nashvlille_bill

As Klaus suggested, the controller evaluates/activates successive operations, during each stage of the opening/closing sequence. If the position switches associated with the hydraulic cylinders for either the rear roof bow or soft top case cover did not set properly, the roof will not open/close.

You can try resynchronizing the roof manually. This is done by opening and closing the roof manually. The detailed procedure of how to do this, is explained in the owners manual.

Alternatively, MB provided for a subsequent locking procedure, using the main switch. Basically, the pump will re-sequence just the case cover and rear bow locking cylinders. See this thread for more information.

https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...-failures.html

In addition, within this thread, you will also find information pertaining to the flashing diagnostic codes indicated by the flashing light on the main switch, locations of the position/limit switches etc..

That said, since you have already identified a fluid leak, why would not having the source of the leak repaired, be the next step?

 

Hi Bill

As stated in my previous post, I had the same trouble on my W208 convertible, apart from the hydraulic leak. This can be cured by determining from where the leak occurs. I suggest you take off the part and have new seals fitted by a hydraulic shop. Maybe you can live with this and refill the reservoir occasionally.

Once that is cured, open the hood manually. Raise the rear of the hood and open the hood cover. Tools to do this are supplied in the original tool kit. If these are not available, a screwdriver is needed to release the hydraulic pressure to the reservoir. A 10 mm long thin spanner is needed to open the cover - this is put onto the stud located behind the rear of the rear seat backrest and turned to unlock the cover. An Allen key (a hex wrench) is then used to open the rear portion of the hood. I cannot remember the size, but it is about 5mm.
The instructions are contained in the owner manual ( a copy can be picked up off the net if you do not have one).
Once opened, take out all the carpeting from the boot (trunk) together with the cover for the hood. At the front of the boot (trunk) is a metal plate running across the width of the boot (trunk) held by about 24 10mm bolts. Remove this and the guides for the hood cover housing (again, various bolts) and you will see the pump. Alongside this are 2 relays; the front one is the hood relay, the rear one is the fuel pump relay.
I swapped them and found the hood would operate but the car would not start and run. I thus determined the relay was faulty. Replacing it solved my problem.

Bear in mind that there is a micro switch on the r/h runner of the hood cover looking from the rear of the car (the cover that holds the hood above the boot (trunk) storage area). If this cover is not in place, the hood will not operate. I taped this switch into the "On" position in order to ensure the hood operated when I was working on the repair. I took off the tape when I was sure the hood operated correctly.

The hood needs to be reset to the closed position manually before operating it electrically. This can be done by locking the reservoir pressure valve using a screwdriver, locking down the hood using the 10mm spanner and using the hex spanner to lock the hood cover.

It is a fiddly, but not complicated, job. You will have a stiff back at the end!

Although the rest of the post is my opinion and not guaranteed, I can guarantee this bit.
I would advise using a power drill to loosen and tighten the bolts.

Apologies if my translations from English to American are not totally correct.

Good luck to you.

Austinat

 

I have an issue with my convertible clk 430 convertible . I couple of weeks ago I went to Florida and my top started leaking oil from the top of the trunk . At the moment I believed it was not coming from the car , and I continue using the top with not a single problem . One day I was pulling the top up , and it almost got stuck in the a center position , so I had to lock it manually to avoid being stuck with the top down . I went down to a Mercedes bens service shop , and they quote me for 300 dollars just for being diagnosed . I did not believe it was worth it at the moment , and I decided to start searching myself . I Found that there is a place where they repair the parts that might be not functioning in the system. The only problem is that my car won't go down at all , and there seems to be some kind of electrical issue as well , because the pump is not sounding as how it use to before . At this point I do not know how to unlock the top manually to get the parts check properly to be replace , or if there might be an electrical issue . Hopefully someone here will have more experienced , and I will be able to solve the problem soon . I have try with my mechanic to follow the steps in the Mercedez manual to open the top manually . But nothing seems to work , therefore , I am not able to find the exact issue with the system . Thanks

 

Falelozano,

welcome to the forum! Do not let the system scare you. Go to the part that you know has a problem, and try to fix that first. You may only have a leak in one or two locking cylinders, and the rest can be explained as results of those leaks.

Check the fluid level in the pump - it is likely too low, and that is why the top wouldn't go past the highest point or the rear latches wouldn't work any more. Low fluid level makes the pump sound differently. Thus, roll up your sleeves and tackle the hydraulic fluid in the pump. Access to the pump and filling it are described in the awesome DIY by 'joetwa': http://www.tophydraulicsinc.com/W208...eplacement.pdf

You can access the pump through the trunk, no need to raise the top. Chances are that everything will work temporarily once you have the pump's reservoir filled up enough. At that point, you can find out which cylinders are leaking and start to have them upgraded. See www.tophydraulicsinc.com's DIY section.

Dig it, and let us know what you find!

Klaus
www.tophydraulicsinc.com

 

Thanks again for trying to help me find the exact issue in my car . I have now open the cover you told me that was located in the trunk . I now see the system and the motor , I replace the hydraulic fluid with new one , but the system seems to be lock for some reason , the head rest in the rear of the car are all the way up . When the system started failing some Mercedes shop was able to pull them back down some how , but that's all they did to it . Now they are back to the higher position for some reason . I have try to manually open the car , but the roof won't come down manually , even with the manual instructions .
Let me know what solutions do you think are the best for me .
I do really appreciate your time and comments .

 

Falelozano,

thanks for the update. In your previous post, you had mentioned that you had a leak from the top of your trunk, so I was assuming you had the very common leak from one or both of the latching cylinders. In particular, the rear bow lock cylinder 129 800 16 72 mounted in the rear bow lock 124 770 04 26 is always the prime suspect for leaks in the top of the CLK trunk area.

Your issue becomes more complicated with the roll bars (headrests) being up. That is an important detail. I am concerned that the roll bars came up by themselves on account of a failing roll bar valve, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. If you manually close the top again, are you able to move the headrests with the roll bar button? The top needs to be fully latched (case cover lock, rear bow lock, and front) before you can move the roll bars with the pump (using the roll bar button).

The top will not move before the roll bars are down. Please confirm whether you are able to move the roll bars with the roll bar button once the top is fully latched, and we will take it from there.

Klaus

www.tophydraulicsinc.com

 

The roll bars as you said are not going either up or down with the button located in the front of the car . It seems as if they were lock in the highest position , almost touching the roof of the car .
Thank you

 

Two questions, please clarify:

1) Is the top locked all the way in the front and in the rear, using the soft top tool on the two rear latches?

2) Can you hear the pump running when you use the roll bar button?

Klaus

www.tophydraulicsinc.com

 

Yes , the top is lock both from the back and the front . The pump seems to be working , but for some reason it won't move the entire system . The sound is not too loud . I am starting to believe that it might be something electrical or locks !
Let me know what you think
Thank you

 

Just to avoid any misunderstandings and sending you down the wrong path, please clarify whether you hear the pump running when you use the roll bar button.

 

Yes , i do here the pump kicking , but no movement .

 

Okay, that narrows it down a lot. It is actually very easy for the pump to move the roll bars. Even if the pump were in very bad condition, it would likely still move the roll bars as long as it turns at all. You also mentioned earlier that your mechanic had somehow lowered the roll bar (which can be done manually with a lot of effort in some w208s), and that it had come up again.

The roll bars (headrests) coming up by themselves, unless they came up by emergency deployment, is a sign of a bad roll bar valve. So is the pump not being able to move the roll bar when the top is fully locked or fully open.

The roll bar valve p/n 124 800 16 78 is located behind the rear seat. Rear seat removal is described on page 9 of our DIY guide for removal of the black steel cylinders: http://www.tophydraulicsinc.com/w208removalguide.pdf

If you find the roll over bar valve wet (oily) at all, then you have a certain sign that it is bad, and you need to get it rebuilt: http://www.tophydraulicsinc.com/en/w...d-service.html

I hope this helps - please let us know what you find.

Klaus

www.tophydraulicsinc.com

 

FWIW, according to my owner's manual, if the roll-bar has been automatically raised you should be able to lower it using the roll-bar switch on the dash (see enclosed page from owner's manual).

Might want to try this before removing the rear seats.

Additionally, after an automatic deployment, to ensure maximum operating safety, the hydraulic system for the roll-bar remains passive (see thumbnails in post #5 at https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...top-issue.html )

 

Just for further clarification: if the roll bar has emergency deployed, then you need to push the roll bar button in the UP direction for a few seconds before retracting it. The roll bar decouples from the hydraulic cylinder during emergency deployment and it comes up quickly by spring power. Pushing the roll bar button UP for a few seconds allows the hydraulic cylinder to be raised and grab the roll bar. After that, push the roll bar button in the DOWN direction, so that the hydraulic cylinder can pull the roll bar down again.

After emergency deployment, the soft top will not move before the roll bar has been retracted again. Conversely, you cannot raise the roll bar with the pump while the top is perceived to be in operation (i.e., not fully latched closed or not fully open).

Klaus

 

Klaus,

I found the rear bow latch actuator was leaking and I sent it along with the clam shell actuator to you to be rebuilt; they were rebuilt and returned to me very quickly. I installed them today, drained the old fluid and added new recommended fluid to the top line. The top went down and back up twice, as it should, but then I stopped it mid cycle to check the fluid and added a little to get it back to the top line. Now the top won't go all the way down; the rear bow unlatches, the rear bow raises, the clam shell unlatches, the clam shell raises, the rear bow goes back down and the top starts to go down but stops after a few inches. The fluid still looks to be at the top line.

Should I just continue to hold the switch to see if the top will go down? I don't want to hurt the pump, so I have only held it for about 20 seconds after it stops moving.

Thanks for your help and the very fast service.

 

nashville_bill......A couple of suggestions.

Given where your power roof stopped working, one or both of your tension cables may have stretched or broken. These cables assist the joints, that are part of the roof's metal framework, to open and close properly. If out of kilter, your lift cylinders may not be able to function properly. Back in post #7, there is a link that explains this. In particular, see pictures in post #8 or #30 there.

Also, if you ever released the system hydraulic pressure, make sure that the screw has been turned back to fully clockwise, to restore full pressure.

Lastly, one of power roof's position/limit micro-switches may need to be reset. If so, by fully opening/closing the roof manually, should resynchronize them.

 

Serndipity,

Thank you for your suggestions; I was able to fix the problem by adjusting the cables, as described by MBgrappler in the previous post you suggested. The picture of the top frame not being straight was the clue that told me my problem had to be the cables.

Thanks for your help,

nashville_bill

 

Excellent, and thanks to Serndipity for his fast and accurate response, as usual.

 

Klaus and Serndipity I would like to thank both of you for all of your timely responses to W208 cab top issues, your answers have been helpful and informative and continue to make this forum useful.

 

Hello All,
just bought a 2002 320CLK convertible, but the top wont go down. It unlatches just fine, but when your lift the button it blinks. All the windows go down, but I do not hear any pumps or motor sounds. I tried all the troubleshoot and nothing.
then ran codes: B1123, B1122, B1650, B1646, came on, but all cleared and none have come back on after driving 50+mi.......Any Ideas


PS: I would like to repair It properly, but would not mind making it work manually.

 

I have completed repair of the hydraulic latches on my friends CLK320 (2002), but I have a couple of things that I need some help with. I have two 6mm 1.0 thread 12mm long allen head screws left over; I don't know where they go. Also, I'm not sure where to attach the front part of the elastic cords from the two side curtains that are in the cavity that the top retracts to when down.

I would appreciate any help with these two things.

Thanks in advance,

nashville_bill

 

If I remember correctly the only 12mm's are the seat bolts.
The curtains attach to one of the push rivets at the front and at the rear there should be a little hook near where the retracting cover attaches on the back side.

 

Thanks for the quick reply. I haven't taken any bolts out of the seats, but I'll keep looking. Thanks for the info on the cord attachment points.

 

I'm an idiot. I didn't read your post completely. Allen bolts, not 12mm. So I just had mine all apart to repair the tonneau latch and I didn't have any allen bolts at all. I did the rear bow latch last year, and I can't remember if there were allen bolts when removing that latch.

Did you have the rear seat side panels off for any reason? I know there is a bolt at the very rear top of each side panel, I can't remember if they are 10mm or allen.

 

I don't think I had the rear seat side panels off; would that be to get to the hydraulic rams that raise the top? I thought maybe the allen bolts were for one of the latch bolts, but I can't remember. Oh well, at least everything works.