drivrrr

Battery in my 97 SL500 died. I charged battery and when I started the car my roll bar came up. I put it back down with the switch and heard several clicks above the battery area. The roll bar and top lights came on. I changed the battery using a jump pack attached to the OBD to maintain voltage. I had to synchronize my windows and reset the radio code. The lights remain on steady and neither the roll bar or top will work. It has the hardtop on it. All the fuses appear to be fine. I have driven 50+ miles and lights are still on. I tried the battery disconnect on the negative post overnight and they are still on. Any help with this problem would be greatly appreciated.

Carabnr

Hi I'm in the same boat as you. Lights etc. I tried replacing and deoxing some fuses in the trunk, resetting the windows, disconnecting the battery, no luck so far. Took the spare tire out and checked the fluid levels (fullish and dark). I read some where there are some switches in the trunk... I copied and pasted the other resources I found... so I'll repost what I collected rather tan posting links.

Still haven't done this part... guess I need to find a good reader.

129 Roof switch & Roll bar switch glowing - Roof not working +++++++++++++Klaus from Tophydraulics
I'm hoping someone can help and I apologise in advance for the long story...

Roof switch & Roll bar switch glows and the roof dosen't work. The roof did work when i viewed it, but it did need a hand on a couple of ups and downs (because i was told it had not been used for a while), plus the passenger window didn't go all the way up. So i offered him £250 less so I could get it fixed - as he didn't mention any of this before i drove 2 hrs to Birmingham, UK to view it. He said he would rather put a roof ecu which didn't work from another low mileage SL into it, than sell it for £250 less. So i walked away..


On the way home he rang me to accept my offer. I came back 3 days later to collect and on the way home i noticed the roof switch & roll bar light on - i wasn't aware what this meant at the time. Now it doesn't do anything, so I'm pretty certain he's swapped the ecu's over.

The passenger window now works after a Merc specialist greased it up (although it's a little slow), but now the drivers window does nothing (stays closed) - it was working perfectly fine before. Quite frustrating, but i guess this could be linked to the roof ECU?

Using a wire with an LED I connected pin 1 & 10…. looking at the roof switch it continued to glow red with no flashes. I repeated this action several times and the roof switch & roll bar light continuously glow red. The LED on the wire did not even light up.

When I connected pin 1 & 7, the LED flashed twice (I’m 99% sure it was 2 flashes. I repeated and it did not flash again. From the list of codes – 2 flashes = Roll bar control unit
Pin 1 & 16 just glows red.

Do you think I should send the roof ECU to get refurbished? I’m being quoted £300.
If i can locate the tool, shall i manually remove the hard top and try reading the codes again?

I hope someone can make sense of my problem??
Alex

……….,

you did the right thing on the technical side. First reading the codes yourself, determining that the code read implied a bad RST controller, and then having it sent in to be checked out. Chances are that the damage will not spread any further, meaning you will be able to move the windows until you come across a working replacement controller.

Most RST controllers/ECUs can be rebuilt, but you need to replace yours. Hope you'll get lucky on eBay or on some junkyard.

It is easy to swap controllers yourself. They are located under the right rear storage compartment. All you need is a 10-mm wrench:

- First disconnect the negative pole (only) on your battery
- remove the black cover in the right rear compartment (one 10-mm nut)
- remove 10-mm screw that ties the controller to the chassis
- disconnect the electrical connectors
- swap controllers
- reconnect electrical connectors
- make sure to bolt down the controller again; ground connection is important
- replace cover
- last, reconnect negative pole on the battery
(- on model years '95 and up, synchronize the windows as described in the owner's manual)

The following p/n controllers are interchangeable on model years '90-'94:
1298200097
1298202426
1298202526
All of the above controllers have three connectors, and the roll bar is governed by a separate controller.

The following p/n controllers are interchangeable on MY '95-'02:
1298203226
1298203126
1298203926
The three controllers above have two connectors, and the roll bar function is integrated.

Hope this helps, and good luck hunting,

-Klaus

klaus@tophydraulicsinc.com

Carabnr

Here's a link to Klauss' website for the 129's Upgraded hydraulics. I was thinking about working on it tomorrow. guess it would pay off to search the OBD sequence first. https://www.tophydraulicsinc.com/en/19-r129-sl-97-02

Carabnr

I called Klaus today and he recommended to do what you already did as the first hail Mary approach. Then he suggested contacting him via email for further assistance.

Carabnr

I forgot to mention this link has useful schematics from Klaus https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-...materials.html

bobterry99

Presuming your module is powered your only recourse is to have the it scanned for diagnostic codes. The presence of a code may be disabling operation.

For a '96 and newer model Star Diagnosis is needed. Consider investing $350 in a kit of your own, or find an independent shop that has this.

Carabnr

We’ve been monkeying around and testing circuits and opened the hard top and the soft top manually. Then inspected the areas under the boot and taneau cover.

Found no micro switches but found all fuses and one switch that registers the position of the soft top function. Found no hydraulic leaks. The only thing for sure is the pump isn’t getting more power, just the base line hot on one pin.

The interesting thing was you can’t really put the soft top up and down without the hydraulics in this year model. The rear latches don’t function without it, the owners manual says it can’t be done.

So so we just had to try. It was difficult for 2 people to do but we were able to do it by using the wrench to lift the latch. Then hooking the (door latch) mechanism down in the hole and pulling up and back. The trick was to hold one up while lifting the other side till they are both open. Then locking them down first click for both and the second click for both.

Now im trying to find the impulse control counter. Guess it’s back to the manual and the finding the service code brewkdown sheet.

Ideas-or links as would be helpful. I’ll keep searching.

bobterry99

The diagnostic manuals are here: http://manual.startekinfo.com/manual...a3/content.jsp. To retrieve codes on a '94 or '95 car you can use a 12-volt LED or test lamp.

Carabnr

@bobterry99 Thanks for that link, it's so amazing! Has that been stickied?

I tell you what it was so much fun to drive around with the top down, I'm just dying to get it fixed. It isn't worth the trouble to do it manually on the regular with this year's set up.

I have 2 friends with shops that work on Mercedes, they will do the code testing and clearing for free, but they didn't know if they were Star readers. I guess I'll try them and then if that doesn't work bite the bullet with the dealer for $145.

Carabnr

@drivrrr I hope it's OK for me to keep posting my progress on this thread. I guess we don't have the same problem.... Have you made any progress on your system?

One of my friends ran the codes, it showed B1755 K2 ground short circuited, and some AC codes, but the AC works. There seems to be some shorting out at the cigarette lighter, so that's where I'm gonna look next.

I went trough a lot of the diagnostic materials from @bobterry99. I think I'll have to go through it more with my other friend. For me it's kind of confusing with the K2 line location but I think it's in the instrument panel.

bobterry99

I don't know which system B1755 is associated with, though it isn't the roof. The list of possible roof and roll bar controller codes for a later vehicle like yours is here: http://manual.startekinfo.com/manual...3/11_3/m12.jsp.

Carabnr

drivrrr

Carabnr I decided to take the advice of bobterry99 and get the codes checked first. There is not a dealer in my area. The fourth shop I tried said he had the Star Diagnostics and it would be no problem. He lied. I guess I will buy a controller and see if it works. I will let you know.

drivrrr

Carabnr I am happy to say that my top and roll bar problem has been fixed due to the info you relayed from Klaus@TopHydraulics. Not only did he diagnose the problem, he even told how to fix it. I found a used controller, installed it, resynchronized my windows and radio and have been cruising with the top down and my roll bar up. Thanks to you and Klaus and this forum, I have once again saved big bucks which will help me to keep on enjoying my SL500.