Well, my lucky number was drawn in the Airmatic strut failure lottery. My front, driver's side strut's bottom seal completely failed and was blown out. I went ahead and ordered the new Arnott struts and successfully installed them last night. While waiting for the new struts to arrive, I also changed out my front brake pads.

Long story short, we are having the exact same problems that ZX100 had back in January of this year. New struts are in, new pads are in and all suggested resets (steering wheel side-to-side, etc) have been performed. We are still getting the Airmatic, BAS, ESP malfunctions and the ABS light is on. The following is a link to ZX100's thread:

https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...tt-struts.html


The only problem is that the thread didn't have a resolution posted. So here is our specifics and this is where we stand:

1. Car had no malfunctions or error messages prior to the strut failure.

2. Battery was disconnected for the entire 6-day service period.

3. Entire wheel well areas and calipers were cleaned.

4. ABS speed sensors were removed, cleaned, and re-installed.

5. Pads changed out, calipers were left in place.

6. New struts installed, and all air lines and electrical lines reconnected.

7. Battery reconnected and appropriate resets performed.

8. Drove car around the block to help bed the pads and see if malfunctions would clear after driving. Vehicle drives smooth, tracks straight and there are no unusual noises.

9. Steering is quite tight/firm, but not "power steering pump failure tight."

10. Malfunctions still persist: Airmatic, ESP, BAS and ABS light.

That's all I can think of...

We are just about ready to take the car to a local indy here in town to run SDS on it. Just hoping someone might be able to offer a few suggestions for us to try before we take it in.

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions!

-Susan in Texas

 

Why was the battery disconnected and would a small keep alive memory device the type for changing battery's without losing presets, have helped.?

 

Did you turn the steering full right and full left to clear the lights you list? It's one of the resets.

 

**UPDATE**

Thanks for the suggestions Panthercool 1 and Skylaw.

To answer the questions,

Panthercool: While I understand that most people will view disconnecting the battery as a big inconvenience with having to perform various resets when reconnected, it is a safety practice that my husband and I always follow when performing anything other than routine maintenance on our vehicles. Moreover, the strut replacement procedure includes the removal of the fuse for the airmatic air compressor to disable it. Disconnecting the battery satisfies that requirement as well.

Skylaw: Yes, the steering wheel side-to-side reset was performed with no success in removing the error messages. It was one of the first things we tried.

I had the assistance of Adam Arnott via email in solving this issue. He believed that the electrical connectors from the ABS speed sensor and the air strut were not making complete contact within the receptacle. Low and behold, after my husband pushed in the connector on the front driver side wheel well with some force, it clicked further and solidly into the receptacle.

Problem solved - no more error messages! Big thanks as well to Adam Arnott for his troubleshooting help (and for his affordable replacement struts.)

While I feel that our situation may be different than other people's situations regarding airmatic issues, it was easy for us to determine what went wrong with our vehicle. The fix was straight-forward, and simple. The instructions that came with the struts were easy to follow as well.

-Susan

 

Can anyone tell me how to test a wheel speed sensor. I am having a problem similar to Sallen70 on my wife's 2000 S500. I just replaced all four airmatics with the Arnott conversion kit due to multiple failures of the struts that left my vehicle on the floor. The conversion went fine and the car rides like a dream now. I have error lights on for the ABS, ESP and BAS before and I still do, but they have changed and my cruise control will not work. When I try to engage the cruise it now shows me three dashes where the speed would be indicated. That makes me think that the cruise control does not know what the vehicle speed is, which points to a wheel speed sensor. Is there a way to test them, or a diagnostic that will tell me which one if any are bad? I did check the connection like you noted and it seemed secure. I never disconnected the wheel speed sensor to change out the struts.

 

kcscout: You might get a better response to this if you repost as a separate issue. But without going into WIS or researching the specifics, the sensors must be connected to the appropriate computer. If you have access to WIS's electrical diagrams, the pin contact number that flow to each of the speed sensors will be given. The first simple test would be to check the resistances with an ohm meter to each sensor at that connector. An open circuit would probably indicate the culprit. A more refined technique would be to spin the tire and with the appropriate signal capture gear and read the impulses coming to the computer. Good luck.

 

the connector for the struts are not in all the way, trust me, look at them you think they are in but they are not!

 

Tower thanks for the response. I am not sure what you are referring to by the acronym WIS. Where can I get a copy of the electrical schematic for this system. I can handle the type of electrical checks you mention. Until I get the schematics I will try to test them individually at each wheel well. I need to check the connection anyway as several posts suggest that the connector is not completely pushed in.

 

this problem has come up several times.

for those doing the install, the connector definitely needs to "click"

 

Found this old post...great info. I have been thru all of the above today with my 04 S-500.
Changed the Right Front strut and due to a frozen fastener where the strut fastens to the lower control arm...replaced the lower control arm.
Stiff steering, ABS light, no Cruise control.

So...I checked the connector...pulled it out some (was a bit loose) and pushed it back in until it clicked !! I thought ...ok great. But for me ...no change.

What am I missing?

 

It can be surprisingly difficult to get those connectors correctly installed. It's worth trying again - pull both connectors out of the fenderwell socket, firmly push the connector halves together so that they act like one connector, and firmly seat them fully and evenly.

 

Replace the speed sender. That should fix it.