2006 s430 W220 Central locking and soft close problems.
03-11-2022, 12:57 PM
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
2006 s430 W220 Central locking and soft close problems.
Hey all, I bet you've never heard this before but I'm having issues with my central locking and soft close doors. I'm brand new to the community and I've been using this site to help me find problems with my car and fix them and it's been terrific. However I could not find anyone with the exact same problem Im having currently. I'm very new to working on the pse pump for the car and would appreciate if the responses are slightly dumbed down haha.
My problem: I've had the car for about a year and over time the central locking on ALL doors has been slowly fading away, it really seemed like a leak to me but what confuses is the fact that actuator leaks seem to be a door by door problem and doesn't stop all central locking on every door. Further more, the soft close on my front doors does not work. This leads to believe it's an actuator pump issue for the front doors. However the rear door soft close works beautifully, along with all other pse pump attachments. That is what is stumping me the most, why would all doors central locking stop when the pump to the rear doors seem to be fine?
This seems like a rare issue as I've never been able to find anyone with the exact same problems with the pse pump. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
My problem: I've had the car for about a year and over time the central locking on ALL doors has been slowly fading away, it really seemed like a leak to me but what confuses is the fact that actuator leaks seem to be a door by door problem and doesn't stop all central locking on every door. Further more, the soft close on my front doors does not work. This leads to believe it's an actuator pump issue for the front doors. However the rear door soft close works beautifully, along with all other pse pump attachments. That is what is stumping me the most, why would all doors central locking stop when the pump to the rear doors seem to be fine?
This seems like a rare issue as I've never been able to find anyone with the exact same problems with the pse pump. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
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biker349 (03-11-2022)
03-11-2022, 02:49 PM
#2
MBWorld Fanatic!
The most common problems with this system are failures of the individual door actuator diaphragms.
There is one central PSE (Pneumatic Service Equipment) pump, which creates both positive and negative pneumatic pressures.
Each door has one complex door latch assembly. Each assembly contains two pneumatic actuator assemblies, one for the soft-close operation, and one for lock/unlock operation. Any one or more of these eight actuators can fail. The trunk latch assembly also includes pneumatically-operated functions.
The most common failure mode seems to be that the plastic actuator body breaks. Sometimes (not usually) you can use clamps and epoxy to repair the housing. On some models of the W220, the soft-close actuator can be replaced, but the lock/unlock actuator is usually buried deep inside the non-serviceable lock assembly.
The PSE control module monitors how long each operation actually takes, and compares that to the allowable programmed time. If the elapsed time exceeds the allotted time four or five times, the module cuts that particular operation off, and stops trying it.
Searching will show you many threads describing the system with photos, and many videos on YouTube.
There is one central PSE (Pneumatic Service Equipment) pump, which creates both positive and negative pneumatic pressures.
Each door has one complex door latch assembly. Each assembly contains two pneumatic actuator assemblies, one for the soft-close operation, and one for lock/unlock operation. Any one or more of these eight actuators can fail. The trunk latch assembly also includes pneumatically-operated functions.
The most common failure mode seems to be that the plastic actuator body breaks. Sometimes (not usually) you can use clamps and epoxy to repair the housing. On some models of the W220, the soft-close actuator can be replaced, but the lock/unlock actuator is usually buried deep inside the non-serviceable lock assembly.
The PSE control module monitors how long each operation actually takes, and compares that to the allowable programmed time. If the elapsed time exceeds the allotted time four or five times, the module cuts that particular operation off, and stops trying it.
Searching will show you many threads describing the system with photos, and many videos on YouTube.
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biker349 (03-11-2022)
03-11-2022, 03:57 PM
#3
Newbie
Thread Starter
Again thank you for the help, very informative.
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biker349 (03-11-2022)
03-12-2022, 09:22 AM
#4
MBWorld Fanatic!
I meant that I could not see any way to access the lock actuator buried deep inside the lock mechanism on my 2003 S430. The soft close actuator is accessible at the bottom of the lock assembly. Getting the lock mechanisms out of the front doors is difficult the first time, getting them out of the rear doors is a stone cold ***** of a job.
First, find the floor light located behind the right rear passenger's heels. Pull it out of the carpeted wall - don't bother to disconnect it. Locate the yellow 20-Amp fuse near the inboard end of the row of fuses behind the light and pull it out. Put it back in. You have just reset the PSE Control Module. See what works now. If a particular function works for a few times, there is a minor leak in that circuit. If a function doesn't work at all, there is a major leak in that circuit.
First, find the floor light located behind the right rear passenger's heels. Pull it out of the carpeted wall - don't bother to disconnect it. Locate the yellow 20-Amp fuse near the inboard end of the row of fuses behind the light and pull it out. Put it back in. You have just reset the PSE Control Module. See what works now. If a particular function works for a few times, there is a minor leak in that circuit. If a function doesn't work at all, there is a major leak in that circuit.
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biker349 (03-12-2022)
03-15-2022, 02:44 AM
#5
I meant that I could not see any way to access the lock actuator buried deep inside the lock mechanism on my 2003 S430. The soft close actuator is accessible at the bottom of the lock assembly. Getting the lock mechanisms out of the front doors is difficult the first time, getting them out of the rear doors is a stone cold ***** of a job.
First, find the floor light located behind the right rear passenger's heels. Pull it out of the carpeted wall - don't bother to disconnect it. Locate the yellow 20-Amp fuse near the inboard end of the row of fuses behind the light and pull it out. Put it back in. You have just reset the PSE Control Module. See what works now. If a particular function works for a few times, there is a minor leak in that circuit. If a function doesn't work at all, there is a major leak in that circuit.
First, find the floor light located behind the right rear passenger's heels. Pull it out of the carpeted wall - don't bother to disconnect it. Locate the yellow 20-Amp fuse near the inboard end of the row of fuses behind the light and pull it out. Put it back in. You have just reset the PSE Control Module. See what works now. If a particular function works for a few times, there is a minor leak in that circuit. If a function doesn't work at all, there is a major leak in that circuit.
