mtclimber

Hi

I would like to share my recent experience that happened to my father's Mercedes. I am sharing this with the hopes that it will be useful information for someone that has to bleed the brake on SBC system.

He owns a 2005 E320 CDI and started having problems with the main battery. He had the battery replaced with an aftermarket. The battery was no good and he purchased another one. He accidentally installed the battery backwards and connected the cables backwards. That's where all kings of things stopped working. TR went into limp mode and he had only the fist gear and reverse. Alternator was not charging. Engine was not running well... you name it. Also the brake stopped working and the red SBC light was on in the dash. The car was beeping all the time. As he limped to my house he had to press in the pedal pretty hard to stop the car (later we found out that only the front brakes were working).

So we replaced the SBC unit and we needed to bleed the brakes. We got the front bleed pretty easy since there a direct connection between the front brakes and the master cylinder. I used my Icarsoft MBII scanner to disable the front brakes. However the rear brakes have no direct connection to the master cylinder. The only way as stated in many forums i read about SBC systems, it requires the Star diagnosis.

Well that is not completely true.

According to what I read the ABS pump motor is activated each time the door is opened.
When the door is opened there is a faint buzzing sound that comes for the ABS unit. This is to ensure that the system is pressurized before the car moves. After i got the front brakes bleed and reactivated, i crawled under the car at the pass side rear wheel and i had dad open the door. Once i heard the pup running I opened the bleeder screw. When this happens the system senses that there is a loss in pressure and tries to pump up the system. If you hold it open long enough the SBC system detects that there is a problem and shots off on its own. You also get the SBC red light in the dash. Once the bleeder screw is closed and the key is inserted in the ignition every thing went back to normal. I had to repeat this several times but i managed to bleed the read brakes with out the Star Diagnostics. Once both sides were done i deleted the codes and no problems since then. There were other things we had to replace such as fuses, the fuseable link from the starter to the alternator, the fuse that is under the driver side kick panel (from amazon for couple of dollars).

Anyways i hope this will help someone in the future. Of course this has been my experience and take no responsibility in what you decide to do with this information.

rapidoxidation

There is no master cylinder as you know it on SBC brakes.
The buzz you heard was the hydraulic pump pressurizing the accumulator (the bulb on the side of the SBC pump).
You may be bleeding pressure out the bleeders on the brakes, but you're not hitting (at all) the hydraulic circuits that are the backup safety system for the car. To do that, you need to (wait for it) use the STAR system that can turn the solenoids on and off.

There's a lot of good info on how the system actually works, but you have to search a bit for it. Here's a diagram to get you started.

Gangrene3075

I read that Bleeding the Brakes without Star will not get a 100% flush. Reference this link.

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...id-change.html

bbirdwell

mtclimber, check PM.

To others reading this thread, do not mess with the SBC on the W211 unless you understand the system. This is not your grandfather's hydraulic brake system. It is a brake-by-wire system, is extremely complex, and improper procedures can result in damage and/or bodily injury.

squawbum

You could also just buy my STAR system and do the proper procedure. Any reasonable offer will be accepted.

if interested please see here:

https://mbworld.org/forums/mb-sedan-vendor-classifieds/671095-chinese-star-diagnostic-ibm-laptop-sale.html

NewShockerGuy

^
Dude you don't have to post this in multiple threads. It's annoying AF. You have a specific for sale thread which is fine for the classifieds. You created a for sale thread with the link to your for sale thread in the w211 section.. Then you are posting it on people's posts. Stop spamming that ****. PM the person.

-Nigel

LexBrett2

Dear Friends,

This weekend I bled my rear brakes with a Mityvac. I followed the procedure for the car to go to sleep and have SBC go off.

I just unscrewed the rear brake bleeder valve off the rear and used the suction to draw out the old fluid. Worked fine but I couldn't get all the air out of the lines. Really frustrating to have air in the lines, and I believe the air is contributing to a brake squeal.

I sucked out almost 1.5 liters of fluid, but a continuous flow of small air bubbles still remain!!

Any thoughts on what I have had done wrong??

FYI, I did my research on this topic before performing the job and found that this method worked for other people. I didn't understand the SBC procedure to get out air, so I didn't want to mess with it.

Tips or suggestions to other threads I may have missed would be much appreciated!!

mijotu

You are likely drawing air in from around the bleeder screw where it threads into caliper. Solutions include:

1) Remove the bleeder screw and coat the threads in a thin film of brake-approved silicone grease, or

2) Use a pressure bleeder such as the Schwaben: https://www.ecstuning.com/b-schwaben-parts/3-liter-european-pressure-brake-bleeder/007237sch01a/

Obaid1999

hi, I have a 2003 mercedes e500 with SBC, I've done successfully flushed the brake system before, using Motive Power Brake Bleeder, without star or any other OBD2 scan, but this time is different, as I have changed both rear calipers, so it is sure that the air entered the system. I've been reading a lot of forums without getting to the bottom of it, of course I don't have star diagnostic, but I do have a different scan diagnostic tool that I might use for this Procedure. if there anybody out here have done this before or have any info that can help, please let me know, I will really appreciate your help... what I want to know is (1) if I can do it without the scan diagnostic, do I have to disconnect the battery, the SBC or none of that (2) if scan diagnostic requires. do I need to start the car or just put the key in the on position (3) correct me if I'm wrong. starting at the RR Bleeder>>>>RL >>>>FR>>>>FL. thanks very much in advance to everyone who's gonna read this and Trying to provide some help

RA030523

Resurrecting thread...

I will [at some point] require bleeding the brakes on my car. I've got a Foxwell NT510 Elite which is supposed to be able to perform a brake bleed on SBC systems*. Can anyone confirm that they've been successful in using this tool for this procedure?

* Per their manual:I have a Motive Power Bleeder if that is any additional help: though I understand that by itself it is NOT capable of performing a full, proper bleeding.

I need to pull my SBC unit to finish doing some cleaning of bubbled paint and minor rust (restoration work). Have already opened up front brake lines (entire front suspension is removed, along with engine and trans).

ironforger

An easier way is simply unplug the electrical connector from the SBC under the hood near the passenger side headlamp. (insert "TADA" sound effect here)

TheSpooky

Please update if you use the scanner for brake bleeding. I am waiting to do this next month.

RA030523

You will likely beat me to the punch. This is the state of my car currently:

chassis

Bleeding the brakes does not require electronic intervention. Just pump up the reservoir with a Motive or equivalent bleeder, crack the bleed screw one caliper at a time and go.

Its easy. And simple. Simple and easy.

WIS is posted innumerable times on this site for nearly all platforms.

mikesmercs

Can you confirm what model of car is that in the picture? I'm about to attempt to replace the front rusty brake lines on my SL55 and it would be good to see where they disappear to....without having to remove the engine! Mike

You will likely beat me to the punch. This is the state of my car currently:
[/QUOTE]

Heguli

I just did rear lines on my '06 W211, and it was quite easy to do on the engine compartment. You'll need to remove all the heat shields, RH shields you can pull out completely, LH shields I could not get out, but had enough room to route the lines.
Though I had my car on a correct working height which made the whole process easy:

RA030523

mikesmercs, my car's an W211 2005 E320 CDI. Look closely at my picture (download and zoom tight) and you should be able to trace those lines. I just removed my right front line as I'm replacing it (also replacing the two to the master cylinder). Used a plastic pry tool to pop the line out of the plastic brackets, making sure not to disturb the other lines; you have to look closely at those brackets to see which direction to lever the lines out.

Happy to report that I managed to get all the lines out of my SBC and set the SBC up and out of the way so that I can finish cleaning up and paint that area. SLOW is the word when dealing with this stuff: don't want to mess up brake lines; rear ones are LONG and are quite the job to detach and snake out.

Heguli, using a lift is cheating

mikesmercs

Thanks for your swift replies on my SL55 brake line question. Here is the UK, Mercedes is out of stock of the steel brake line which comes on a 5m roll. I have a roll of the Kunifer (copper nickel) brake line which is much easier to bend into shape etc but it is a different colour which bothers me slightly. Rather than bleed the whole system, I'm assuming that I can just bleed the one line I am replacing. We'll soon find out. Mike.

progonat

I wanted to share that I recently came across the YOUCANIC scanner, which appears to be capable of performing SBC bleeding. I found a helpful video that demonstrates the process (linked below).

You Tube