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The tailgate on my 2008 ML-350 (w/ 147K) stopped working a few weeks now. It happened around the time that I replaced the battery. I performed the following checks:
(1) Verified that the latch is working as it unlocks the tailgate and will re-lock it after 15-20 seconds
(2) I can hear the pump working when I try to open or close the tailgate
(3) Issue occurs when using the FOB, the tailgate button and the switch on the drivers door
(4) I did observe some dampness below the spare tire, but there's no rust or any visual issue with the pump.
(5) I disconnected and reconnect the pump with no change
(6) I replaced the liftgate struts (with OEM) due to age and to rule out any degraded resistance that could cause interference.... no change
(7) I checked the fuse (which I knew would be fine since the pump is working). No observed issue with the wiring around the fuse box
There is absolutely NO movement at all when attempting to electronically open or close the liftgate.
Would appreciate any suggestion or insights into this issue as I'm at a lost what else to check.
I may have found the issue. What I didn't do previously was to open the plastic case that houses the pump. Once I did that, I was able to see that the foam surrounding was completely soaked in water.
also observed that a wire was separated from the pump (likely due to corrosion). Hopefully once I clean up the corrosion on the connector and solder back the wire, it should resolve the issue.
05-12-2021, 02:41 PM
