SL/R230: Brake pad wear sensor; wrong replacement sensor
07-07-2017, 06:41 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Brake pad wear sensor; wrong replacement sensor
Today I replaced front rotors and pads on my R230. All went well until the very end. Naturally.
I ordered Zimmerman rotors and "appropriate" pads from FCP Euro. One of the last steps is to install the brake pad wear sensor. But the one FCP Euro does not fit their pads.
I think the sensor is supposed to snap into a notch on the back of a pad. The notch is there ... but the sensor does not fit the notch. I've pressed the new sensor to the point of nearly breaking it. Clearly, it does not fit into any notch on either pad on the right front brakes.
Nor does the old sensor fit the new pads. The old pads have a wear sensor that inserts into a hole near the back edge of the pad. There's a hole in the new pads but it's nearer the center of the pads ... which seems odd.
Just to button things up and have a driveable car, I'll reinstall the old pads and sensor on the right side and hope I don't have to drive much pending FCP Euro's sending the correct sensor.
The take-away: ensure your pad wear sensor fits your new pads before you go to all the work of replacing rotors and pads.
I ordered Zimmerman rotors and "appropriate" pads from FCP Euro. One of the last steps is to install the brake pad wear sensor. But the one FCP Euro does not fit their pads.
I think the sensor is supposed to snap into a notch on the back of a pad. The notch is there ... but the sensor does not fit the notch. I've pressed the new sensor to the point of nearly breaking it. Clearly, it does not fit into any notch on either pad on the right front brakes.
Nor does the old sensor fit the new pads. The old pads have a wear sensor that inserts into a hole near the back edge of the pad. There's a hole in the new pads but it's nearer the center of the pads ... which seems odd.
Just to button things up and have a driveable car, I'll reinstall the old pads and sensor on the right side and hope I don't have to drive much pending FCP Euro's sending the correct sensor.
The take-away: ensure your pad wear sensor fits your new pads before you go to all the work of replacing rotors and pads.
07-07-2017, 07:28 PM
#2
Former Vendor of MBWorld
Excellent advise, but more importantly let me know if there is anything I can do to help straighten this out. I'm sorry to hear this happened with the sensor.
--Kyle
--Kyle
07-07-2017, 09:34 PM
#3
MBworld Guru
Did you check all pads for the hole's position? I seem to recall pads on the CLK having one with the hole closer to the plate, the other further away. So you may need to swap pads to get the one with the correct arrangement.
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Heatwave (07-07-2017)
07-07-2017, 10:06 PM
#4
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Many thanks for that good suggestion, Rodney. I thought about swapping sides with the pads, but both are the same regarding the location of the sensor pin hole. The pads that come out are Jurids; the sensor pin hole is right up against the pad metal and the sensor apparently doesn't activate until there is little more than bare metal. The new pads are MB branded Brembo pads. And by the way: when I was handling the brake calipers, I saw that they're also Brembo products bearing MB labels. OK by me.
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Heatwave (07-07-2017)
07-07-2017, 10:48 PM
#6
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Rodney: it's a German car sporting Italian brake components and French tires. What could go wrong?
