hbluthi

This popped up on my '03 SL55 in the tachometer message center and a picture of a battery popped up in the speedometer message center. Has anyone had this come up before and what does it mean? Thanks

giffSCPA

It probably means the battery voltage in the rear battery (in trunk) is low, and the system has shut off energy consuming devices--so that you can still drive the car to a service location.

In my case, Launch Edition 2003 SL 500, it meant that the alternator had failed; hence the rear battery was not being charged appropriately.---

This message is a serious matter, and you should follow up with a check of the electrical charging/ battery system--- before you have more electrial shut-offs---ultimately shutting down the entire car.

GIFF Albright, State College,PA

StephenK

If you haven't used the car for a while and the battery was drained, I have heard of this message popping up, but shortly after starting the car and the battery charging, everything goes back to normal.

Scotsman

Happened to mine on and off for about a year. Finally gave in and took it to the dealer where I was told it was a known problem (possibly a recall?) and fixed under warranty.

uk1

Use to happen all the time on my 03 sl500 because it was used as a second car and largely garaged. Issue cured completely and battery rejuvenated by using a charge on the rear battery which is now permanently connected in the garage. Extensively covered in earlier threads.

https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-r230/130836-service-battery-life.html

mikefili

Got the same msg on my way home from the dealer, they had just preformed 3 electrical recalls on the car. got about 5 miles from dealer and the complete system went dead, although the motor remained running. Had the dealer flat-bed the car from my house . they replaced one of the batteries, and alternator, they said it was just a luck that these items went bad minutes after doing the 3 electric recalls, they did the work under warranty.

johnny5

Did your radio, navi, cluster etc... just go dead on you? But you still had control of the car as of accelerating, braking, steering, etc...?? I had this happen to me about a week ago the car seemed like it went dead but still had control and after a few seconds everything went back to normal. Never happened to me since than but i was also using the keyless go feature at that time.

zimmersci

Great name for the issue----
I agree with UK - my car has sat for three weeks and the warning comes on. I turn offeverthing that takes electric, dirve it a few miles, and voila. It goes away and does not come back. You must remember that with all of the advanced electronics on the SL, there is still a (minimal) power drain when the car is static. Over time, this depletes the battery.

gotglasses

Well, it happens when the car sits a few days, but I disagree that it is a minimal drain. In my 04 SL500 I have an electric pump that comes on to maintain ABC ride height. This takes a lot of juice. When I open the door in the garage after a day or two I hear the rattle of a pump at the front right of the car. When I check the car after this it is level at normal ride height. That pump knocks the voltage down under 11.5 volts after a couple of these cycles. The Consumers Offline message comes on and the car drops noticeably. I then have to start the car to raise it. Far less of a problem when the car is parked at normal ride height as opposed to lifted a couple of inches. With regular daily use - no problem whatsoever.

Rudeney

The electric motor you hear operating when opening the door is the SBC pump and has nothing to do the ABC system. The ABC system gets its pressure strictly from the belt-driven hydraulic pump. If you are losing consumers, its means you have a bad consumer battery, or a problem charging it.

MarMarvel

Rodney
Could this issue be in any way connected to an ABC issue?
My ABC light turns on and off... red and white and I also have the "consumer offline" electrical issue

MikeJ65

None of the modules like low voltage which is what the 'consumers offline' message really means. I'm not 100%, but I would assume that ABC has some limp function when there is not enough voltage to function normally. If you can't pull codes, the best way to see if there is a connection is to get a good charge in your rear battery and then see if the problem persists (replace the battery if it won't charge). My guess is that you have unrelated issues with the ABC, but fix the battery issues first.

next2pool

This almost always a consumer battery that has run low due to sitting for a few weeks. It can also show up more frequently when the consumer battery is slowly dying. I am on my second one in 5 years. I now have a battery maintainer hooked up when the car isn't going to be driven for a while.