w221brabus

Folks, new US(Atlanta) member here, posting for the first time.... Looking for some thoughts feedback on an electrical issue before heading to the dealer. Warning - frustrating semi-rant follows!

My '07 S550 Brabus was parked in Ohio (cold) from January to June. Unfortunately I did not think about disconnecting the batteries and they both drained dead.

Went up there last week to pick up the car and drive it back to Georgia - MB roadside came up and jump started the car, did some fiddling with the computer (I was outside of the car and did not watch him) and he told me all is well, the batteries will charge up on the 8 hour drive and I should be okay.

After getting on the road a few things seemed a bit strange (phone would call out but buttons did not work when connected, rear shade show being in up position but was down and would not move) but things worked in general. I did not turn the car off on the drive down.

Now the problems start:
After getting to Georgia here are a few of the the issues:
- Every time the car is powered off (turn engine off w/ push start) everything loses power and resets.
- I try it with the key and most times everything resets other times it does not. Can't seem to find a solid pattern w/ the key unlike the push start which kills everything every time I turn the car off.
- When turned off everything loses power - no lights, no automatic door close, no key fob functionality to unlock/lock doors, dash is black.
- The radio presets all go away
- the clock (analog on the dash) goes back to 12 but after driving for a few minutes automatically goes back to the right time
- rear shade does not go up or down
- Air suspension button to raise car does not work most of the time - I have a sloped driveway and need to raise to avoid scraping the front
- a few times an ESP warning shows up "could not activate esp" but this goes away after driving for a few minutes


Other comments
- Once the engine is running most everything works fine.
- I have done the reset function on the vehicle command system and it cleared up a few things (phone buttons not working)
- I did notice this morning while experimenting that when I used the keys the dash/command console and lights in the car flickered like some kind power fluctuation was occurring.
- I tested the battery in the front and it shows 11.8 volts, not sure how to test the battery in the rear.

Went by the dealer to inquire (Mercedes Benz of Buckhead in Atlanta) and was told by one tech that I should drive it for a couple of days and things would go back to normal (this was a week ago and that did not work). Was told by another service rep to bring it in - I could see the dollar signs in his eyes - I think he was actually salivating! I asked what could possibly be the problem if everything worked fine when I parked it and got some vauge non-sensical answer.

Mileage is 54K and obviously out of warranty. I am very comfortable troubleshooting so feel free to ask/recccomend away.

Hopefuly this is just a "simple" computer reset/recalibration issue.

Any thoughts/comments from the group on how to proceed?

I must say that this is my second MB (other car was a 2006 SL500) with a ton of problems from leaking roof to suspension problems - ended up selling it back to the dealer out of frustration because they never fixed the problem and dragged it out until my warranty ran out.

Love the s550 in general and the look, performance of the dealer installed brabus package but seriously thinking about going to an A8 - again out of frustration.

Was a BMW (5 & 7 series) owner for 8 years and never had this level of issues - and seemingly lack of interest from the dealer to actually fix the problems.

Thanks in advance for any guidance folks.

Venom-AMG

I remember my service advisor telling me mb needs around 16v not the normal 12v like other cars. Replacing both battery is an option. Another option is disconnect both battery and wait 15 mins then reconnect. The front battery is aux. Rear is the main unit. Hope that helps

amdeutsch

Diesel Benz

Sounds like the rear battery is not even connected? Have you checked the voltage there when the car is switched off (you can measure it from the engine bay)? Or the pyro-fuse blown. Remember, the car starts with the front battery.

Red Marko

Diesel Benz
I have to say (long past overdue), you bring a lot of knowledge to this forum.
Thanks.

WSH

Know of few guys in Manhattan who would periodically leave car unused (and w/no trickle charge) for extended periods and simply call MB Svc to jump start car b/c of dead batteries...their MBs ended up w/various problematic computer "ghosts" (like what you describe) that were really hard to eliminate

Can't recall if new batteries would solve issue

Anecdotally, seems that new-gen S-Class is most reliable car on mkt, esp when one considers how much advanced tech these cars have (even vs other luxury cars)...and when one senses the serious issues VW and BMW are having with direct-injection motors these days

Would also suggest that any aftermkt stuff only destabilizes various hardware/software systems&networks of these already-complex cars...and just creates a blame game btwn factory/dealer and the aftermkt installer who uses customer cars for his "R&D"...and the customer ends up as the victim wasting his time and money to solve self-imposed reliability issues in his $100K+ car

trumpet1

This sound most probable as the cause from what was described.

Ferri

Battery maintainer is a must when car is stored for such a long period. I hope all is fixed satisfactory and you get back to enjoying your car. What, may I ask, does the Brabus pack consist of, what are the specs and price?

Vik888

If your car just sat there for that long with the battery draining, I can't imagine the battery has much health left if any. Maybe replacing the batteries will resolve your issue?

Update with how you resolved the problem. I'm curious.

vintagefefe

From my past car experience, your main battery is probably trashed (regardless of age). Usually when a car batter is left completely drained for long periods of time, it never gets back up to full 100%. This is probably why you are getting "ghost" problems, especially since Mercedes is really finicky with their electronics. Put in a fresh battery and do a full reset to see if this will cure your problems.

Satan

Your aux. battery is dead. If it is it will say comfort features off line or something to that effect like your SL500.

w221brabus

Folks, thanks for all of the prompt and supportive replies. I am thinking it may be the consumer battery. I know it is located in the trunk w/ connections next to the starter battery up front but I can't find any good description of the connectors to know which is which.

Per Diesel Benz I did check the front(starter) battery and it showed ~12volts off and ~14volts w/ engine running. Which makes since. After some digging online I discovered that the two bolts closet to the front of the bonnet next to the starter are the connectors for the rear(consumer) batteries. I will test these in the AM and let folks know what I come up with.

A few questions...Does anyone know how to get direct access to the battery in the back so I can test at the battery? Also, is there another computer reset option other then the one on the command menu (Vehicle) which does not seem to do much? and finally

My intentions are to troubleshoot as much as possible and try to isolate as best I can before taking it to the dealer so I don't get a bunch of BS like I did w/ my SL500.

Thanks!

w221brabus

Ferri, the brabus was an add on at the dealer. My local MB dealer had one as a show car that I bought. The options were installed by the dealer and included most of the Brabus options. The total package was about 115K back in 12/06 when I got it but my deal was much better because it had about 6K miles on it when I bought it. It really does make the car stand out from the stock s550 w/o going overboard. I get a ton of comments on it when I drive it.

Here is an article from european car that was written after a test drive of a car that is a near match of mine. http://www.europeancarweb.com/featur...bus/index.html

I'll post some pictures of it when I get a moment this weekend.

-

trumpet1

Thanks for that link. Very nice pictures and be sure to put your pictures in the picture thread when you can.

softgenious

I am a collector of a good amount cars and do not drive them all as much as I should. When not in daily use you MUST use a battery tender to avoid what happened to your car.

You need to replace your rear battery(its toast) because it does maintain the electronics of the S550. Most likely it will not retain a charge and a new battery is your only solution. I would also bet that the battery in the engine compartment is in need of replacement.

Sitting for 6 months is a slow death for any battery unless it is on a battery tender...

AustinGuy

Wow. Sorry to hear that! That must truely suck!

Trust me - I know the feeling. I was all jacked up for all of 2 weeks when I first got my S63 until I I noticed an oil leak! After 2-3 weeks of agonizing arguments and finger pointing from Ewing Autohaus (dealership in Dallas where I bought the car) MB-Austin fixed the problem. This was almost a yr. ago. Since then the car has been flawless.

But what I do empathize with you on is MB's incompetence and seeming disdain for making it's customers happy - esp. us S-Class ones

Good luck and post some pics. I love the Brabus kit!

On a side note - when I put on the Brabus MB IV's on my prev. S550 I was not really impressed with the overall quality and performance of the wheels. For one, the tires kept losing air and I had to go almost every 10-15 days to get them inflated to the proper level. All 4 tires!

Diesel Benz

Perhaps I was not clear, I did not suggest you to measure the voltage from the front battery, instead you should measure the rear battery voltage and you can do that from the front as long as you know the correct cable posts to measure it from (close to the pre-fusebox).

I'll try to locate an old post showing the correct place to measure it. On the other hand, you would likely have to remove the trunk panels anyway to access the rear battery.

Edited: the cable connector to measure the rear battery voltage from the engine bay is shown at this post:
https://mbworld.org/forums/3190746-post2.html

softgenious

Just curious, can you charge the rear battery from the post(prior post photo) under the front hood?

Diesel Benz

Sure, it is a big cable connecting the two batteries (when relays allow it). The main purpose of the tall post is to allow a charger being connected.

When the car is sleeping, the two batteries of course are not connected. One would need two trickle chargers if the front battery was supposed to be protected too.

But there is no load on the front battery other than internal battery leakage current and it would allow the car being started after the car has been parked for a very long time.

AppleChilli

w221brabus - What ended up being the outcome?

--bt--

AustinGuy - Your S63 is absolutely ridiculous (beautiful); it's hard not to stare!

MB of Arabia

Did u get it fixed?

carlosfernandez

Yeah let Us know!!!

S5502007

Looking fwd to eharing the response...want to know what caused the issues in the first place.

MB of Arabia

Well thank God after changing the two batteries all the same issues that I had went away...

skkons42

Hey Guys,
Im not new to this forum (just dont post much BTW). I was wondering if someone could help me with an issue Im having. I have a 2007 S550. Purchased with 1200 miles about 2 years ago. About 3 months ago, I noticed that my command screen would blink briefly every now and then while driving listening to music. I never really thought much of it because it never was a big issue (until my roadtrip to fron Dallas TX to San Diego CA). Yesterday, my family and I began our trip. I put strapped 2 small portable DVD players from best buy to the headrest for the kiddos and plugged into the power outlet in the rear. While on the interstate, I also used my cruise control for the first time. As we were cruising, every now and then, my command screen would blink briefly, but now, the cruise control would disengage, the DVD players would reset, and the radio sound would go out and back on. Then I had my kids to unplug dvd player power from the rear outlet, and plug into the rear cigarette lighter. Now when it everything blinked, the DVD players where OK. When we stopped to rest at hotel, I came out to my car to use fob to open trunk, and it WOUNDNT open. I opened the driver door to push trunk button, did NOT open. I had to turn the car's engine on to open trunk from then on. Now, once the delayed power goes out after shutting car off, the trunk wont open or close with power, and I have to try several times to open car doors with fob. Sorry this is so long, I just want to be as detailed as possible to get the correct information. Thanks Guys.