SL/R129: 1996 MB SL500 Top/Rollbar Buttons Stay Lit(red) After Jumpstart of Battery
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1996 Mercedes-Benz SL500
1996 MB SL500 Top/Rollbar Buttons Stay Lit(red) After Jumpstart of Battery
Can someone please tell me what could be wrong when initially my top unlocked/locked and softtop worked fine, then when battery went dead overnight and I jumpstarted the car the top-button and roll-bar button stay lit(red) and they don't work. I moved nothing related to the tops and top worked before battery died.
Should something get re-set to get the buttons working as radio and windows do in this car after battery disconnects?
Should something get re-set to get the buttons working as radio and windows do in this car after battery disconnects?
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Joined: Feb 2007
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Had this happen twice, once when jumpstarting after a flat battery. and once after having a loose lead on the battery connection. Both times had it cleared by my local indepandant MB mechanic using his computer (a main stealer would have charged a fortune just to hook up and reset) Mine is a 1998 280, I think you may be able to clear yours with just a bit of wire and an LED, search the posts on resetting alarms etc.
Best never to jump start, I invested in a cheap "battery cart" which is safer.
Good luck
Best never to jump start, I invested in a cheap "battery cart" which is safer.
Good luck
Thread Starter
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 27
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1996 Mercedes-Benz SL500
Thanks, I'm gonna try that. MB roadside told me there's probably a problem with rollbar not being all the way down, I checked and that's not it. It's all the way down. I'll post the cure when I find it and fix the buttons.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 27
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1996 Mercedes-Benz SL500
Found Another Similar Post-How To Fix
Had this happen twice, once when jumpstarting after a flat battery. and once after having a loose lead on the battery connection. Both times had it cleared by my local indepandant MB mechanic using his computer (a main stealer would have charged a fortune just to hook up and reset) Mine is a 1998 280, I think you may be able to clear yours with just a bit of wire and an LED, search the posts on resetting alarms etc.
Best never to jump start, I invested in a cheap "battery cart" which is safer.
Good luck
Best never to jump start, I invested in a cheap "battery cart" which is safer.
Good luck
Found another post that someone did the same with a 97 SL500 and it fixed the problem. So this must be the solution:
Soft-top-controller Module codes must be re-set (Fault-code Erased) with a 38 pin cable and a diagnostic tool (Scanner) like the "MB Star System."
Stealers don't even give me a quote, he says "bring the car we have to look at it"! and when they look at it they mess up the controller and tell me "You need a new one at $2000 plus 3 hour labor
or charge me $100 for 1 hour and say it's a bad motor.
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Joined: Nov 2006
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From: Alexandria, LA.
92 500SL
This happened to me last month and it cost me 98.50, OUCH.
Now it has done it again, I found the culprit to be a loose negative battery terminal, but the question is can I reset this without spending 100 dollas at the stealership? Its a 95 320SL
Now it has done it again, I found the culprit to be a loose negative battery terminal, but the question is can I reset this without spending 100 dollas at the stealership? Its a 95 320SL
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Almost a Member!
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From: Alexandria, LA.
92 500SL
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Almost a Member!
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From: Alexandria, LA.
92 500SL
This U581 one is for 1996 and up.
Does anyone know of one for a 95?
D. Vehicle Coverage:
D.1 GM '96 - Current Year (OBD-II);
D.2 Ford '96 - Current Year (OBD-II);
D.3 Chrysler '96 - Current Year (OBD-II);
D.4 Toyota '96 - Current Year (OBD-II);
D.5 Honda '96 - Current Year (OBD-II);
D.6 NISSAN '96 - Current Year (OBD-II);
D.7 All other Asian and European '96 - Current Year (OBD-II );
D.8 All new CAN protocol cars.
Does anyone know of one for a 95?
D. Vehicle Coverage:
D.1 GM '96 - Current Year (OBD-II);
D.2 Ford '96 - Current Year (OBD-II);
D.3 Chrysler '96 - Current Year (OBD-II);
D.4 Toyota '96 - Current Year (OBD-II);
D.5 Honda '96 - Current Year (OBD-II);
D.6 NISSAN '96 - Current Year (OBD-II);
D.7 All other Asian and European '96 - Current Year (OBD-II );
D.8 All new CAN protocol cars.
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Joined: Jan 2006
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From: Atlanta, unfortunately
'09 S600, (2) R129 300SLs, '03 SL500, '03 SL55
To read most codes on a '95 all you need is an LED from Radio Shack. Here is a procedure I posted on another forum a couple of years ago.
The procedure described here works on cars through model-year 1995. All systems with diagnostics can be read except for the SRS (airbag) for '94 and '95.
Each system's diagnostic output signal is wired to a socket of the car's main "diagnostic connector", X11/4. An additional pair of sockets provide connections to battery voltage and chassis ground for convenience. Early cars with continuous-fuel injection have 16 sockets, while later models have 38 sockets. The sockets are numbered for easy identification. When you make connections you should know that all circuits have protected outputs and nothing can be damaged by mistakes.
On your car, the diagnostic for the roll bar is socket #22. Socket #3 is battery voltage and socket #1 is chassis ground.
I suggest reading codes, erasing them, operating the roll bar, and if there is still a problem, reading codes again.
Codes are read sequentially one at a time. That is, you trigger the system you are checking to issue a code, you view the code, you trigger another code, and so on. With the key on and engine off, you trigger a code from a system by electrically shorting it's socket to ground for 2 to 4 seconds using a wire. A second or two after the wire is removed, a series of electrical pulses will occur at the socket. The number of pulses corresponds to the number of a code.
There are numerous ways to view the pulses for counting and getting codes. I use a $1.29 LED from Radio Shack (P/N 276-209) connected between battery voltage and the socket of the system being checked and watch it blink in sync with the pulses. If you use an LED, be sure to have the polarity of the LED correct. If it is wrong, you won't damage anything, but the LED won't ever turn on. In the special case of reading top controller codes on cars made through 12/93, you don't even need the LED -- just watch the top control switch on the console flash. This is possible because one side of the lamp inside the switch is wired to the diagnostic socket for the top control system.
Once you have read all of the codes you can erase them. They are erased individually one at a time. To do this, read a code, wait a few seconds, and then short the diagnostic socket to ground for 6 to 8 seconds.
Each system's diagnostic output signal is wired to a socket of the car's main "diagnostic connector", X11/4. An additional pair of sockets provide connections to battery voltage and chassis ground for convenience. Early cars with continuous-fuel injection have 16 sockets, while later models have 38 sockets. The sockets are numbered for easy identification. When you make connections you should know that all circuits have protected outputs and nothing can be damaged by mistakes.
On your car, the diagnostic for the roll bar is socket #22. Socket #3 is battery voltage and socket #1 is chassis ground.
I suggest reading codes, erasing them, operating the roll bar, and if there is still a problem, reading codes again.
Codes are read sequentially one at a time. That is, you trigger the system you are checking to issue a code, you view the code, you trigger another code, and so on. With the key on and engine off, you trigger a code from a system by electrically shorting it's socket to ground for 2 to 4 seconds using a wire. A second or two after the wire is removed, a series of electrical pulses will occur at the socket. The number of pulses corresponds to the number of a code.
There are numerous ways to view the pulses for counting and getting codes. I use a $1.29 LED from Radio Shack (P/N 276-209) connected between battery voltage and the socket of the system being checked and watch it blink in sync with the pulses. If you use an LED, be sure to have the polarity of the LED correct. If it is wrong, you won't damage anything, but the LED won't ever turn on. In the special case of reading top controller codes on cars made through 12/93, you don't even need the LED -- just watch the top control switch on the console flash. This is possible because one side of the lamp inside the switch is wired to the diagnostic socket for the top control system.
Once you have read all of the codes you can erase them. They are erased individually one at a time. To do this, read a code, wait a few seconds, and then short the diagnostic socket to ground for 6 to 8 seconds.
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From: Long Island, New York
2019 GLA 250 - I am in purgatory right now...
This just happened to me. Battery died over night, I put the trickle charger on it for a few days. Top was inoperable and roll bar did not work. I checked codes, nothing. So I removed the negative lead for an hour, reconnected it and all worked fine. No need for the Dealer to reset the computer.
RP
RP
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From: Atlanta, unfortunately
'09 S600, (2) R129 300SLs, '03 SL500, '03 SL55
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1991 500 SL
It is going to depend on the nature of the accident but if some of the sensors were damaged (the ones related to recognizing when a crash occurs) you may be in for some rather involved work here and there. Many of the sensors are basic accellerometers (things which sense abrupt motion) and if the sensor(s) or the wires were damaged the system will not reset properly. For light fender bender type things, a full clear and reset of the error codes and the system will let things start over once again. It really depends on the exact nature of the accident from what I understand but anyone chime in and correct me if I am wrong. There is a part of my brain that is telling me there was something else that had to be checked but not having much luck in thinking of it or finding it currently.
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Joined: Oct 2024
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I have a 1998 Merc SL500 and my battery died, jump started the battery and now my top will not go down. The cover opens up and the rear piece of the soft top unlatches and folds up but then the process stops. The front part of the soft top doesn't unlatch or move. I press the red button again for it to close and it does. The light on the top switch lights up when I move it back to open the top and move it forward to close the top. The roll bar is working fine. You think it needs to be reset as well???
