Hi all,
I bought a S500 2003 with a lot of problems. I am a beginning homeschooled mechanic. I have bought this car as a project for a very good price, i thought it'd be a piece of cake but it isn't. The problems are:

1) I have Airmatic, as you guessed all 4 sides are down to the ground. The car is on jack stands now. I have tested the compressor by connecting directly to the battery and yes it works. I would try getting the struts full but i don't know which one of the connector pins is the positive and ground. Compressor and valve seem ok, checked all hoses visually. I have not done soap test because there is no air in the system to leak. I can see hairline cracks in the front struts though. Rear struts i haven't checked yet. I have changed the relays also.

2) Fuel pump doesn't work. Car has been standing for a long time. Relay was ok pump was really gone. I ordered a new one and a new filter. Car is 11 years old and has less then 20000 miles.

3) this is the one that scares me the most, the dash buttons don't work, hazard airmatic, lock, curtain and esp. None of them works. I read it could be a fuse, i think i have checked all of them, will do again. Fuse chart was not in the trunk by the spare wheel so i had to check all fuses. I read about clogged drains and sam, all seems fine there. I can't find how to get to the buttons and i don't want to mess to much. Car is like new inside and i would like to keep it that way. I have ordered a iCarsoft i980, but i think i should have ordered Das diagnostics right away.

4) while i was testing everything i noticed the radio doesn't sound nice at all. Maybe broken speakers?

I hope you guys can help me out a little, i live in a country where we have no Mercedes dealers so i'm determined on fixing it myself. I bought the car for a good price so if i need to get DAS to make this work i will. I can order all parts no problem. Thanks in advance for thinking with me/

 

Is it running yet? change the fuel filter along with the pump.

then see if she rises once running. Sitting on the ground all this time likely means the bags have dry rotted

If it doesnt rise once running Might as well get 4 new arnott struts. Put them on and she if she rises

 

She has run, i threw some gasoline in the intake and started and ran. But i did not hear the compressor come on. I changed the relays afterwards and she hasn't run since. Sometime next week filter and pump will arrive.

About the bags. The bags are inside the struts? I missed that part. I was hoping to fix air suspension. Arnott is some kind of last resort. They'd cost almost the prce i have paid for entire car.

 

Yes the airbags are part of the strut

Right now you really don't know it theyre leaking or just lost air from sitting so long , but chances are at least some of the struts are no good

Besides a leaking strut top you can't really repair a strut yourself

 

Solve one or two problems at a time so you don't get overwhelmed. Start with the most critical like getting the engine running. Do your research on the next issue. The next problem would be the suspension. Systematically check all the causes for airmatic failure and eliminate them one by one starting with the pump. If the car has been sitting for a long time there may be problems with the air blatter in the struts but don't assume that because this will cost you lots of money. Spend some time reading the airmatic threads to educate yourself. There must be a hundred of them out there. Much of the work you can do yourself.

 

I have done a whole lot of reading on this forum and others. It seems as is most people have problems with front or rear struts but almost never with all 4. Compressor seems fine but it doesn't come on, only when connected directly to the battery. I was hoping to repair front struts.

If the car would have dropped from sitting would it rise the moment i connect the battery or it would rise when engine is started? Dash buttons don't work so i can't make the car raise by touching the lift button.

 

Your car is computer-controlled. There are over a dozen large and small computers that interact to control virtually everything that happens on the car.


The Airmatic compressor will not run unless the engine is running.


If you checked the fuel pump by applying power directly to its terminals, then it is probably faulty. If you checked in any other way, it might or might not be faulty.


If you want to restore the car, I think that your first step should be to carefully investigate the threads on this and other Mercedes Forums and learn which DAS you want, and where to buy it. There will be a steep learning curve in using the system, but there is no other affordable way to really make the car and all its system function properly.


I would suggest that the most reliable, easiest to use DAS is one running on a dedicated IBM or Dell laptop thru direct connections, not wireless. Some people have made DAS work on a newer laptop, or on wireless, but that seems to require a high degree of skill and experience in computer installation and operation.


It might also be very helpful if you tell us where you actually live, and where the car was originally delivered. These two facts can make a difference in what we suggest.


Good luck...

 

Ok so the Airmatic only works when car is running, i didn't know that. So i'll put back the compressor and try it when the fuel pump arrives.

I saw the Das with Dell laptop for a reasonable price on Ebay. I will order this one later on, first i'm waiting for my Icarsoft i980 to arrive.

My car is a RHD and i don't know which country it comes from. Car has been imported. I think UK but could lso be Japan, Singapore or Thailand. I live in Surinam.

Thanks for thinking with me.

 

You were able to get a car imported to Surinam for less than the cost of 4 arNott struts ?

Just the shipping to Surinam cost more than that!!

 

I bought the car here.

 

Yeah you must get it running before seeing what is wrong with the suspension

 

Ok i understand that now, but how about the dash buttons, shouldn't they work without the car running?

 

You wont know what is going to work properly until the car is running

Many button will not function if the car is not running

 

The car operates the way that the German computer programmers and their managers think that it should work, not the way that you think that it should work!

 

Friday the car will be running, i don't know if it will be up. I will keep you guys posted.

 

I have NO idea on how to help you but admire your drive and spirit, best of luck

Subscribed!

 

Come to think of it, dash buttons like hazard should work even if the car isn't running. It is a safety feature. If i would just know how to get to these buttons to see if they are plugged in. I think i have to get the vents out but i don't want to break anything.

 

Fuel pump and filter arrived. Installed them and car starts fine, runs beautiful.
Compressor however does not come on. Dash buttons don't work. So i can't use the lift button. Tomorrow i'm going to get the buttons out to see if they are ok.
I also received my Icarsoft i980 today. Scans everything fine but it is a little complicated. Can i go ahead and erase all codes or should i write them down first? What more can i do to get the compressor running. Relays have been changed.

 

I'm glad your baby is running now. I would definitely right the error codes down before you delete them. It is always good to know what is going on. Delete them, check again, compare.

When you take out the buttons, and the trim, you might brake some clips, but they are easy to replace. Believe me, I had to change almost every clip in my car.

Good luck

 

I saved the most important codes before erasing all. Most did not come back. She runs so nice. A/C is cold, i'm so happy. Everything is like new, car has less then 20k miles. If the compressor would come on i'd be driving right now. Why would the compressor not work? If i connect it to the battery it works fine. I changed the relay already. Being a RHD i didn't know for shure which is the correct fuse so i checked them all. I just hope i will not have to buy Arnotts.
I have a few messages on display about head lamp and tail light which aren't working. Presafe inactive also comes up. Battery has been disconnected so that should be normal i guess.

On the scanner i get 6 suspension codes where can i look those up? Also Sam left and rear gave me a few codes.

 

Did you replaced relay O (the letter!)?

 

Yes i did. The old ones are branded Tyco by the way. Everyone else seems to have Hella or Siemens.

 

I don't believe that faulty struts would keep the compressor from running. Is the car still up on jackstands, so that the struts are extended? If so, perhaps the car thinks that it is at or above the proper ride height, so that the compressor doesn't need to run.


If that is the case, I think that my first attempt would be to lower the car on the jackstands so that it is lower than normal ride height, but higher than fully collapsed height. Then, start the engine and see if the compressor runs.

 

If the compressor runs when power is applied directly to it then you have a good compressor
The problem is that something isn't sending power to the compressor

If you power up the compressor directly , then does it inflate the suspension ? If so you could make a custom switched power wire send 12v directly to the compressor to lift the car , turn off the switch when the car is raised , and turn it back on if it gets low. It's not a permanent solution but might get the car drivable height while you work in it

 

Good thinking! The car too low message doesn't come on anymore, i hadn't even noticed that yet. My jack stands are too high to keep the wheels closer to the ground. I would need 3 jacks to drop the car so much, i only have 2.