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Hi all, all day today I spent trying to lower my 2008 CL63 with lowering links. The ABC system was functioning perfectly beforehand it would raise when I click the button. I would also say I am not a noob at this and know what I am doing…I guess not. I’ve done this same exact thing on my 2021 E63S, but this didn’t go to plan. I’ll break down what I did, I hope someone’s had this issue and or knows how to fix this.
**if this matters, when I started the job I had the ABC in the “highest mode” the button was clicked
Two links in the rear (very long) Two shorter links in the front (in-front of the control arms)
rear links I made SHORTER than the factory rears.
front links I made LONGER than the factory fronts.
JOB COMPLETE…or I thought so.
right when I dropped the car down, the rear looked amazing, exactly where I wanted it. But front doesn’t seem to be affected?? I tried to extend the links as long as possible, almost 1” longer than factory front links but still no change. But ALSO. When I now click the ABC raise button to raise the suspension, only the front raises a tiny bit…(it also sometimes randomly goes lower WHEN I CLICK THE RAISE BUTTON). I have no clue what it going on. I cannot drive the car yet because it has no insurance, but what the hell. Any help? Do you suggest driving the car? Only valid reason I have is that when I dropped the car down and turned it on, and I also clicked the lower button (turned off the raise) the car tripped out. Too much was happening? And now the front is just raised, rear is low, but rear doesn’t go up when I click the button.
Any help is appreciated.
Last edited by Amritrana87; Feb 17, 2025 at 10:18 PM.
No actual clue, but maybe you freaked the system out since the plunger depth to lowering link numerical ratio is no longer the same, freaking out the ABC system, since it should have a constant ratio once calibrated (and you didn't re-calibrate). I'd make all lengths the same length to check.
No actual clue, but maybe you freaked the system out since the plunger depth to lowering link numerical ratio is no longer the same, freaking out the ABC system, since it should have a constant ratio once calibrated (and you didn't re-calibrate). I'd make all lengths the same length to check.
well I certainly hope I didn’t… what do you mean by “putting all lengths to the same to check” ?
I was thinking of putting OEM links in again ask seeing if it goes back to normal and everything works as it should
You mentioned this in your first post:
"rear links I made SHORTER than the factory rears.
front links I made LONGER than the factory fronts."
the car PROBABLY (this is all guesswork on my part) expects your front and rear links to both be, idk, 42mm (made up number) long from the factory. But if you made the front and rear lonks different lengths, and it's calculating your front and rear links to be 42 and 30mm, the computer probably thinks there's a fault somewhere. w215 cars have the height links AND plunger depth sensors, so it can tell something has changed.
It'd be like cutting 3 inches off one of a double leg amputee's prosthetic legs and expecting him not to notice. Try making the links the same length.
I have a CL550, and I recently put lowered links, I did it exactly like you and had no problems. I would put the original links to see if the ABC system works correctly again. Also try reading height and voltage readings with diagnosis to see if any height sensor has screwed up
This could be related to the ABC locking function active whenever the car is jacked up. Have you driven the car after the adjustment?
Per the WIS GF32.50-P-0001LE:
So that when the vehicle is raised intentionally, e.g. with a jack, oil is not continuously drained out of the
hydraulic suspension struts back into the return circuit, in order to lower the vehicle, it is necessary to
automatically detect this unloading of the wheels and from it to derive a blocking position.
The blocking position is a pure software product which prevents actuation of the hydraulic suspension struts.
If the blocking position has been set by the ABC control unit, the shutoff valves are closed and the control
valves are no longer actuated.
There is no display in the instrument cluster and no fault is stored.
If the ABC control unit receives a vehicle speed signal of v > 0 km/h via the chassis CAN, the blocking position
is canceled automatically. The normal function scope is then restored.
The instrument cluster transmits the vehicle speed signal to the central gateway control unit via the central
CAN. From there it is transmitted to the ABC control unit via the chassis CAN.
Moving the car at any forward speed cancels the jacking lock function.
1988 BMW M5, 1989 BMW M3, 1979 Mercedes 450 SEL 6.9, 2006 SL55 AMG w/ P30 Performance Pack
I just replace my old adjustable links to new ones - made sure their lengths match the old ones exactly. Got her on the ground and the left side was 3" higher than the right in position 3 (highest). I drove around and even did a calibration/rodeo with my Star and the only time it goes back to the original lowered position is getting back in the car, start the engine and push the height button a couple of times and she goes back to the perfect stance before I swapped to the new links!
Did a recalibration but now I'm getting a code saying bar pressure is too low (at idle). Pressure is normal reading 195 bar at idle. I can't erase the code and I can't continue to calibration process again because of the error. My buddy hooked up his STAR and was able to clear the codes and car was behaving perfectly for a couple of weeks. Today, it did exactly what your car is doing! Did you ever fix your issue? Please let me know. This is driving me crazy.
My ABC is in above average condition. New pump, replaced all accumulators, rebuild valve blocks and replaces all height, yaw sensors etc. about 3 years ago. Only thinn still OEM are the shocks. No visible leaks or ABC errors. She just turned 160K miles so I'm not surprised some bugs are coming up. Thanks
Recent pics of perfect stance after replacing old links to new ones (adjustable)
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