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Hello guys, i have a 2001 s320 short, with the armatic air suspention. the car have recently got lower. and i get the "activ body control, stop car to low" red warning message when i drive with several people in the car, or if im alone and accelerate hard. the problem is i dont know what part is "broken" how can i trouble shoot this ? iv worked on several cars, but never air suspention. how can i find out what component is broken ? and does anyone have experience with the "cheaper" airstruts and aircompressors on ebay other then original ? i think if i can just find out what component is broken i should be able to save some money on buying a used or a non-original and repalce it myself
as you can see car have been lowerd sligtly in the fron on links, but i make the links so it should be even higher then original, but its still low so something is clearly broken.
and also, can a obd read or something like that tell me were the problem is ? here in norway just 1 hour of troubleshooting at a mercedes dealer ship is so expesive its not even funny.
It can be many things, one or more struts on the way out, the compressor, the valve block.
The leak of the strut can be at the top seal, look for cracks and spray soapy water to see if bubbles. I also can be blown/worn bladder inside, look for hissing noise when ride over bumps, or ask that many several people to lift a bit the body at the upper part of the wheel well and again listen for hissing.
And most important, browse the forum encyclopedia, there are volumes about airmatic problems.
The most popular choice for a fix in the US is to buy Arnotts aftermarket struts, I think Arnotts even have European distributors.
Why does your display show active body control but u say it's airmatic? Do you have airmatic suspension or ABC suspension? Either way. Read fault codes with star and report back
Thanks for answereing ! I appriciate it, i know there is alot on airmatic.
So i took all these photos just now. Had to drive while taking the warning message cuse it does not appeare when standing still lol, ony appears when i acclerate and turns, then goes of when just driving straight. As you can see there is a small crack on the rubber thingy but i could not get any bubbles out of it witouth pressing around it. Is there any way i can be 100% certain that this is the problem ? like try to fill it with glue or something and test, so i know THIS is the problem ? But in case this is the problem do i need a new complete strut ? how do i fix it ?
Also i tought i had airmatic cuse i have the 2 arrows on the dash, but warning message looks like ABC. i dont know i thook these pictures just know you tell me what i have..
You have airmatic . That hose on your strut top is the air line
Don't know why your dash warning says abc /it's airmatic
. That crack in your strut top can be filled with epoxy and it might fix it. Mercedes also sells a strut top repair kit for about $100
From the first picture it is difficult to tell if the car is low in 1 corner or overall low. If it's low in the corner of the strut you show then you r problem is likely only that 1 strut. If it's losing height all around you may have another problem. If you have an independent Mercedes mechanic around as someone suggested earlier, have the car connected to a STAR system and have the codes read. Only a STAR system will be able to pinpoint the problem.
Thanks alot for the asweres guys, had my car at a mercedes shop today. they told me the compressor did not produce enough pressure and told me one of the sensors in the front was stuck. that last thing was strange because i took of the links and they were both perfectly free (think im gonna call them about that tomorrow) But they could not tell if there were any leaks since the compressor wasent producing enough pressure.
So i removed the compressor, and i imeadeatly saw some problems (look at the pictures) the hose that comes from the filter was cut in half 2 places, so the compresosr was basicly sucking in non filtered air. But since the compressor is working like it should, running fine when connected to 12v battery from a car. and the switch for letting out air is also working. i was hoping a repair kit with piston ring might solve the problem and give more pressure, what do you think when you look at the pictures ? the inside of the cylinder is kind of beat up and dirty. the plastic ring is also slightly worn. i can esely hold my finger before the hole were the air is comming out. it builds up over time but never any good pressure, how much is there supused to be ? should i be able to hold my finger at it blocking it with just a small amount of pressure on the hole ?
so what do you think ? can a repair kit solve this ? when i drag my finger over the cylinder it does not feel as bad as it looks, but it is defetnly worn.
I would definitely try replacing the piston ring. You have half the labor done already, and the rebuild kit only costs about $25. Clean everything, and fix all of the hoses. You can replace the filter with a standard fuel filter of the right size. Put it back together, and see what happens...
A late uptade guys, but i tought it was good letting you know in case someone else had same problem. I got a new piston ring installed and now the airmatic is better then it has ever been as long as i have had the car.
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