Rudeney

You might want to invest in a C-Tek maintainer. Lots of people who don;t drive their cars use those to keep the battery voltage at the ready.

Ghostty

I do have one As i wrote earlier

Rudeney

Sorry - short term memory loss!

Ghostty

We're all there. For me this morning seems so distant like it was 3 days ago))

Regards

Z3golfcart

I am new to the group with a 2004 SL500 that I recently bought. I've done a number of fixes already, including trunk lid motor fix, dash LEDs and vario top hydraulic parts replacement, but am stuck with a problem I do not know how to resolve. I tried to close the vario roof and it stopped midway and it will not move. I believe the consumer battery is the dead, but with the deck lid stuck halfway I can't get to the battery in the trunk. Any ideas how I can either charge the battery or open the trunk so I can get to the battery to replace it. Roof will not move either direction. Help.

Tom Manning

Probably not the battery.

Are the side flaps sitting flush with the boot lid? (the flaps that hinge out of the boot, then fold back in flush with the lid)

If not then the roof will stop. The plastic rod that controls them was replaced early on in the car's life with a stronger piece.

If not then you might be able to hold them flush with the lid while you complete the closing operation, then rectify the position later.

Z3golfcart

Thanks Tom. Ironically I was trying to close the roof so I could replace the pieces on the flap. The right one is a little loose. And now the dash shows "Consumer battery offline" with picture of a battery. Trunk lid and trim are just a few inches from closing but until completely closed I can't get into truck to get to the battery.

g0rsq

If you use your mechanical key in the trunk lock to open the trunk, then it may be possible to open it in service mode enough to get to the battery.

Be careful not to jam or break anything, as the trunk is not in the correct position for service opening.

Will the engine not start to put some power into the battery?

It is recommended to only operate the roof with engine running, unless you are 100% sure there is enough power in the battery.

Z3golfcart

Tried the key and it would turn but not release lid. Engine starts and ran it for 10-15 minutes to try to charge consumer battery enough to more the top but didn't work.
Thanks for your time

Tom Manning

You have to turn the key and depress the latch at the same time to open the boot - did you do that?

With the engine running there will definitely be enough juice in the system to operate the roof.

I'm wondering if you can complete the manual closing of the roof operation (search for the pdf), see what stage it's up to in the sequence then do the rest manually.