Hello everyone,
I'm brand new to the site. My name is Brian and I recently purchased a 2001 CL500. I have been admiring the W215 body style since it came out however I just recently had the means to purchase one. Mine is not in perfect condition however its still a great driver. I have ran into an issue with the ABC system however. I have scoured the internet as well as these forums for the past couple weeks for an answer however I couldn't find any direction that applies to my specific issues. I'm a DIYer and would really like to tackle as many problems and learn as much as I can before I send the car into an independent shop for assistance.
My problem:
I currently have the ABC "visit workshop" (not the red one) message on my screen. The car seems to jump up to the highest suspension position every time I start driving. The raise/lower button on the dash lights up however it doesn't seem to do anything when I push it. As I drive the car is very stiff and harsh especially when I hit any bumps in the road (almost violent at times). The interesting part is when I stop and place the car from drive to park or neutral, then go back to drive again it lowers down to the lowest suspension position (all 4 corners). But just to raise all the way up again once I start moving. I have checked the fluid levels in both reservoirs and it is topped off with clean clear fluid. Done a visual inspecion of the connections at each strut, checked the ride height sensors as well as checked under the car for any visible leaks...nothing found. All 4 struts appear to be in good shape and working fine. I'm a little lost as I assume my tandem pump is working because it does raise and lower all 4 corners equally, just not on my command and whenever it feels like I'm moving. Any ideas on where to go from here?


2001 CL500
Black on Black
148k miles

 

 

Thanks for the advice. Ill go ahead and give that a try since is so cheap. Im also looking for a local indy in my area to check codes on the system so I at least have direction as to which components to start with. With the cost of ABC parts I certainly dont want to start throwing parts at it blindly.

 

Disregard the first part of that post. Don't start throwing parts at it without doing any diagnosis on the vehicle. The ride height sensors are not located on top of the struts. The fronts are on the body with linkage to the upper control arm. The rears are on the underside of the body with linkage to the lower control arm. There is no reason to replace them all. Of the 15 years professional working on these cars daily I have only replaced maybe 2 level sensors that failed internally. Typically get replaced from impact damage, careless tow truck drivers hooking the rear control arms, improper installation from body shop.

 

makes sense. From your expertise what do you recommend looking into?

 

Get the car diagnosed wether its you getting access to SDS or find somebody that can run the codes. Otherwise you will just be guessing

 

 

 

Thats not for ride height. Thats a body acceleration sensor. Those are mounted near the top of the strut though.
To be fair there is a DTB regarding random body movements from those. Id have to look up the DTB but I recall it gives you applicable part number and Q number to see if yours apply to the bulletin

 

This is the bulletin. From what I recall it won't set any fault codes. If you have a light coming on then you have fault codes in the system

 

Two other bulletins regarding control module on early cars

 

 

 

where did you guys find them for $8?

 

Probably used from a salvage yard

 

 

 

Be sure and check the ones that arrive. If you look at the picture in that listing the date code is week 18 of year 2000, the DTB I posted first says to replace with a date greater than week 01 of 2002. Likely why the price is so low. You very may well end up with a set of sensors that could potentially cause a problem.

 

 

With the message on the dash you really should get it diagnosed, at least find somebody in your area that can scan it and give you the fault codes. Throwing parts at it when there is clearly a fault code in the system is taking the long route and then never really knowing whats going on. Diagnosing ABC faults literally takes 15 minutes tops.

 

 

 

I was never able to figure out what was wrong with mine. I ended up selling it