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Need to dig into it. Do you have a code scanner? Either something is wrong with the work you had done, or an electric problem needs to be diagnosed. Do you know if you have signs of moisture around the rear taillamps? This is a not-uncommon experience on this vehicle, and can lead to a variety of electrical issues.
Before heading to your dealer and forking out some hard earned cash, try one or all of the following:
close the tailgate with the driver's door button and hold the button for about 5 seconds once the tailgate is fully closed (ensure the tailgate is FULLY closed. Have someone push on it if necessary.). Now recheck for proper operation.
open the tailgate, then close it manually (without using the buttons); then recheck for proper operation.
double check your work. You may have positioned the mechanism upside down, tilted, or not completely level so the latch may not be engaging properly OR the sensor thinks the tailgate is still open (hence it keeps trying to engage the lock)
Last edited by Miguk_Saram; Feb 17, 2020 at 04:45 AM.
Thanks for that info....I will try those steps. In the meantime, a question...could this possibly drain the battery?
Hi! hey, I'm experiencing the exact same problem you had last year. Replaced the tailgate actuator on my 2010 ML. The tailgate now works, the red warning dissapeared from the dashboard but when the tailgate is closed (engine off), I can hear a brief click'ish sound from the actuator every one or two minutes.... it doesn't happen if I leave the tailgate opened.
What ever did you do to fix that?? I tried the "normalizing" sequence for the tailgate but either I did it wrong or that's not the fix. I was wondering if it could be tied to the cheap "new" part I bought vs going OEM.
Test the actuator with a screw driver in the latching part. You might need to remove the latch (and a panel or two) to feed the latch into the vehicle so you can close the tailgate and run the test.
If you hear the clicking, then apply more pressure to the mechanism until the clicking stops, if it does not stop, then it's the actuator. If you don't hear the clicking, then it's likely you just need to adjust the actuator placement on the tailgate to ensure it latches properly. Remember, it's an electric component so the latch must close all the way or the system will think it's still open and keep trying to close it.
you just need to adjust the actuator placement on the tailgate to ensure it latches
I have a 2010 550. On mine the actuator assembly can't be moved much, if any, to adjust its location. The bracket (looks like a horseshoe) which the actuator hooks into, however, can be moved laterally and longitudinally. There are marks on the bodywhich you can use as reference. Look closely, you'll see them. They were not readily visible on mine. White paint here. Note the current location if you need to make adjustments there. I would test the actuator with the method Mugik suggested, first. It will give you and idea if you need to push the bracket away or pull it closer.
Thanks guys... to clarify, the gate closes apparently fine and does not make any noises beyond just the locking mechanism... then you wait 2 or 3 minutes, and you hear a 2 seconds click, then nothing for another 2-3 minutes, then another click. I'm attempting to position the actuator ever so slightly differently with the 3 screws but like it was said, very little play there. I tried a couple of different ones but no luck so far. The actuator comes within a metal bracket but I don't see adjustments there (that's my second picture). The door is/appear to be secured so pushing it or pulling on it once closed doesn't seem to move it or make a difference. We'll continue to look at it and may be compare the size of the aftermarket actuator I bought to the original one to see if I see any size difference even though it doesn't appear so but can have another look
You may have a bad actuator. I also brought an aftermarket one on Amazon and have been happy with it for the 4-5 months ive used it so far. Aftrrmarket can be hit and miss, I guess.
I also ordered motors from ebay and replaced one broken inside my OE actuator. There are two inside the actuator, one was shot in mine. I wrote a thread on that. Now I have a spare in case the aftermarket one dies.
Not knowing your reasons for replacement of the OE, I can't say if replacing motors might be your solution. If you kept your original actuator, let us know what its symptoms were. It might be sheared or broken gears or brackets, bad motors, worn or broken shaft housings inside. It's not a complicated mechanism inside, but it's a combo of plastic and metal and a few things could go wrong. There are several youtube videos of the insides. I think I linked one in my other thread which I thought was detailed explained the actuator typical failures.
Last edited by expl0rer; May 12, 2021 at 12:11 PM.
I ended up returning the non OEM very cheap part with an OEM part and the clicking stopped.... oh well, always worth a try to save a couple of hundred bucks
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oh well, always worth a try to save a couple of hundred bucks
