If so, then it's likely the motor burnt out. Hope not - that's expensive.

Mercedes does not sell them new any more; only "refurbished". MB-refurbished was around $1,800 last time I checked, and Top Hydraulics charges $600 for rebuilding yours. Junkyards usually know the value of these pumps and try to get $1000 or more. Maybe you'll do your name justice and get lucky, though...

It's inconvenient to get to, but not at all difficult. Once you have removed the access panel, it comes down to unplugging the electrical connector, removing the retainer plate for the hydraulic lines, pulling out the hydraulic lines, and unbolting the pump from the car.

Klaus

luckychuckie1

I just finished removing the steel panel to expose the pump. I must say first that was over engineered! I don't know how many bolts I removed that held that cover in place. But it was a thick piece of steel with bolts every 3 inches. The only reasonable explanation would be frame support since it's a convertible. And you gotta love the Bose amp location!
OK, with that out of the way, I think (7 months ago) I smell something. But on the side of Audacity of Hope, the fluid level was below the Second bottom line by about a quarter of an inch. I took out the relay and will drive to Mercedes to get the fluid and relay. Can I drive without that relay?
BTW-What should I expect to pay as the Mercedes here is know for their Crazy Crazy 3markup.
Thanks

Top Hydraulics

Congratulations, that was quick...

Aha! You may have two separate problems, but let's see what happens after relay replacement and fluid fill. IMPORTANT: you must fix the leak in your system, or you are jeopardizing the pump again. A low fluid level means that you have a hydraulic fluid leak somewhere, and it is very likely from at least one of the seven hydraulic cylinders in your convertible top system. Usually, the first ones to leak are the Rear Bow Lock Cylinder and the Case Cover Lock Cylinder. Both are fairly easy to remove, and you can send them in to Top Hydraulics with the locks attached or without, or you can even do a "core exchange" where we send you the cylinders or the cylinders already mounted in their locks before you send us back yours for a refund of core deposit: http://www.tophydraulicsinc.com/en/23-w208-clk

Here is a link to a diagram showing you the location of all hydraulic top cylinders (with photos and part numbers): http://www.tophydraulicsinc.com/diagrams/CLKdiagram.jpg

No problem.

Fluid in the $20's/quart; you need one quart. The relay is a fairly standard part, so I assume it's in the same ball park or less.

Please keep us posted!

Klaus

luckychuckie1

Well the leak is not a mystery. Right under the plastic reservoir is a good size oil stain so my guess is the seal is between the pump and reservoir is the location of the leak. May be accumulation from years? Could it be a blow out from my pushing on the button and it getting stuck?
I have a power probe. Once full, and new relay, I would like to jump the switch so I could watch from in trunk what happens? Possible?