Hi all,
It's been a while since I fooled with a convertible here. A colleague and friend of mine has fell ill and is incapacitated at the moment. He was/is a car guy like me, we clicked that way. A group of us at work have teamed up to take care of his affairs for him in the meantime. The group has charged me with settling his automotive issues.

My question:
It's a 2005 SL 500
He stopped driving this car 5 years ago when his eyesight started to fail. He had maintained the battery, so it starts. I started it and there was a lot of initial top end noise that settled down quickly. A single lifter type tick remained so I let run for a moment longer. The dash turned red and reads "car to low". I assume the hydraulic suspension just settled down, but in 2 - 3 min of running it did not raise. Not knowing the oil level I shut the car off to let it sit for 15 min and check the level. Unfortunately, with the chassis not at right height it won't let me check the oil level.

How would you recommend I proceed? It's basically an unknown car to me now, but I do know 5 years ago it was drivable and Parked with no known issues. There are no obvious leaks or spots under the car. The garage floor is clean under the car.

Much TIA,
Rick

PS He has a 2023 M50i I had to flatbed also. This is really a task I'm not enjoying...

 

The car sat for a long time and sagged below the lowest acceptable ride height threshold, hence the error message.

I would first check the fluid level in the ABC reservoir before starting the car again.

If the ABC fluid level is fine, then you can try restarting the car and pushing the button in the console to raise the suspension.

Do you have a diagnostic tool that can access the ABC system? DAS would be ideal, but Foxwell and iCarSoft devices with MB-specific software can do this as well.

 

Thank you, I will give it a try. I don't have any diagnostic tools for this car. Short of that I'll have to take it to an aftermarket shop as the dealer wants nothing to do with it now.
RP

 

Lifter tick and sagging suspension normal after sitting. You're lucky that's all you have after this time...

If there are no fluid leaks on the floor then almost certainly the level in the tank will be AOK. Most likely the suspension will settle correctly with the height button, that's what happens when it's been sitting around.

 

The car needs to move in order for the ABC to respond, or the height button needs to be pushed. I would put 2 new batteries in this car before driving it, or starting it for that matter.

 

Tom, that's what I think as well, but all of my familiarity with these systems comes from the R129. But I'll check it first thing when I get back.

That is also exactly what I was thinking. Sitting for a few min running did nothing to correct the situation. I seemed to recall my '98 SL would occasionally rise a small bit after sitting for a while. I could feel it with one leg on the floor after I started it. I do know he had both batteries replaced recently since it was parked. In fact I think it was done twice in that 5 years. I helped him buy a battery tender at one point and I do see that sitting on the floor with the trunk ajar. However it was not hooked up and the battery power did seem to be up to snuff.

PS - news is not good. We had to put him into palatable care last night. It's just too painful to look at the car right now. not sure what we will do from here now. I'll keep you posted.
RP

 

Palliative care

 

None of these cars can sit for more than a month or so without a battery charger hooked up, they will most of the time drain the consumer battery. When this happens, the Battery control module has to do its job, which it’s not very good at doing and it’s 20 years old now.

These cars do not respond well to old or weak batteries, they are not like your 129 in that aspect. If you just want to sell the car, maybe the batteries will be fine, if you are going to drive the car and make sure its road worthy, batteries would be a high priority, and much much cheaper than a used BCM or possibly worse. If the car is going to sit for some time, disconnect the batteries starting at the rear battery and then the front, reconnect the front first and then the rear.