ABC Issues After Replacing Struts Question
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Joined: May 2011
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From: Southern California
97 Lexus LS400, 04 Mustang, 08 Corvette Z51, 92 Honda Civic Si, 02 CL500, 03 E500
ABC Issues After Replacing Struts Question
A friend with an 02 S55 had been driving w/ a leaky left rear strut & a white ABC message for a couple years. Yesterday, he finally got around & replaced both rear with pre-owned Mercedes struts & I helped him performing a rodeo to get all the trapped air out using the Foxwell NT530 scanner. After rodeo, I tried to clear all the error codes (faults in component right front, left front, right rear, left rear level sensors, calibration of the plunger travel sensors hasn't been successfully performed & critical vehicle level front left & rear right) & the white ABC message on his instrument's cluster. The scanner prompted it's cleared, however when it performed a re-scan, all these codes kept coming back. I told him to back out of the garage & drive around the neighborhood for 10, 15 minutes in hopes the ECU will reset & clear all the codes but it didn't work. One thing I want to mention is that, when he put the car in reverse, the white ABC message changed from white to red & the backend of his car raised all the way up, however when he shifted the car into drive, the car's rear end came back down to the normal ride height & the ABC message changed back to white. Now with the car in park & engine running, the ABC message changed back to red & the scanner still detected these same codes even though the car sits perfectly on all 4 corners so we don't know what to make of this.
All of these error codes are pointed to the plunger travel sensors & height level sensors so perhaps they've lost a point of reference & in need of re-calibration or may be his ABC module is bad? Any thoughts?
All of these error codes are pointed to the plunger travel sensors & height level sensors so perhaps they've lost a point of reference & in need of re-calibration or may be his ABC module is bad? Any thoughts?
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Joined: May 2011
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From: Southern California
97 Lexus LS400, 04 Mustang, 08 Corvette Z51, 92 Honda Civic Si, 02 CL500, 03 E500
Yea, I think it needs level re-calibration, however I'm not 100% convinced as the guy only replaced his 2 rear struts. For the scanner to keep on detecting faulty codes on all 4 corners, it's telling me there has to be a common point so it could very well be his ABC module or something that's common to all 4 of his struts or level sensors. After all, he had been driving with a white ABC warning message for quite a while. He saw his left rear strut leaking so he made the assumption that it was the root cause. If he had told me that he had issue with his ABC up front, I would have run a baseline test for him before he replaced his struts. Oh well...
Last edited by superfast; Jun 4, 2023 at 12:35 AM.
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Thread Starter
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Joined: May 2011
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From: Southern California
97 Lexus LS400, 04 Mustang, 08 Corvette Z51, 92 Honda Civic Si, 02 CL500, 03 E500
I don't think he was joking. We're a tiny community but have over 30 Mercedes-Benz dealers in Southern California 
Anyway, my friend has been on vacation so hasn't brought his S55 back for another look.
Anyway, my friend has been on vacation so hasn't brought his S55 back for another look.
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Thread Starter
Member
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 235
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From: Southern California
97 Lexus LS400, 04 Mustang, 08 Corvette Z51, 92 Honda Civic Si, 02 CL500, 03 E500
I did some more research & found out calibration of the plunger travel sensors is a must whenever you replaced the ABC module and/or the strut(s). Anyway, my friend brought his S55 back today for another look. I used the same scanner & did the level sensors & plunger travel sensors calibration under the "Suspension & Initial Start Up With Manual Takeover of Settings of Previous Control Unit". Initially, I couldn't complete the level sensor calibration as it kept prompting me with "The Preconditions of The System Test were not met. Check Preconditions & Repeat System Test". I, however was able to find a work around it by manually raise each corner to max height. By doing so, it also expanded the struts & put the plunger travel sensors to the top end (0mm) then proceeded to the plunger calibration & it passed. The only issue I have left with the ABC is I still have the white warning message with 1 fault condition as for some reason, I couldn't run the last calibration which is the Load Adjustments as it kept telling me it hasn't been successfully performed. Can someone with experience chime in on this & tell me if there's a work around to complete the last calibration? Thanks in advance.
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2005 S500 Designo
I did some more research & found out calibration of the plunger travel sensors is a must whenever you replaced the ABC module and/or the strut(s). Anyway, my friend brought his S55 back today for another look. I used the same scanner & did the level sensors & plunger travel sensors calibration under the "Suspension & Initial Start Up With Manual Takeover of Settings of Previous Control Unit". Initially, I couldn't complete the level sensor calibration as it kept prompting me with "The Preconditions of The System Test were not met. Check Preconditions & Repeat System Test". I, however was able to find a work around it by manually raise each corner to max height. By doing so, it also expanded the struts & put the plunger travel sensors to the top end (0mm) then proceeded to the plunger calibration & it passed. The only issue I have left with the ABC is I still have the white warning message with 1 fault condition as for some reason, I couldn't run the last calibration which is the Load Adjustments as it kept telling me it hasn't been successfully performed. Can someone with experience chime in on this & tell me if there's a work around to complete the last calibration? Thanks in advance.
I said go to a dealership to have this done. This isn't something you can do in your garage.
You need to do it on an alignment lift in conjunction with an alignment. It's a a whole process and not just pushing buttons in DAS. The dealership will likely charge $400 or so, $200 for the calibration, $200 for the alignment, thereabouts. Stop wasting time and go to a dealership.
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Joined: May 2011
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From: Southern California
97 Lexus LS400, 04 Mustang, 08 Corvette Z51, 92 Honda Civic Si, 02 CL500, 03 E500
Yeah, that may be his last resort when I'm running out of idea. Well, at least I took care of the rodeo for him & that's a saving of $250.
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560SEC
What happened in the end? Any resolution?
I just had my rear struts replaced and the mechanic called me saying "he believes that the power steering pump is too weak to lift the car"
I suspect that a sensor level calibration needs to be performed, since the pump had no problems lifting the car.
I just had my rear struts replaced and the mechanic called me saying "he believes that the power steering pump is too weak to lift the car"
I suspect that a sensor level calibration needs to be performed, since the pump had no problems lifting the car.
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What happened in the end? Any resolution?
I just had my rear struts replaced and the mechanic called me saying "he believes that the power steering pump is too weak to lift the car"
I suspect that a sensor level calibration needs to be performed, since the pump had no problems lifting the car.
I just had my rear struts replaced and the mechanic called me saying "he believes that the power steering pump is too weak to lift the car"
I suspect that a sensor level calibration needs to be performed, since the pump had no problems lifting the car.
Has the fluid been flushed and fresh filter installed?
Rodeo performed?
Accumulators fresh? They are a wear item.
Need to have the MB kit to do these things. Benz Ninja can fix 'The Mechanic' up with such things. Or you may consider purchasing for yourself as when needed it can and will save you a bundle in $$$ and aggravation.
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560SEC
He meant the tandem pump.
When inspecting the car, I noticed a lot of spilled oil in the wheel well of one of the struts they replaced. I suspect they did not connect the quick connector all the way, spraying hydraulic fluid running the tandem pump dry.
I told them to apply positive pressure to the ABC reservoir and the car lifted up promptly. Now I have a white ABC light and odd behavior that the front left lowers while driving and lifts at every stop sign.
I performed rodeo and plunger level calibration with my foxwell scanner and it still acts that way.
The mechanic told me that when the car was not lifting, "he manipulated the level sensor trying to get it to lift to no avail...." It might be out of spec.
I will try to manually set the ride height today and if that doesn't work it's off to the dealer for ABC diagnostic and calibration!
When inspecting the car, I noticed a lot of spilled oil in the wheel well of one of the struts they replaced. I suspect they did not connect the quick connector all the way, spraying hydraulic fluid running the tandem pump dry.
I told them to apply positive pressure to the ABC reservoir and the car lifted up promptly. Now I have a white ABC light and odd behavior that the front left lowers while driving and lifts at every stop sign.
I performed rodeo and plunger level calibration with my foxwell scanner and it still acts that way.
The mechanic told me that when the car was not lifting, "he manipulated the level sensor trying to get it to lift to no avail...." It might be out of spec.
I will try to manually set the ride height today and if that doesn't work it's off to the dealer for ABC diagnostic and calibration!
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CL 600 '00 5.8L V12
It is very dangerous to run the ABC system dry, this could result in future problems, like leaking struts.
Make sure that all the connections are properly tightened and don't leak, then proceed to do further diagnosis.
I'd do the calibration, only and only if the car has no ABC errors
Make sure that all the connections are properly tightened and don't leak, then proceed to do further diagnosis.
I'd do the calibration, only and only if the car has no ABC errors
