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Hi Folks. I had a serious leak in my Bow latch which was repaired as well as all the other hydraulic rams etc. by Klaus of top hydralics. After all was re-assembled error message reads. "maintenace ground not to ground".
When we tried to open the soft top windows go down and that's all. Light off course flashes.... From the down position nothing works... If the windows are up they stay up when soft top switch is activated.
Car is at MB garage but here on an Island in Malaysia impossible to get experieced folk. Have checked all switches and all seems ok... help required from a wizz kid.
A "maintenace ground not to ground" error message appears to be related to another electrical system issue (e.g. unrelated to the power roof operation).
That said.........
In replacing all of your power roof's hydraulic cylinders, only 2 of them have anything to do with the electricals. Specifically, the rear bow lock and soft top cover cylinders invlude switches that tell the soft top controller that both have been successfully closed and locked (e.g. if not the power roof will not operate). Perhaps in their installation, they were not properly synchronized (e.g. set up).
MB has provided for a easy to do procedure to subsequently exercise and synchronize them (see attached thumbnail).
If this does not restore operation of the power roof, upon certain conditions (e.g. loss of electrical power while operating the roof), MB recommends resynchronizing the roof. Basically, you cycle the roof manually (e.g. after releasing the hydraulic pressure and unlocking the case cover with the tools provided in your vehicle's tool kit). The details of the procedure are explained in the 'practical hints section' of your owner's manual.
Lastly, there have a good number of occurrences, where a wiring harness, located inside the soft top cover, has become damaged (e.g. broken wires or worn insulation), that should be carefully checked.
Last edited by Serndipity; Dec 12, 2014 at 10:02 AM.
Hi Serendipity
Spent quite sometime on problem, roof worked half a dozen times, then stopped. subsequently checked every microswitch, ground continuity, all OK. The roll bar light on dash is on and will not go out. Have raised and lowered roll bar many times. You can see that it locks the cover down. Light still stays on... help please.
Lankawi
If you tried the resynchronizing the roof procedure, by operating it manually, but thereafter did not turn the screw back to restore hydraulic pressure for power roof operation, the power roof may operate a few times or not at all, do to insufficient hydraulic system pressure.
If so, turn the pressure release screw back to it's initial position and perform the subsequent locking procedure once again.
Should the rollbar system still not operate properly, note that there are 2 limit switches in the assembly, that tells the controller if their condition is extended or retracted....see enclosed thumbnails.
With the rebuilt cylinders from Top Hydraulics Inc., enjoy many more years of top up/down driving.
That said.........one last suggestion.
If you still have the access panel to the power roof components removed, as preventative maintenance, I would replace the pump motor relay. With time it fails and has been a very common problem.
The relay switches as lot of electrical current and on make and break, the resulting arcing causes either contact pitting and the higher contact resistance will no longer operate the motor or the contacts can weld closed, causing the motor to runs continuously and possible burn out, if the thermal protection circuit doesn't kick in.
In either case, the power roof will be inoperative.
A new relay is very inexpensive (e.g. less than $US 10), is a commonly available part (e.g. same as the relay used for the fuel pump) and a simple plug and play install.
Last edited by Serndipity; Dec 16, 2014 at 11:03 AM.
03 SL Kleemann, 97 SL320 pano top, 95 Lorinser E320 Cabrio, Ferrari 360, Tesla X
Relay and switches
Excellent work, Serndipity and langkawi!
When something doesn't work after you re-installed your hydraulic cylinders, then it's usually a matter of retracing your steps. Making sure that all electrical connectors are re-connected and all switches are back in place. Since the roll bar was working, this meant that the rear bow latch and the case cover latch were signalling the correct position at least in the roof position where the roll bar was working.
There are only three cylinders out of seven that have micro switches attached to them:
1) The rear bow latch cylinder p/n A 129 800 16 72 with the switch on its latch p/n A 124 770 04 26. The lever that triggers the micro switch on this latch could get bent during installation. More frequently, the wiring between the soft top controller near the pump and the micro switch on the latch can fray and fail - this is covered mostly in posts ~#80 of https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...-failures.html.
2) The case cover latch cylinder p/n A 129 800 00 72 with the switch(es) on the case cover lock p/n A 124 750 06 84 (up to early model year 2001 in the US) or on the case cover lock p/n A 208 750 09 84 (model year 2001-2003). These rarely fail.
3) The clip-on, sliding micro switch S84/15 part number A 208 820 23 10 on the left bow tension cylinder p/n A 208 800 01 72. Switch S84/15 (A208 820 23 10) is a plastic part, and it is the most prone to failure. This was the original problem in the aforementioned, frequently quoted thread https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...-failures.html.
I'm glad that everything is working again - you should indeed be able to look forward to leak-free cabriolet hydraulics on your CLK for a long time. Top Hydraulics' seals should last about three times as long as the original ones under the same conditions.
Serndipity is right: as preventative maintenance, you should replace the relay next to the pump, p/n A002 542 13 19. If you are having trouble getting the exact part in your country, then you can use a generic one with the same pin-outs, suppression resistor, and capability to switch and carry at least 40A.
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w 208 convertible soft top issue
wizz kid.
